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Newsletter #869: The “Support Their Obsessions” Issue

[Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

When you find fans and communities that have true, dedicated passion, it’s your job to support them and keep them going. Make them happy, and these powerful talkers will bring in everyone else for you. How a few marketers are doing it:

1. With an online library
2. With helpful instructions
3. With a dedicated channel
4. Check it out: The Restart Page

1. With an online library

Sometimes what enthusiastic communities need most is a home base to share their passion, knowledge, and geeky details. That’s what Foot Locker’s Sneakerpedia does for shoe nerds. Just like the name implies, it’s essentially Wikipedia for shoes. Through it, fans can browse thousands of shoes, edit entries, and create their own articles about shoes they love. They’ve also created a Sneakerpedia blog and Twitter account to keep the community talking.

The lesson: A lot of enthusiastic talker groups need your help with a simple place to share their passions and meet others like them.

Learn more: Ad Age

2. With helpful instructions

A great way to support your fans’ obsessions is to help them do what they love a little better. You could go all out with detailed guides and training, or you could just post some simple instructions. Beer brewer Stella did it with their video on how to pour the perfect beer. It includes 9 steps like “The Sacrifice” and “The Beheading” that bartenders and connoisseurs should follow when pouring any brew. Their video has some high-end production value, but the content is straightforward and easy for beer lovers to forward, share, and talk about.

The lesson: Help the super-fans by giving them tips, tricks, and how-to’s to help them do what they love even better.

Learn more: PSFK

3. With a dedicated channel

Sometimes all the super-passionate fans really want is access. The more they get to see, touch, or experience the brand they love, the better. That’s the idea behind Burger King’s Whopper Lust channel. They actually created a channel on DirecTV to air endless footage of a spinning Whopper. For each 5 minutes people watch and respond to prompts, they get a voucher for a burger. The idea is a great way to give Burger King fans a new topic to share and forward — and who knows, all that subliminal burger spinning might have created a few new obsessive fans too.

The lesson: Support your fans by doing your best to give them non-stop access to whatever it is they love so much.

Learn more: AdWeek

4. Check it out: The Restart Page

Check out this throwback site to relive the restarts of classic operating systems from Apple and Microsoft.

Check it out: The Restart Page

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