What’s the difference between a follower and a fan? It is no secret that in today’s musical world, many artists are unable to make a living from their music. Some have been desperately trying to gather a community around their musical project for several years or even decades, without success. Why?
It seems like it’s rare, when you’re discovering a new artist, to find out they’re unemployed! They regularly post on social networks, launch new releases of singles or albums every year, expand their network… What’s the problem? The answer is simple, and perhaps you, the reader, will identify with this: many artists have followers, but very few have fans.
So then, what’s the difference between a follower and a fan? Why is it essential for any artist to convert their followers into fans, and how can you put this into practice in order to propel your musical career? It’s quite an exciting topic.
1. Why is it essential to convert your subscribers into fans to succeed in your music career?
If there is one thing that blocks artists today in their ascent to success, it is the fact that they lack clarity. I see singers every day who confuse the terms “subscriber” and “fan,” and who therefore believe that their number of subscribers is equal to their number of fans. This is a big mistake. It is essential, before going further, to define these two words well.
First of all, a fan is someone who discovered you long ago or more recently, and who today follows you on all your adventures. They watch all your new videos on YouTube, like your Instagram posts, watch all your stories, go to see you in concert… That’s a fan. I think everyone will agree with this definition. Some may already see what I’m getting at: yes, all your fans are subscribed to your networks, however, not all your subscribers are fans! That’s the difference. A subscriber may sound silly, but it’s just someone who discovered you online, subscribed… and that’s it! Did they do this because they looked at all your posts and were hooked on your energy and your musical universe, or simply because they thought you were cute? No one knows!
I therefore invite you to ask yourself a question: what do you bring to your subscribers that makes them become fans? Take care of your followers 🧡
And from a business point of view, a fan is a subscriber who buys. It is essential to develop this “business” vision and understand that a fan, in addition to being an admirer, is also a customer. No fans, no money. No fans, no career. Keep this in mind.
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2- How to turn your followers into fans
2.1 How to continuously attract new quality subscribers?
One thing’s for sure, you can never have 100% of your followers be fans. So, no pressure. It’s more about trying to make sure that the places where you communicate are “frequented” by interesting people. So it’s up to you to ask yourself: on which platform should you communicate? What hashtags, what keywords should you use for your content? What parameters will you choose for the targeting of your advertising campaign? Where are your fans?
In terms of your actual content, like if you make TikToks, especially popular formats like challenges, yes you will get views, but the proportion of people who will become fans will necessarily be less. Many will subscribe just for the post, but not in order to follow you assiduously in the long run. However, this does not mean that this type of content isn’t interesting!
2.2 How to hook your subscribers and keep them engaged
No matter how perfectly you target your online presence, if you don’t give your audience a valid reason to keep following you, you’ll never have fans.
An artist who succeeds in hooking their community is simply someone who manages to make most people who watch their content want to watch more. Conclusion? Make good content 😅
Obviously, this also involves making it easier for the subscriber to be redirected to more of your content. A restaurant may make the best desserts in the world, but if the waiter doesn’t offer one at the end of your meal, you’re unlikely to have one. Use calls-to-action, encourage people to subscribe, like, watch other videos, share, etc.
Last but not least, try to stay authentic! When YouTubers like Markiplier score big on YouTube, it’s not because of their physique, their style, or even the quality of their camera. They simply know how to be themselves.
A fan who follows you only for your sound is not a fan. Nowadays, a fan follows you first for who you are, before following you for what you do. Being yourself attracts people like you.
Conclusion
For most of you, the last thing you want to do with your days is sit in front of Instagram or Facebook for hours instead of spending your time creating music.
Today, I want to tell you that marketing is not that. You don’t have a problem with marketing. If you learn you’re expecting a baby tomorrow, your entire family and loved ones will all know about it the same day. You will have done marketing. And you could even say, you will have done effective marketing because the cause was close to your heart.
If you don’t like marketing, it simply means that you do not have an important message to convey to the world. In that case, keep working on it until it feels natural to you. At that point, you’re going to move mountains, and you’re finally going to be able to create the community and the career that you dream of.
– Translated by Kole Wright –
More articles:
> How to build a unique musical project to stand out from the crowd?
> How to gather fans around your music
> Storytelling: How to Build an Entire Universe Around Your Music
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