Another interesting twist is that most FOLLOWERS don’t follow just to follow; they follow to be followed. If your brand can provide its FOLLOWERS with interesting insights, information, or other content that not everyone has seen, you give them the opportunity to be the first person to bring that same content to their FOLLOWERS’ attention.f That gives them a measure of prestige and, potentially, the opportunity to grow their own following by becoming a trusted source of interesting information.
Sounds circuitous, right?
How FOLLOWERS Are Acquired
But that’s the power of FOLLOWERS. They are a type of JOINERS you can message directly and transform into AMPLIFIERS. And you can build them in a variety of channels today, including:
Google+
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Pinterest
SlideShare
Twitter
Vine
What’s fascinating about these FOLLOWER channels is the fact that each has materialized in just the past decade. We began following people’s careers (LinkedIn), then their 140-character tweets (Twitter), and now our informational voyeurism also encompasses images (Pinterest), presentations (SlideShare), and photos and videos (Instagram and Vine). Moreover, look at the dizzying array of who, what, where we can follow just on Twitter:
Actors (like @KevinBacon)
Agencies (like @WeAreSocial)
Airlines (like @United)
Appliances (like @mytoaster)
Athletes (like @GarethBale11)
Authors (like, oh, I don’t know . . . @jkrohrs)
Bands (like @Hollerado)
Charities (like @DonorsChoose)
Cities (like @LakewoodOhio)
Comedians (like @PattonOswalt)
Companies (like @ExactTarget)
Fictitious characters (like @HomerJSimpson)
Financial Institutions (like @Chase)
Food (like @mmsgreen)
Games (@AngryBirds)
Hotels (like the @NYHiltonMidtown)
Journalists (like @AmberLyon)
Leagues (like the @AFL)
Magazines (like @TheEconomist)
Mobile apps (like @VineApp)
Movies and movie theaters (like @Avengers and @AMCTheaters)
Museums (like @MuseumModernArt)
Musicians (like cellist Zoe Keating, @ZoeCello)
Newspapers (like @NYTimes)
Pets (like @Sockington the cat)
Places (like the Golden Gate Bridge—@GGBridge)
Plants (via technology from companies like @Botanicalls)
Political parties (like @GOP)
Racing teams (like @FollowAndretti)
Radio stations or podcast hosts (like @KQED and @MenInBlazers)
Religious leaders (like @Pontifex)
Restaurants (like @DeagansKitchen)
Stores (like @CLEClothingCo)
Teams (like @ManchesterUnited)
TV networks, shows, and stations (like @AMC_TV, @WKYC, and @60 Minutes)
Universities (like @MiamiUniversity)
World Leaders (like @BarackObama)
Tired yet? I assure you that this list could go on and on and on. And this is a reason some use not to build FOLLOWERS; there’s simply too much noise out there already. The fact is, however, that the consumers who want to follow your company will cut through the clutter to find you—if you let them.
A Peek Behind the Steel Curtain
When the 2012 Super Bowl came to Indianapolis, die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers (@Steelers) FAN Seth Paladin (@sdpaladin) was only moderately enthused. After all, a Patriots–Giants matchup left him rooting for the lesser of two evils.
All of that changed on the Tuesday before the game, however, when, as a FOLLOWER of Antonio Brown (@AntonioBrown84), he saw the Steelers wide receiver tweet that he was in Indianapolis for the week and looking for things to do. On a whim, Seth tweeted back: “I live in Indy! Let’s get lunch! How’s 12:30?”
Antonio not only took Seth upon on the offer; the two went on to hang out together multiple times that week. They lifted weights and shared stories about their families, and Antonio even joined a birthday dinner for one of Seth’s friends at The Capital Grille (@CapitalGrille), where the NFL player graciously picked up the entire check. Antonio’s generosity was repaid when he discovered he had left his dress shoes back home and Seth was able to buy a pair for him.
It’s rare these days that an NFL (@NFL) football player can just “hang” with a FAN/FOLLOWER; but that’s what Twitter afforded Antonio and Seth. One got to step behind the Steel Curtain—the other, from out behind it.16
In summary, your FOLLOWER audiences want:
Information (that you’ve curated)
Access
Unique insights
Shareable content with which they can build their own FOLLOWERS
So there you have it: the composition, motivations, and interests of the three JOINER audiences that are critical to marketing: SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, and FOLLOWERS. Our SFF research has determined that among U.S. adults, who are online and age 18 years and older:
93 percent are email SUBSCRIBERS to one or more brands.
58 percent (and growing) are Facebook FANS of one of more brands.