1,000 Raving Fans

by | Jun 12, 2015 | Racing Social Media |

There’s a concept in business that assumes that you can make an arguably good living if you have 1,000 true fans. They buy from you.

But most of all, they buy into you. No matter what.

  • True fans don’t just show up in good weather. They walk to the gate and buy their tickets when everyone else is sitting in the parking lot in the rain, at best.
  • Regular fans will buy a t-shirt. True fans buy every design you issue, even when all you have left is a size too big.
  • Regular fans want their logo on your car or billboard when you’re winning and times are good. True fans continue to petition for your sponsorship program even when there are layoffs and budget cuts.

I saw a tweet the other day that reminded me of this concept. It’s from an Eldora Speedway fan – a raving one, it seems:Eldora Speedway Social Media

That’s one of many tweets that goes out every weekend from race tracks across the country. At least, the ones that are willing to acknowledge their raving fans, like Eldora did here by retweeting it.

There are two key factors that I believe go into creating true fans, and encouraging regular fans to become true, raving fans.

You need a product worth raving about, and the means with which fans can rave about it.

I don’t know that 1,000 true fans is an accurate number in racing. For some race tracks, averaging 1,000 fans at every event would mean success. For others, that would be a failure.

But it doesn’t really matter what that number means to you. The most important thing is to understand the concept.

It’s not enough to put out a good product. You have to be willing to nurture your true fans. You have to give them a way to connect with you, and other fans.

There are many ways to do that, but I recommend social media for obvious reasons. Because with social media, not only can they connect directly with you, but they can share the love with other fans.

And when those true fans share the love, they create more fans.

How do you develop true fans? How do you encourage regular fans to become raving ones?

Xo.
Kristin

About the author

Kristin Swartzlander Kristin Swartzlander is passionate about applying business sense to racing 'nonsense' in hopes of growing the sport of dirt track racing. She is a business strategist who works with entrepreneurs and small businesses to help them learn how to use public relations, marketing and social media to achieve their goals. Learn more about social media, marketing and racing sponsorship on the DirtyMouth blog.