At the start of most brand development, artists and business professionals alike focus on themselves. Plugged into the goals and aims of the idea at play so intently that there is little effort placed on the literal connection that will inevitably be made with the audience.
The social nature of this new economy has made every person the media. So connecting with our audience honestly, early, and often is imperative to success. The publishing and entertainment industries are beginning to understand. We see examples of success stories in people like the wine guy and author Gary Vaynerchuk and Grammy award-winning artist Chamillionaire. They each have over 850K and 220K Twitter followers, not to mention the vlogs, Ustreams and countless other ways they connect with their communities daily.
Their recent releases were chart toppers in their respective industries almost exclusively because of their intimate audience connections.
Consider this line of thinking, wouldn’t it be easier to sell tickets to a play if when casting for it you weighed talent and followers on Twitter and Facebook equally as variables for casting?
This new world is more interested in the human connection than buying “stuff.” Once artists and businesses alike make a human connection with people they will basically buy anything. (That’s not to say people are stupid, because every great marketer knows, you treat your audience like you treat your wife.) People want to be part of an experience; be a piece of a whole.
Connection with people at the beginning of an idea is what makes a brand. What you do with those connections; the possibilities are endless.
