The ease of being a fan

A brand or organization that wants to build a community of brand ambassadors and brand advocates needs community members who are more than just fans. Community members are not won over through showmanship or provocation, but through the reputation and performance of a brand and organization. Brands and organizations fight for our attention with ideas and promotions in social media and want us to express our enthusiasm by clicking on the Like button and thus spread the message. Do we automatically feel so emotionally connected to the brand or organization after clicking the Like button that we consider ourselves part of the community? Hardly. Seeing a fan base that has arisen from an advertising idea or an NGO campaign as a community, or believing that it can be developed into a community, is unrealistic in most cases.

A community is a community of individuals who feel emotionally connected due to their common interest. Within the community, members exchange ideas, get involved, advise third parties and defend their interests in crisis situations. Fans, on the other hand, generally consume in passive mode. How often do we experience a collective outcry on Facebook that dies down very quickly? This was the case after the viral shock attack by Greenpeace against Nestlé Kitkat in 2010. The majority of the outraged fans hardly looked into all facets of the palm oil problem in depth and soon jumped onto a new topic. If Greenpeace has succeeded in gaining a few new members with this campaign, who have become involved financially and in the community, the campaign has already paid off.

The majority of social media campaigns are designed to gain fans who will pass on a message in order to increase reach. It is therefore incomprehensible that self-proclaimed social media popes mock the fact that Obermutten has gained 17,000 fans and has no long-term concept for developing a community. Who cares? The whole world knows about Obermutten thanks to a surprising idea. If one or two people spend their vacations there or buy a vacation home there, the campaign has long since capitalized. And if a "word of mouth" recommendation is made after the live experience, this is more sustainable than any recommendation on Facebook.

From this perspective, Facebook is a communication channel that agencies use creatively to gain attention for a message in times of declining consumption of traditional media. The job is done when Facebook users express their sympathy with a Like and thus spread the message. If this goal is achieved, a lot has already been accomplished in times of sensory overload. Imre Sinka