How to Engage New Fanbases

Fred Again is a masterclass in building fandom. Every artist, brand & company should pay close attention to how he's doing it: - Direct engagement - Community over everything - Building from the ground up Here's 7 ways he's built an insanely loyal fanbase: (and what we can learn) 𝟭. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 Fred has prioritized personal interactions & lean-in locations like Discord & Whatsapp chats from day 1. → It creates genuine community → A true understanding of his fans → The ability to activate them in real time Everything is built on top of this. It’s not just about big numbers. It’s about deep interactions. 𝟮. 𝗣𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 He asked his most engaged Discord fans to host 18 Actual Life 3 launch parties across the globe. → Superfans became the central nodes → Fans connected more deeply IRL → All with Fred as the context First, feed the community. Then, the masses. 𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺 Before his LA coliseum show, he hosted a secret listening party for 150 fans he found & invited who went to his first LA show in 2021. → He greeted each personally → Handed out mugs of tea → Previewed new songs Show fans they're seen. Show fans they're valued. 𝟰. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 Fred consistently includes fans in his process. → Voting on tracks to release → Asking fans to suggest venues → Video recaps from the dancefloor → Cultivating community-generated content Don't serve fans content Make them part of the journey 𝟱. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 Fred is the king of pop-up shows. → No rollout → No pre-hype → Fans find out first Fans band together on Discord to help each other get in. Every event feels like you’re lucky to be there. They’re marketing through magic. Through fomo. 𝟲. 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 It all works because it feels authentic. → He's pouring you pints of Guinness → Sharing facetimes with collaborators → Attending quiz night with fans There's no pretense. It’s not about being slick or coming across as bigger & more famous than you. 𝟳. 𝗕𝗲 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 Fred finds ways to bring people together. → Massive community bike rides across London → Facilitating proposals on the dancefloor → Turning everything into a social event People are craving human connection. This is the dopamine Fred delivers. (and it's what this is all about, right?) 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗡𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮 But there are lessons: 1. Build Direct Fan Relationships 2. Put Community First 3. Get Fans Involved 4. Reward Fandom 5. Create FOMO 6. Be Authentic 7. Be a Connector If you lean all the way in, your reach will grow. And it will last. ___________________ If you like this, you'll love my newsletter. Insights & tools to navigate music's future: https://lnkd.in/ePEK5vdd What did I miss? I've got 1 extra lesson in this week's edition.

Sports teams should be stealing more fan engagement tactics from YouTubers. One of the smartest examples I’ve seen lately? Atlassian Williams F1 Team. The team took a common creator playbook and turned it into a repeatable fan acquisition strategy for its W Club loyalty program. Here’s how it works: Williams launched a YouTube series in 2025 called Grid Games, where drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz compete in trending social challenges. But the smart part isn’t the content itself. In the 2026 premiere, the stakes were introduced immediately: the winner of a ping pong challenge would choose a prize for one lucky fan. Carlos won and picked his driver cap. To enter, fans had to go through the Williams website/app (via the link in the description) and sign up/log into W Club. Simple mechanic. Valuable outcome. Then Episode 2 doubled down (watch here: https://lnkd.in/eXgpmBRp). At the start of the video, Williams announced the winner by name (Clara from France), creating a genuinely cool moment for that fan and a reason for others to tune in. Then they introduced the next giveaway: a team coat. The landing page instantly reinforces the connection to Grid Games, embeds the episode, and makes it clear this will continue throughout the season. That’s the key. This doesn’t feel like a random sweepstakes. It feels connected, intentional, and built to create a habit. A few reasons I love this strategy: • Built for data capture • Gives W Club members a reason to return • Drivers compete for fans, not themselves • Winner shoutouts create urgency to watch • Teases drive longer watch time + repeat viewing There’s also a sponsorship opportunity hiding in plain sight here. This is the type of series that should be easy to monetize because the value exchange is clear. A brand could: • Present the series • Own 100% of the ad inventory on the landing page • Provide the prizing • Gain access to sweepstakes leads and first-party audience insights Creators have generally been far more successful at building loyal audiences on YouTube than sports teams. That means teams should spend more time studying how creators build and nurture their fanbases. The question teams should always ask: What fan behaviors have creators already trained audiences to expect, and how can we bring those into sports in a way that drives measurable value? #sportsmarketing #sportsbusiness #sponsorship

I had a look at Luminate's 2025 Midyear Music Report, and here’s my key takeaway for anyone working in global music or emerging markets: Afrobeats is down in the U.S. For the first time in years, Afrobeats shows a decline in U.S. On-Demand Audio (ODA) streaming volume. This dip may likely be due to: - Market fatigue - Fewer mainstream crossovers - Shifting listener preferences If you're working with Afrobeats talent targeting Western markets, it might be time to: 1. Explore cross-genre collaborations Markets like India (78% local streams), Brazil (75%), and Nigeria (61%) have deeply loyal local listening habits, but they also share cultural overlaps that allow for genre-fluid music. Think: Rema’s "Calm Down" charting in India, Latin Afrobeats dominating LATAM playlists, Burna Boy + Travis Scott’s baile funk fusion track. These are early signals, but deeper impact may come from collaboration across these markets, not just borrowing sounds. 2. Focus on superfan platforms Platforms like Twitch, Reddit, Discord, WhatsApp, and even podcasts are becoming real homes for deep fan-to-artist engagement, especially in genres like Afrobeats, Latin, and K-pop. Here’s what’s interesting: #Reddit: Afrobeats is one of the top genres here, and fans love vinyl. Think limited collector drops & fan-first merch. Real opportunity to lean into tangible fandom. #Discord: Not huge yet for emerging markets, but early adopters could build something special with Afro House or Amapiano as Electronic is the #3 genre here. #Twitch: Afrobeats ranks high. If you're not thinking short-form and live engagement yet, now’s the time. Twitch is built for storytelling, behind-the-scenes content, and real-time artist access. #WhatsApp: This surprised even me: Afrobeats and Latin fans over-index here. With features like music in status updates and Channels, plus traditional messaging, WhatsApp is now a full-on fan engagement tool. Especially powerful in Africa, LATAM, and Asia. #Podcasts: 37% of podcast listeners are more likely to stream a new release within its first week. 59% of those listeners are Afrobeats fans. Rolling out music via interviews, deep dives, or exclusive premieres is a powerful and overlooked strategy. Community is the new algorithm. If you want your music to travel and stick, go where fans talk, not just where they stream. 3. LATAM and Southeast Asia for expansion If Nigeria is proudly local & Ghana is most open regionally (25% regional streams), then growth lies in more musically open markets, like: #UAE: 92% of streams come from outside the region #Philippines: 62% of streams are from outside Asia #Peru: 36% of streams come from global sources These are ideal launch pads for artists and labels looking to cross borders, build fanbases, and experiment with genre blending. TL;DR: Emerging markets aren’t emerging anymore. They’re leading. #MusicInsights #EmergingMarkets #LuminateData #GlobalMusic #Afrobeats #MusicStrategy

It’s about finding a thousand people who love your brand. You hear about community all the time, but for brands with a minimal presence and no celebrity backing, those first thousand devoted fans are critical. They’re the ones we need to find, cultivate, and look after. Let me tell you a story: I found a brand I liked and posted about them on social media. I got a thoughtful response from their team. That’s step one—organic social media matters, and community management is probably the most overlooked process in brand building. I could tell this brand genuinely cared and was investing resources into listening to what people were saying. I ordered their product, made another post, and a week or two later, I received a personal letter and an amazing hat from them. I already liked this brand, but now I loved them. I wore their hat around town and told everyone who would listen about them. I probably converted at least a dozen people into customers. This is where the hat and the concept of “surprise and delight” come in. When you can surprise and delight a consumer, you have a good chance of converting them into a fan and a loyal customer. Don’t overlook the value of community management, and don’t underestimate how a small token of affection for the right people can build a brand. If you’re building a brand, focus on those first thousand fans. Engage with them, surprise them, and make them feel special. It makes all the difference.

We keep celebrating the win: Formula 1’s fan base is exploding. Female representation stands at 25 percent (up from 18 percent in four years). Gen Z is pouring in, 87 percent engage with content daily or frequently, and a remarkable 94 percent say they will still be fans five years from now. But here is the anomaly that should keep every #motorsport marketer awake at night. Despite this tidal wave of passion, actual behavior change lags behind. Merch ownership is only 26 percent globally. Sim-racing participation is just 32 percent. Even in the hottest growth market, the United States, where 75 percent of fans with five years or less tenure plan to attend a Grand Prix, we still see inconsistent conversion from reels and reactions into tickets, merch, and long-term #sponsor affinity. The old model assumed that entertainment alone would bring people in. The new data shows that entertainment is no longer enough. Today’s fans, especially the women and younger audiences that people worked hard to welcome, do not simply want to watch drivers. They want to feel part of their story. Forty-nine percent of female fans (versus 30 percent of men) say drivers are their primary connection to the sport. Seventy-five percent of U.S. women cite #fashion and #lifestyle as a key reason they stay engaged. Yet most content strategies still treat personality as a nice-to-have layer on top of on-track action rather than the central organizing principle. The shift we need is not more content. It is deeper emotional activation. When fans feel personally seen through driver-led #storytelling, interactive experiences that let them live the journey, or lifestyle integrations that fit their identity, conversion follows quickly. Early campaigns built this way are already delivering 20-40 percent lifts in attendance intent, merch consideration, and sponsor favorability. The 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey with more than 100,000 responses is not just a pat on the back for growth. It is a polite but urgent warning: keep broadcasting to everyone and we risk turning #cultural momentum into background noise. The winning strategies will not be the ones with the most reach. They will be the ones that make every fan, new or legacy, feel like the sport was built for them. Who is already testing driver-first or identity-first activation at your team or brand? Share your examples below. Let us move the conversation forward together. Looking for real motorsport marketing opportunities with this strategy? Email info@SynergyBranded.com #SynergyBranded #F1 #MotorsportMarketing #FanEngagement #SportsBusiness

American Sports is sat on a goldmine I've spoken to 3 major franchises in American Sports in the last week. And they all recognise how they underutilise YouTube, particularly the potential of live game week shoulder content. There are no league restrictions that stop the creation of live shoulder content outside of the game itself. Most didn't realise the opportunities the demand fans have for live, but also the economics - It's budget efficient and creates new partner inventory and revenue streams, Here are the key areas we'll be focusing on with franchises: 1. Live formats: Utilise live streaming for pre and post-game shoulder content, think coach and player conferences, youth games, behind the scenes q&a’s, pre and post game analysis. This is currently white space and should be used to engage fans. 2. Effective data: Combine official and fan data to provide unique insights, making the content distinct and community first. The Gen Z content diet is high stimulation, so they have the mental capacity to deal with lots of data points to keep them engaged. 3. Invest in graphics: Gorgeous visuals aid retention and create a rich experience, creating broadcast quality but with social nuance. The graphics engage the mind and enable you to tell a more immersive story. 4. Engagement first: Have fan interaction as a feature not a bug. Using second screen and gamification tools such as polls, Q&A sessions, predictors, games and live comments to keep the audience involved and also capture valuable data. We have work to do! 👨🍳

This is the golden age of fan engagement. Football clubs are in an unprecedented position to connect with fans across all generations. ❗ Social media have become instrumental in achieving this. 👉 Clubs can tailor their communication strategies to resonate with diverse audience segments. ❓ ❓ How can clubs use the various platforms strategically? ✅ TikTok ☑ Utilize youth-oriented language and slang to connect with a younger, trend-following audience. ☑ Discuss popular trends like trap music and gaming to captivate the interest of tech-savvy fans. ✅ Facebook ☑ Engage in conversations about parenthood, showcasing the club's commitment to family values. ☑ Explore the rich history of the club, fostering a sense of nostalgia among long-time supporters. ☑ Highlight city pride to deepen the connection between the club and its local community. ✅ LinkedIn ☑ Showcase the entrepreneurial spirit of the club's city by featuring local business leaders and entrepreneurs associated with the club. ☑ Emphasize the club's role in fostering economic growth and community development. ✅ Twitch ☑ Establish a presence on Twitch, essentially creating a personalized television channel for the club. ☑ Develop ad-hoc programs, including behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with players and fans, and interactive content to engage fans in real-time. ✅ Pinterest ☑ Curate boards displaying the most captivating images of the stadium, capturing the essence and atmosphere during matches. ☑ Showcase products for sale, transforming Pinterest into a visually appealing marketplace. 🔷 Final Thoughts Imagine how much content your club can generate across different platforms. ❗ This multi-platform approach ensures that football clubs can cater to the diverse interests and preferences of their fan base. ❗ Clubs can now foster a deep and lasting connection with fans, ensuring the club's sustained success both on and off the pitch. ❓ On which platform do you follow your club? #footballbusiness #linkedinsports #socialmedia

FORGET your new music for a moment. Artists spend an inordinate amount of time on their new projects. But.... Your OLD music is the key to building a fanbase. Old music, otherwise known as the "back catalog" has a treasure trove of valuable insights. Yes, it has something that your new music lacks... Data By analyzing your analytics, you can identify which older songs are getting the most streams & traction. This data isn't just numbers. It's a guide to understanding what resonates most with your audience. When new fans discover you, they may feel overwhelmed by the volume of music available. Use this as an opportunity to guide them to your most popular songs—those that data shows have already connected with listeners. An effective way to do this is by updating your bios or artist pages with a dedicated section titled "Are you new to my music? Start here." This not only directs new listeners to your most acclaimed tracks but also encourages them to delve deeper into your catalog. Making it easy for fans to discover and binge your music builds a stronger, more engaged fanbase and ultimately enhances your creative career's longevity. Review your artist analytics to see not only what's getting the most streams. But which songs have the most repeat listens, fewest skips, and most saves. For example, I released my solo guitar album earlier this year. My version of "La Paloma" is among the most popular tracks. So, when I share my music with fans, I lead with this song. #creator #creatoreconomy #portfoliocareer #music #art

Building a strong club brand in women’s football isn’t just important—it’s essential. One of the biggest challenges in women’s football? Fans often feel more connected to individual players than to the club itself. Star players drive excitement. They bring in new fans. But when those players leave, clubs can struggle to retain that loyalty. So, how do clubs fix this? By building a brand that fans connect with—beyond just the players. Here’s how: 🆔 Emphasize Club Identity A club is more than its roster. The history, culture, and values should be front and center. When fans feel like they’re part of something bigger, they stay. 🎽 Engage With Fans—Everywhere Online. Offline. Community events. Behind-the-scenes content. Give fans a stake in the club’s future, and they’ll stick around long after players move on. 📖 Tell Stronger Stories Not just about star players—but about the team, the manager, the mission. Stories of resilience, equality, and milestones create deep, lasting emotional connections. 📱 Leverage Digital to Build Relationships Match highlights aren’t enough. Fans want inside access—player diaries, day-in-the-life content, and interactive experiences that bring them closer to the club. At Branthlete, we help clubs develop a women’s-first strategy in football. Because growing the women’s game isn’t about copying men’s football—it’s about creating a unique approach that reflects its values, opportunities, and passion. Women’s football isn’t just growing. It’s evolving. Clubs that build strong, resilient brands will lead the way. What do you think—how can clubs turn new fans into lifelong supporters? 📺: Just Women’s Sport