Is the fan circleization of marketing a trend?

Marketing is gradually becoming inward-looking. Let’s read this article to find out what changes traffic has brought.

Marketing involution is an indisputable fact. There are involutions in services, prices, endorsements, marketing methods, etc. Now, marketing has begun to involution on the bosses. Brands have started the "fan circle" model, establishing a "circle" with independent brand recognition centered on the founder.

1. Fan Clubization of Brand Marketing

Especially recently, the bigwigs are well versed in the marketing methods of "fan circles" and choose to frequently appear in the public eye through many means such as live broadcasts, overseas appearances, and chats. For example, Zhou Hongyi live broadcasts bidding to sell cars, and then experiences Xiaopeng Motors; Lei Jun is not to be outdone, and has created many famous scenes to ensure that Xiaomi SU7 can sell well; and Dong Mingzhu, who has always regarded herself as the spokesperson of Gree, has also stepped out from behind the scenes to the front of the stage and started selling Gree's products.

It is an indisputable fact that the consumer market is highly competitive. If brands want to attract users' attention and young consumers, they need to follow the characteristics of the consumer market in the social media era and "find sales in traffic." However, even good wine needs to be hidden in a remote alley, so managers spare no effort to find traffic for their brands. Some choose to tell the story behind the brand, some create a sense of experience, and some choose to attract users' attention with lower prices...

Obviously, behind all the various ways of playing, the logic behind the brand's choice of fan clubs is that they want consumers to feel the urge to spend money while watching the excitement. After the brand marketing is fan club-ized, it can either achieve gratifying sales or help the brand gain more exposure, thus giving rise to the phenomenon of brand marketing fan club-ization.

2. What are the characteristics of fan circle marketing?

Fan culture has always been very popular among idols and celebrities, and rarely appears in marketing. As short videos and live broadcasts become popular, bosses, founders, and executives who have been working behind the scenes have stepped in front of the screen to do "sales." What are the characteristics of fan culture that has become popular in marketing?

Strong interactivity: Live broadcasts and short videos originally have the effect of remote interaction. Live broadcasts by founders have a natural celebrity effect. In addition, users can interact with their favorite anchors through bullet screens, comments, likes, and gifts. If some netizens' questions can be seen by the anchor, they can also get feedback in time. The boss's live broadcast itself has a topic effect, and with strong real-time interaction, it can make consumers' live broadcast experience more vivid and interesting. In addition, the live broadcasts of brand owners and founders can also release unique personal charm and spread corporate culture, management experience, etc., which is practical and surprising.

Fancy support: Fans’ support for idols is also called “support” in the fan circle. Fans express their love, encouragement and help for idols in a way they think is reliable. When the boss is live, more people choose to support or accompany him out of curiosity, so that the boss has support and the product has more conversion opportunities.

Idol worship: Willing to interact with idols and support their behavior, which is inseparable from fans' worship of idols, and makes more people willing to invest time, energy and money to support idols' careers and development. At the same time, waiting for idols' live broadcasts, accompanying and watching idols' favorite activities can also increase users' sense of participation and satisfaction in idols' career development. Traffic monetization: Fan circles originally have strong traffic monetization capabilities. In addition to interactivity, worship and support to increase the volume, fan circle marketing also has super strong monetization capabilities.

Brands have attracted a large number of fans through fancy fan circle marketing methods, which provides an opportunity to convert traffic into actual purchasing power. At the same time, brand fan circle marketing can also help to enhance and monetize brand value through the fan economy effect.

3. Beware of traffic as both a source of success and a source of failure

Brand management still needs to return to its essence. Many times, after brands smell business opportunities and trends, they rush in, and in the crowded track of traffic, the effect of success or failure is produced by traffic.

In the process of brand marketing becoming a fan circle, brands still need to maintain a clear awareness. On the one hand, traffic is an opportunity for brands to survive or win highlights, but Internet celebrity companies, Internet celebrity founders, and Internet celebrity executives are essentially assistance and marketing for brands.

If a brand wants to be "long-lasting and stable" and have a stronger and longer life cycle, it needs to return to the essence of brand management, work hard in technology, products, services, user experience and other aspects, improve brand and product-related capabilities from multiple angles, and gradually cultivate them into "hexagonal warriors."

Brands that can rise quickly may rely on fancy marketing tactics to become well-known at the beginning. As time goes by and the brand settles, those brands that can continue to be popular after traffic must have accumulated hard power and soft power in addition to marketing, such as technology, innovation, talents, reputation and other aspects. This is difficult for competitors to replicate. Brands that truly regard marketing tactics as icing on the cake and are willing to settle down and work on technology can always gain the initiative in market competition.

On the other hand, brands need to see the traffic, but also the real people behind the traffic. Whether it is Zhou Hongyi live-streaming the 9.9 million high-priced Maybach auction, Lei Jun "staging" for Xiaomi SU7, or Dong Mingzhu selling air conditioners, on the surface, they have seized the "gimmicks" and "gameplay" in the fan circle culture and used "traffic stars" to benefit the brand; in essence, they are still highlighting the brand's excellent technology and quality, product experience, and all-round services.

True gold is not afraid of fire, and traffic is fleeting, but high-quality products and services need to stand the test of time. After the product is sold, consumers begin to examine the product and brand.

Author: Mr. Bingfa

Source: WeChat public account "Marketing Art of War (ID: lanhaiyingxiao)"