Calling All SuperFans: Learn How to Convert Them Into Customers

I’ve been thinking a lot about my marketing plan recently, and was wondering how my blogging has been doing for me. Lots of marketers, myself included, know that having a blog is good for many reasons, but I was curious to see if I had actually increased the number of eyeballs that were viewing my site.

So I logged into my Google Analytics account and took a look at the Spacebarpress Blog stats. I am blown away! I’ve increased unique page views by 72% in the last month. One month! 72%! Incredible.

Well, not so incredible, as that coincides with me becoming a contributing writer on Business2Community.com. But that still doesn’t account for why the traffic on my SITE has increased, since these posts are syndicated over on the B2Comm site. Readers are still clicking over to my site to check out the blog organically.

Diving further into my stats, I see that almost 17% of my visits are clicks from my Google+ profile, and only 11% are from B2Comm. So it’s worth getting your Google+ profile set up if you want it to help drive traffic to your site.

My hard work is starting to pay off, but slowly. I’m sure you can relate, as you want your business to explode quickly too. Is there something else I could be doing that would increase the number of prospects I’m getting? Or maybe there’s something I could be doing with the prospects I have that will convert them into customers? Something that would help your business too?

Sure there is! And it works regardless of the number of prospects you have.

We should be working with our SuperFans.

Convert superfans into customers - Spacebarpress

What is a SuperFan?

  • They’re following you. Whether on social media, by email subscription, or wherever, they’re there. And if you’ve got a small audience, it’s easy to find them. It’s a little tougher if your audience is big, but with a little digging, you can find them.

Here’s how to tell if a reader or follower is one:

  • They share your stuff on social media FREQUENTLY. Stop and see who is sharing your content.
  • They open emails and click on your links. In your email newsletter, email blasts, or in your blog posts, they’re the ones clicking on the links in there.
  • They leave you comments all the time. Yep, they’re the ones leaving you messages at the end of your posts. Business2Community’s site is good and sends me an email every time someone comments on one of my posts. That way I can click over without too much of a delay and comment. I also use LiveFyre on this blog, which also lets me know who’s commenting and when.

Okay, I’ve got SuperFans, now what?

Congratulations! Now that you’ve identified your SuperFans, it’s time to figure out what to do with them. Analyze your little League of SuperFans and ask yourself these four questions:

  1. Are they content creators? Do they have a blog or are they published online anywhere?
  2. Are they industry influencers? (Either your industry or theirs.)
  3. Are they a potential customer? Are they decision makers in their organization? (Especially important in the B2B space.)
  4. Are they a current customer? Whoa, you should already know that, and if so, acknowledge it!

The main mark of any SuperFan is that they’re consistently listening to your content. Remember, some of them might not be actively raising their hand to say that they’re there, but they are. That’s why it’s important to find them in other ways.

How do I keep my SuperFans happy?

With two words: Connect and Share.

Seems simple, doesn’t it? But think about it. You’re really just trying to make connections with a specific group of people that are already aware of you. The hard part, the introduction, is already done. So keep the conversation going by creating a connection with them. Connecting and sharing shows that you’re invested and and you care enough to pay attention to them. After all, they’re doing the same to you, and you like it, right?

Connect with your SuperFans

  • Follow them on social media.
  • Read their blogs or other content, including places like SlideShare.
  • Organize your SuperFans, either on- or off- line. Whichever works for you is fine. I use Twitter lists and a spreadsheet.

Share with your SuperFans

  • Reply to and share content with them on social media.
  • Comment on their blogs.
  • Subscribe to their content.

When Do We Get to the Conversion Part?

Easy young Padawan, you’re not going to become a Conversion Jedi right away. This is a process.

  1. You’ve identified your SuperFans.
  2. You’ve analyzed them.
  3. You’ve connected and shared with them.

Step Four is to continue the Connection Evolution. By that I mean you’ve got to reach out to them, via social media, email, phone, or in-person. Whatever is appropriate for your business and your SuperFan. Some people like to only deal by email, others like to look you in the eye as you share a coffee or meal.

The point is, you’ve got to take that next step and deepen the connection. Deepening it often leads to the conversion, but it’s something you can’t rush or fake. B2B SuperFans are going to be especially patient with you, since they know that they B2B sales cycle is so long. They’re not in a rush.

Finally, Make Something Just for Them

The final step to convert SuperFans into customers is to create content just for them. This is another way to deepen the relationship and make the connection even stronger. Both literally and figuratively. Connecting them through links and social media increases both of your SEO ranks and points, that’s win-win!

With a small audience, you can do this even better than the big companies. You’re able to create posts or social media messages just for them. How about asking them to answer some questions for a Q&A post? Write a case study post on one of their products. Create an infographic that shows how your products could help companies like your SuperFans’ companies. The list is endless.