Ask yourself this question: Do I have fans or do I simply have a group of virtual acquaintances? You want fans. It doesn't matter if you are an athlete, a major brand, a politician, a musician, or just a regular person; it is great to have fans. Fans are excited about you; hey want to hear what you have to say; they want to brag that they know something about you that others don't. Fans make you feel special, and after all, we all want to feel special.
With fans comes responsibility. You have to engage them and make them feel important. Otherwise they'll leave you and become someone else's fans. And if you disrespect them, they will turn on you. Trust me: You don't want an angry fan!
Now, how do you turn that one fan into hundreds? You treat each fan like they are your only one by following these rules:
1. Tell a story
The first thing you have to do is put yourself in the place of your fans. Why would they want to listen to you or follow you? Because you are interesting. Because you tell the truth. Because you share your life, how you have lived, how you have failed, how you are human... how you are just like them. Because you impart knowledge that can make your fans better as a result of listening to you. Because you'll even share some personal scandalous stories that will make them blush.
Tony Hsieh at Zappos.com is doing a brilliant job of this. He has a great product, people trust his company, and they love listening to him. More than 300,000 fans follow him on Twitter, where he doesn't just speak about shoes but lets us inside his life, his travels, and his business.
2. Find your fans, and let them find you
If you are new to the world of social media, then you're probably wondering where to start. Should I write a blog? Should I have a Facebook page? Should I be on Twitter? Should I post videos on YouTube? The answer is yes to all. But you can't be everywhere... at first. The right mix is to be where your fans are and where you feel most comfortable.
If you are a musician, then you need a MySpace page because that's where bands have profiles. If you are an athlete who has little time to upload photos and write long blogs, then tweet like Shaq does. Are you a brand? Then you need to blog because people want to engage with you. You will also need a Facebook page because your fans are on Facebook -- everyone is. But don't stop there. Find the places where everyone is not, the places where only the few people that really care about you are online. If you are a race car driver, get on Infield Parking (it's like MySpace and Facebook, but only for people that love racing).
Once you are in one place, then you can be in a few others fairly easily. For example, I write a blog. When I write a new post, it sends a tweet to my Twitter followers and syndicates to my Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plaxo pages.
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