Written by: Katherine Penman
Fan Engagement is an extremely important aspect of being an artist, and sometimes it can be difficult to think of fun ways to interact with your audience. With the Band has put together a list of fun fan engagement ideas to get you started! Our list gives a wide range of engagement that can be done from home with little planning or big events to celebrate your fans!
1. Fan Cafes
Fan cafes are great events for fans to get together, drink coffee, and most importantly get freebies. Fan cafes are perfect for celebrating the release of new music or a birthday. Fans can go and collect cup sleeves, photos, bracelets, pins - there are so many giveaway options that all fans would love to receive!
2. Artist Nights (Taylor Swift Night, 1D vs. 5sos, etc.)
Artist nights at venues give fans an experience they can’t get anywhere else. It’s like going to a club that only plays your favorite artist all night! Fans can dress up as their favorite eras and dance with other fans!
3. Charity Events
A great way to get fans together or get together with your fans is a charity event. Whether you're raising money, planting trees, or even hosting a dance marathon, it’s a fun way to get together and encourage your fans in community while also making a change.
4. Special Concerts
Intimate concerts, similar to Emblem3’s Fireside Concerts, are a great way to interact with fans. Having limited access allows for a special experience and allows the concert to feel more personal. Smaller concerts allow for more Q&A sessions, meet and greets, and overall more fan interaction during the show!
5. Sharing Fan Covers
Sharing a video a fan posts of them singing your song is a great way to support a fan and show them you’re interested in what your fans are doing and always looking to support them just like they support you!
6. Official Fan Clubs
An official fan club is a place where you can post exclusive content like sneak peaks to new songs, behind the scenes pics or videos, and text posts. It’s a way to speak directly to fan club members and can make your fans feel like they’re getting inside information.
7. Weekly Newsletters
This is a great way for fans to keep up with what you're doing! It allows you to talk directly to a large number of your fans and update them on what’s going on! It’s also accessible to many fans since it is typically free!
8. Share Photos of Fans
Showing your appreciation when your fans buy, wear, and post themselves wearing your merch is important. This is also a great way to get more fans to post pictures in your merch because they know you might see and repost their photo!
9. Instagram Story Q&A’s
Instagrams Q&A feature is easy to use and fun for the fans. You can choose which ones you want to answer and answer in a video or a picture with text. These are quick and easy Q&A’s that can be done unannounced and from wherever you are!
10. Live Streams
Live stream events, similar to the 1D Day Live Stream, is a great way to interact with fans and give fans a ton of cool content!
11. Concert Engagement/Surprises
Surprises like giving floor tickets to someone in the back or someone who didn’t get tickets, surprise meet & greets, and merch giveaways before the concert starts is a great way to engage with a fan and create an amazing experience for them!
12. Thanking Fans who Camp Out
Whether it's a concert or talk show, sending fans coffee, water, hot chocolate, or snacks can raise morale and show your fans you appreciate their dedication.
13. Giveaways
Giveaways are another type of fan engagement that can be done from home! Hosting a giveaway on your Instagram is a fun way to engage with your fans and a way to give a special gift to a few of them! Giveaways can range from shirts, albums, meet & greets, concert tickets, and signed items!
14. Discord Channel
Discord is a great platform for creating a space where fans can interact and where you can interact with fans! You can create an open channel or even have a closed one that’s only available for fan club members! On Discord you can assign roles, text chat, voice chat, and video chat!
15. Video Diaries
Vlogging can be a really cool way to interact with your fans! You can bring them along on tour, to the studio, or even just on regular days! This can give the fans a chance to see a side of you they normally wouldn’t and can make them feel closer to you!
These are some of our top recommendations on how to further engage your fans! Fans are creative and passionate, just like their favorite artists, and playing to that will help to further a fandom in both size and strength!
If you want to get more involved in fan communities,
join a Fan Crew on the With the Band app!