Hi Business Owners – Jessica here.
I spoke at the Texas Veteran’s Commission Entrepreneur Seminar in San Antonio this weekend and it was so much fun – despite the drive with a broken A/C in 100-degree Texas heat. I’m so happy that I got the chance to chat with them (even if I was a little stinky and my hair looked awful!)
The talk just happened to take place the day after my most important life event since the birth of my daughter . . . the Guns n’ Roses reunion concert in Houston. I have no better way to explain the importance of this than to take you back 25 years and introduce you to adolescent Jessie.
Jessie (which many of my friends still call me) discovered Guns n’ Roses upon the release of the Use Your Illusion albums. Something about my impending puberty and the song November Rain (and its video) became a fiery match made in heaven. My fandom for Gn’R was only rivaled by friends’ affection for New Kids on the Block.
Back in the day, it took A LOT of work to be a super fan. My free time was spent crawling newsstands for magazines with articles about the band; buying VHS tapes of their videos and concerts from Sam Goody in the mall . . . in the age before Pinterest, I had a physical scrapbook to organize everything I found.
Flash forward 25 years later, and I made almost no effort to get information about the reunion tour. Guns n’ Roses found me – on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter. I never even visited their website. They posted their entire concert schedule on Facebook. From learning about the tour to joining the new fan club, to buying tickets and to planning my trip to Houston – all of it happened via social media.
It got me thinking about how easy it is to be a fan nowadays. Twenty-five years ago, to be a fan meant a large amount of time and dedication. Because of the investment level, we really only became fans of a few things. In this new world of social connectiveness, we’re fans of bands, TV and the real estate agent that sold you your house.
If you ever think, “Who’s going to want to follow my business on social media? I’m so boring.” I say, get your head out of your ass and realize your special, you do great things and it’s time to give your raving fans the opportunity to show their affection for you online. Because in this day and age, not only can they be one of the 30 million fans of the greatest band that ever existed – Guns n’ Roses – but they can also be a fan of your business.
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