Let go, and your fans will embrace
If you let go as a content king, your fans will embrace you. Your content will rise to the top of your fanbase and you’ll fall off the radar to everyone who doesn’t care for you. This is good.
Lets look at the Dave Matthews Band as an example. DMB employs a non-traditional taping policy for thier concerts which, since day 1 of the band, has allowed anyone to record (audio only) their live performances and to trade them with each other, as long as there was no money exchanging hands. For the hardcore DMB fans, this is a blessing. There are only about a half dozen or so tapers per concert and they provide the content that gets distributed to thousands of other hardcore fans. P2P and content distribution networks thrive off of bands like DMB.
To get away from the music analogy, lets try and look at it from a marketing point of view. The more a brand speaks to it’s consumer, the more involved they become in a conversation. Can a brand force themselves into a conversation? No. Have they tried? You bet. The Super Bowl is as much an accepted advertising showcase as it is a worldclass sporting event. Depending on the year, the ads may be better than the game. Over time, fans and the mainstream who watch the Super Bowl are part of the conversation with the ads that debut during the game. Look at the whole ecosystem that has evolved around this.
Nike. The Air Force 1. This shoe is honestly nothing special at all. I promise. It’s not made better than Adidas or Puma. However, Nike has found a way to join the conversation with the underground sneaker scene and essentially provides a white canvas for amazing artists from all over the world to work with. Have you seen the amazing artwork on some of the Air Force 1 and other Nike shoes? There is an entire online community about this.
Fans are your strongest advocates. No matter what, fans speak louder than everyone else. There may be times when you think your company/brand may be going under because of some heavy criticism by Oprah, but if you embrace your fanbase and talk with them in their conversation, you can generally get through everything. If they don’t let you into their conversation, and they don’t want to join your conversation, it’s time to move on.
There are more lovers than haters in this world. Let go of your brand to your biggest fans, embrace them, and then allow them to run with it. You’d be shocked with what they come up with.