Most of us are fans of a band, football team, clothing brand, restaurant – maybe even a cartoon we used to watch as a kid. But have you ever wondered what it’s like being on the other side of fandom?
We have. So we asked television and podcast host Tim Lovejoy, and Chetna Makan, chef, author, and Great British Bake Off 2014 semi-finalist, about their experiences growing and nurturing a fanbase.
And then there were fans
“I was in a Tesco supermarket one day when someone just came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you’re that bloke from TV, aren’t you?’” So begins Tim’s memory of the moment he realised he had fans, soon after he appeared on TV, 22 years ago.
“I started getting noticed at the end of the autograph era. We’re at the selfie era now,” says Tim. And Chetna can relate. When asked about the main difference between interacting with her fans online, versus in the ‘real world’, Chetna doesn’t hesitate: “Oh, the selfie. Everyone always seems to want a selfie, I don’t think I’ve ever signed an autograph.”
Having joined social media at around the same time she went on the Bake Off, in 2014, Chetna attracted and cultivated her entire fan base online. “I started gaining followers organically throughout the 10 weeks of the show and have continued ever since, which brings me great joy,” she says. “Interacting with my fans online gives me energy to keep going. If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing right now.”
Fans: the ultimate influencers?
Being on Bake Off gave Chetna the confidence to leap to full time “creative baker and passionate cook.” The online support she attracted after the show was proof that her passion for cooking with flavours from her home country, India, could become more than a hobby. So when asked if her fans influence her work, Chetna replies with a straight ‘yes’. “ I definitely take my fans’ advice and suggestions on board. And if I didn’t have fans watching my work, trying my recipes, I don’t think I would even be motivated to come up with more,” she says.
While Chetna’s entire career move has been supported by online fandom, Tim’s path as a content creator began before fans were expressing their feelings and thoughts on social media – a trend which, according to Tim, inevitably impacts all content being produced today. “Even yours?” we ask. “100%,” he answers. “Because it’s human nature to want to be liked.”
According to Tim, the age of social media has led to more producers creating their content based on what people online will like. This becomes a problem when it hinders content creators from making what they genuinely want to, just because their audience might like it.
“When social media came along, it brought one negative aspect of fandom to my attention: being constantly watched comes with great pressure to stay on a track your fans expect you to follow. But the thing is, you need to have faith in your own content. Not everyone will always like it. But then again, nobody knew they wanted Jimi Hendrix until he came along,” says Tim.
“You need to have faith in your own content. Not everyone will always like it. But then again, nobody knew they wanted Jimi Hendrix until he came along”
Fans are friends
“So how would you describe your fans, Tim?” we ask. “Very good looking and intellectual,” he chuckles. (We then promise to share this bit of information with his fans on Twitter, before pressuring him a little further.) “Well, it’s a tricky question,” he says. “I can’t really describe them, but here’s something cool about fandom in my experience: some of the people who’ve followed my career for almost 22 years think of me as a friend. Sometimes they’ll approach me on the street like, ‘Hi, Tim!’ and forget that I might not recognise them in return. It’s such a flattering and enjoyable thing for me to know there are people who feel that close to me, all because they like my content.”
Like Tim, Chetna has to think about this question and eventually finds the word “friends” to describe her fans, particularly because of the connection she feels with them offline: “A few months ago, I went to New York and organised a meetup for people who are always engaging with me on Instagram and YouTube. It was so lovely to hear from them in person, and they were so genuine telling me about how they cooked my recipes for their families, that I felt like I was meeting with friends.”
Chetna also describes her fans as “engaged”. “They constantly respond to what I write, try my recipes, give me feedback, share pictures of their cooking with me, let me know if their families enjoyed it… And it’s very satisfying to get a response like that, because I put a lot of work into what I do,” she says.
After talking with Tim and Chetna, it turns out fandom doesn’t look too different from the side of content creators as it does from their fans. Both are populated with people that have a very human need to be understood and supported. Which means that content creators who deeply understand their online communities stand a better chance at converting their audiences into fans (and, it seems, even into friends).
But understanding fans is one thing. Coming up with creative content that shows that you understand and appreciate them, is quite another. Curious to learn more? Community management is one of our specialties. Get in touch with a distiller.