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This article was written by Corie Kellman (@coralman808), Director of New Artist Relations for Cyber PR®

For the last two months, I’ve been outlining my most recent top 5 unforgettable experiences as a fan in hopes that some of these winning concepts being tried out by artists at every level can be applied to your marketing strategy.

This month continues the series with 5 more experiences that I felt were truly unforgettable, but this month I want to focus our energy on turning this into a discussion.

Please leave us your experiences, ideas and feedback in the form of a comment below so that the entire community can benefit!
Here are my top 5 unforgettable fan experiences this month. What are yours?

1. During Your Live Show, Make the Connection to Your Real Fans

If you guys follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you have no doubts that I am secure and comfortable about being a fan of Taylor Swift.

Corie Kellman - Taylor Swift
Naturally, I had to check out one of her three sold out shows last week at Bridgestone Arena. At most large arena shows it’s very difficult to make fans feel special or connect on a personal level, as there are tens of thousands of faces hidden and the performer generally can’t see past the bright spotlights on the stage more than the first few rows.

Within the first three minutes of the show, Taylor passed her hat off to a fan in the general admission pit after her first song completed. As she coasted up and down from stage to stage, she gave fans high-fives and tossed out guitar picks. It was a great attempt to make a large show feel a little more intimate.

2. Make Your Success a Success for Your Fans As Well

Image Credit: MusicRow.com

Image Credit: MusicRow.com

Last month, Country star, Jake Owen announced a free block party show via Twitter to his fans to celebrate his number one single. These number one parties are a bit of a tradition here in the Nashville country scene; driving up and down music row you will see banners celebrating singer-songwriter accolades. Different to those typically seen here in town, Owen wanted to share the success with his fans, not just his industry team. 20,000 fans gathered in front of BMI for the free show and this party went down in history as the largest number one party Nashville has ever seen.

3. Empower Your Fans to Share Online and Off

Leaving Nashville Sunday night last month, a friend and I visited the merch table a week leading up to the Wild Feathers official album release, where they had CDs available for their fans early. I prefer to purchase vinyl and stream digitally, and since the album wouldn’t be available on vinyl for another week, I left the event with just a poster. My friend, however, LOVES CDs. . . seriously LOVES THEM. As she sat in her car and opened the album to pop into her CD player, she called me stressing not to pull out yet. When she opened the CD, there were two, one “to keep” and one “to share”.

The idea was GENIUS! She came to the show on my recommendation and now she could share with a friend. It is a small offering from the band AND works out in their favor if when it lands in a potential new fan’s hand.

4. Make Sure Your Fans Know Just How Important They Are To You

Cory Chisel has a very charming and engaging stage presence– he’s the type of guy that is everyone’s best friend. In between songs at his most recent Nashville headliner for the Wild Rovers tour, Cory stops what he is doing and calls attention to the very excited woman who clearly wore her dancing shoes for a reason that night, saying into the microphone, “Some people come to your show that give a F***ing S*** and this is that girl…” He then looks her way and says to her, “…means more to me than it does to you.” He later instructs the bar to prepare a round of shots for the group of fans in the front.

5. Don’t Let Anything Stand In Your Way of Connecting Directly to Your Core Fans

I get the Hypebot newsletter, and they are an excellent source of information when it comes to the new music business. They post new content every day and even though I open most every email I get from them, it’s hard to keep up with all the posts; however one about an artist named Ryan Leslie caught my eye and I found particularly interesting.

Image Credit: Ryan Leslie

Image Credit: Ryan Leslie

He has built his brand around being directly connected with his fan base with a large belief that staying connected with his core fans is more important than many other marketing techniques. Read about his story on Hypebot!

What unforgettable experiences have you had as a fan?

Share your stories and experiences with us in the form of a comment below!

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