Fan Engagement Done Right
Pictured: Baby Queen’s ‘Online Dating’ Music Video. Credit: YouTube
We’re often discussing the importance of audience engagement here at The Habit Weekly, so this week we decided to take a look at some of the artists doing it best.
Baby Queen’s Baby Kingdom
Blurring the line between user generated content and fan engagement, UK artist Baby Queen, with the help of BWTV, was able to paint a picture of online dating, insecurities and apathy with her ‘Online Dating’ music video - pretty fitting for a November 2020 release.
In the lead up to the release of 'Online Dating’, Baby Queen invited her fans to participate in her Instagram Live and asked fans to share their dating profiles and best pick up lines via social media. The result was the ‘Baby Kingdom’, a visualiser that incorporates content from fans and Baby Queen herself.
Bugs’ Neighbourhood
The loyal following that backs Australia's Bugs are more like a community than a fan base. The band fosters this community with authentic and effective audience connection. On Facebook, the Bugs fan community are brought together on Bugs Neighbourhood Posting, where the band regularly posts to keep members up to date about all their latest news, from new releases, to gig announcements, and merch giveaways.
Their regular live streamed performances on Instagram have become fan favourites too - making their live performances accessible to users, regardless of where they are.
To promote their latest release, ‘Decisions, Commitments and Plans’, Bugs offered an impressive merch giveaway to fans who tagged their friends and pre-saved the upcoming release. Unsurprisingly, the competition was met with tonnes of excitement from Bugs fans, who helped build some significant buzz prior to the release.
Yungblud’s TikTok Competition
Yungblud’s efforts on TikTok have caught our attention on quite a few occasions. Earlier this year, the UK artist invited fans to submit their freestyles over an instrumental version of his hit song ‘Parents’. His favourite submission from Chloe Noone was selected. As the winner, Chloe earned a call from Yungblud himself, and was even invited to record a new version of ‘Parents’ with him.
Even when he’s not recording with fans and fellow TikTok users, Yungblud has remained impressively well connected with his audience on the platform. In the lead up to his new single ‘fleabag’, he facetimed a selection of fans who used the song’s official audio, dueted his TikTok, or used the #imjustafleabag, and was met with some pretty thrilled responses. Who said millennials don’t like phone calls?
From Instagram live, Facebook groups and TikTok duets, artists have plenty of opportunities for fan engagement at their fingertips. What’s really important is how they utilise these tools. It’s easy to get swept up in the importance of radio play and playlist ads, but we can only control those things to a certain extent. One thing you can control is how you build and maintain relationships with your audience.
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