How to Build True Fans with Video

If you abide by the 1,000 True fans theory, I’ll show you how you can tailor your video strategy to build a super targeted and highly engaged audience.

But first… why only 1,000 fans? Why not go big and go after the world?

To understand the power of 1,000 fans, let’s review the theory behind the 1,000 True Fans. 

What is a True Fan?

For a business, a “True Fan” is a customer who buy everything you offer and like every post you make on social media. They are your brand groupies.

A great example of this are the Apple die-hards. You’ve probably seen them like this whenever a new version of an iPhone is released:

There are people out there who will buy whatever Apple releases, even if it costs them $1,000 just to get a computer stand!

Based on the 1,000 True Fans Theory, you only 1,000 “brand groupies” willing to shell out for your products.

Let’s say there are 1,000 Apple true fans in the picture above and they are all lining up to buy that $1,000 computer stand. Let’s do a quick math:

1,000 True Fans times $1,000 (per computer stand) equals $1,000,000 of profit… from that one store!

Now multiply that by the number of Apple stores in the world… Now add the fact Apple products can be bought online… Now exponentially consider Apple has many, many products to offer its true fans..

Finally, how many Apple True Fans do you know? You know… those people who will line up in freezing winter in front of a store just to buy their stuff….

And there are many (more than 1,000 in number) Apple true fans out there. This zealous fanbase is why Apple is worth billions and billions of dollars. 

What does this mean for you as a business owner?

Now imagine you can build zealous fan base around your brand and build just a fraction of what Apple has built.

Let’s start with a round number of 1,000 true fans.

If you charge $100 for your product, that means your business will at a minimum earn $100,000 in gross profit for one product.

Add in more products into the mix and your profit grows even more as true fans will buy everything you have to offer.

But the buck doesn’t stop there…

In today’s digital world, most people have a social media profile. In fact, they might have four or five of them.

Do you know what else true fans do?

They sing to the heavens in praise for your brand. In other words —

True fans provide free marketing for your brand

They will go on Facebook and tell everyone about your products.

They will go on Instagram and post pictures about your product.

They will make review videos on YouTube.

Let’s simplify this so you understand the magnitude of this with just 1,000 fans. Take a look at Facebook.

According to PewResearch, the average adult Facebook user has 384 followers. Since everybody is on Facebook (including your 1,000 fans), this means (1,000 times 384) you have access to an audience of 384,000!

Let’s say you make a video on Facebook. Then your 1,000 true fans share that video to their followers, that means you’re video will have an instant reach of 384,000 on Facebook!

What’s more since it’s shared by a true fan, each video will have 1,000 likes and many, many comments from engaged fans.

Can’t stand the haters?

Your true fans will downvote those hateful comments and defend you like it was a modern day Holy Crusade.

Finally, that’s just Facebook… almost everybody has multiple social media profiles. They could be on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Let’s say each of your true fans have an average of 100 followers on each platform… 

That’s a reach of 100,000 per platform!

That’s the power of the 1,000 True Fans theory.

The reason why it works so well is because the world is so interconnected via social media. The only trick is what asset can you produce that resonates with people? 

What’s an asset that is easily shareable on social media and statistically proven to garner engagement?

👉👉👉 This is the power of video.

You’ve likely heard this many, many times from me… but just a friendly reminder:

Video Engagement Statistics 

All these video statistics (and many more) can be found on Wordstream:

• 85% of the US internet audience watches videos online.
• 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.
• Social video generates 12 times more shares than text and images combined.
• 46% of users act after viewing an ad.
• Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.

When the printing press was invented in 1440, I’m sure text only marketing was all the rage. In fact, savvy content marketing from Luther created a brand new religion made up of millions and millions of followers.

But this is the 21st century!

👑👑👑 VIDEO IS KING. 👑👑👑

Now, that we are all on the same page… you’re probably asking yourself.

How do I actually use video to build a community of 1,000 true fans?

Tips to build a community of 1,000 true fans with video

What do Jesus of Nazareth, Steve Jobs and Adolf Hitler all have in common?

They are all leaders of a moment:

• Jesus led a religious movement that created Christianity.
• Steve Jobs fostered a community of die hard Apple consumers.
• Adolf Hitler led the Nazi regime that caused a major world war.

Let’s face it – starting up a new religion, building up a billion dollar company or starting a Fascist movement is a LOT OF WORK.

Most people will not magically create a moment. If it was that easy, we’d all own billion dollar companies and have religions named after ourselves.

To build a community of die hard followers, you start with the leader. If most people are just sheep milling about, they need a shepherd to lead them to the promised land of goodness.

So in order to use video to spread your message, you need to refine how the world perceives you on video. 

You need to create a video persona that will resonate with your targeted followers. 

And they don’t just follow any shepherd. It has to be someone who has the traits and the right messaging. Let’s take a look at the 3 examples I gave.

Leading like Jesus

Jesus’ took the role of a prophetic leader. He scared people with divine repercussions if they did not repent and heed the words of God.

He showed them that there is path to righteousness.

He has walked the path of righteousness and he can teach you the way.

Now, back in his times, most people lived in really poor conditions. People could die by stepping on a stone and getting tetanus. And the bubonic plague was a continent killer.

So when someone comes along who has a message that things could be better and things will be better… it’s something people can appreciate.

So as a business owner you can take the role of a prophetic leader. You understand the pain points in your industry, but as a successful leader and entrepreneur, you have overcome these obstacles.

You’re ready to teach the world how to do the same.

This is the approach of many financial gurus in the Internet. They promise their followers a system (often a gimmick) like real estate, bitcoin or affiliate marketing that will completely revolutionize their finances.

It’s a system that will get people off minimum wage.

So the financial guru plays the role of prophetic leader who has seen the light and will offer you the path to financial freedom.

Now you don’t have to be a snake oil salesperson like most of these financial gurus.

But their strategy works. They understand people follow leaders who have the right messaging.

So to be a prophetic leader, figure out what they’re trying to achieve and the pain points preventing them from achieving those goals.  Then be that guiding light that will help them overcome their obstacles. 

Leading like Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was a master of product — product development and product promotion.

He pioneered the development of cool products like the Macintosh computer, the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone. He then used splashy advertising to make you want these products.

He understood people’s desire to want innovative things and to be one of the first people to try out these cool new inventions.

And that’s exactly the type of people who line up in front of store to buy every new iteration of the iPhone. They love innovative products and they want to be the first to try them out.

Jobs and eventually his successors in Apple continue use press and the media to announce the “the next big thing” from Apple.

People get excited (especially his true fan base). Then people line up in front of store and buy stuff.

If you want to lead like Jobs, then be very good at product — everything from product development and product promotion. 

Video lends itself well to these types of innovative leaders because it has the power to reach so many people. 

Leading like Adolf Hitler

It’s unfathomable that people could buy into his message. He was all about hate, hate and more… hate. How can anyone follow him?

Hitler was all about charisma and theatrics.

He literally held public rallies and speeches. Fortunately for him, that’s his core strength. He was a skilled public orator and performer.

Just go on YouTube and watch his public rallies. Despite his hateful messaging, he was able to lead a nation with pure charisma alone.

If you’re a person who has charisma, you have a signifant advantage. Charisma can come in the form of comedy (like a good actor or actress) or you can be inspirational (like Hitler but with a less hateful message).

When you make videos, let your charismatic character come out and you’ll find your following.

See a pattern?

Every historical leader or public person has used a public persona to lead a community and build a massive true fan base.

But you don’t need a million followers to start. As I said, all you need is to find a niche within your industry that can potentially give you 1,000 true fans.

Find a historical figure. Emulate how they did it. Then make videos targeting that niche to build your 1,000 true fan base.

Create a Brand Identity

If you’ve been alive (and versed in popular culture), then you must have heard of Justin Bieber.

He was extremely popular with teens in the 2000s. He was so popular that his die hard (true fan base) followers started calling themselves the Beliebers.

If you’ve ever attacked Justin Bieber on Instagram, you would have instantly felt the wrath of the Beliebers in the form of downvotes and message spamming on your profiles.

What helped Bieber’s popularity is he created (or his true fans) a way to identify themselves.

This is key for any community. There has to be a common bond or theme that unites your most zealous fans.

So once you’ve established your video persona, create a way for your followers to identify themselves. One way is to create a name for your community of true fans.

Here are examples of die hard communities:

• Beliebers (Justin Bebier)
• Cheeseheads (Green Bay Packers)
• Deadheads (Grateful Dead)

Create branded merchandise with its own logo and wear them in your videos.

Address your audience by their community names.

Create a Facebook group named after your community.

Speaking of Facebook groups…

Create a place dedicated to your community

Now that you’ve got your video persona and your community identity, it’s time to find a place where you can all engage and share those videos!

One of the best places is via a Facebook group. Everybody is on Facebook so it makes sense. But it can work on LinkedIn. It can work on YouTube.

The point is… you need a focal point where you can share your videos and engage.

Ideally, it’s also a platform where your followers have many followers themselves. So when they like or share your videos, they will instantly distribute it to their 500 or 5000 followers.

You’ve seen the math about how fast this can spread so you know the power of engagement on social media with just 1,000 die hard fans.

Final Word

Most business owners make a mistake of trying to make videos for an audience of 1 million. What ends up happening is you create very generic videos that do not resonate with anyone.

Instead focus on a specific niche within your industry:

• Who are they
• What do they believe in
• What’s holding them back

Answer these questions and you’ll start building your own base of die hard, true fans.

The only question you won’t need to answer is how.

In today’s digital world, the best way to reach people is with video. People love video content. People engage with video content. People share videos.

Create the right kind of videos (or hire professionals) and they will come.