The strength of weak ties in fanbase building
The strength of weak ties in fanbase building
Focus on the connections between groups, instead of within groups.
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Let’s dive into today’s topic:
The strength of weak ties in fanbase building
While friends and family are important, acquaintances can be more helpful in building a fanbase.
Why it matters
A fanbase is a group of people. When building a fanbase, it’s important to understand the mechanics of social networks.
How it works
Sociologist Mark Granovetter argued in his 1973 paper The Strength of Weak Ties that people with more weak ties could have a richer network than those with only strong ties.
Strong ties are close friends and family members we interact with regularly and know well. Weak ties are acquaintances we know but not very well. Strong ties are often similar in terms of demographics, values and interests, while weak ties are often non-homogenous.
Granovetter says that weak ties are more influential than close friends in social networks. For example:
Weak ties bridge social groups and might provide access to different social networks.
They are connected to different social networks, so weak ties are sources of novel and diverse information. They provide knowledge beyond the borders of close friendship groups. Networks of strong ties are self-limiting and lead to filter bubbles. Weak ties support critical thinking.
With access to different social networks comes the introduction to people inside these networks. Weak ties might create opportunities that may not be available through strong ties alone.
This half-a-decade-old theory was recently tested with different versions of LinkedIn’s People You May Know algorithm. The researchers (Rajkumar et al, 2022) found that job applications and job transmissions increase when the algorithm shows people with fewer mutual friends - or: weak ties.
When we apply this to fanbase building, we can argue that a fanbase grows through weak ties. Weak ties connect fans to different social networks, which accelerates traction. So instead of building an artist brand inside a niche, it might be better to build a diverse fanbase of people with access to diverse social networks. Focus on the connections between groups, instead of within groups.
Yes, but..
Other research (Hu et al, 2019) shows that word-of-mouth campaigns are most effective when they stimulate word-of-mouth between strong ties, rather than weak ties.
For me, fanbase building is all about niche marketing and nurturing listeners to superfans. But re-reading this classic science paper gives me a refreshing perspective: One does not exclude the other. It’s fine to focus on benchmark demographics to create a homogenous fan community. But it’s better to emphasise brand associations that are easy to align with, to create a diverse fanbase.
Take action now
The theory of weak ties is perfectly applicable to networking. In the music business, who you know, next to what you can do, is still important. Apply this theory to networking by identifying a weak tie that might bridge networks, and come up with a way to access a network that’s currently inaccessible.
Go deeper
Granovetter, M.S. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380. [pdf]
Rajkumar, K., Saint-Jacques, G., Bojinov, I., Brynjolfsson, E., & Aral, S. (2022). A causal test of the strength of weak ties. Science, 377(6612), 1304-1310.
Hu, H. H., Wang, L., Jiang, L., & Yang, W. (2019). Strong ties versus weak ties in word-of-mouth marketing. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 22(4), 245-256.