IKEA Fans: The Real Brand Fans
What will happen if you as a brand don’t create an online social hotspot for your fans? What about a space where your brand fans can gather and you can facilitate them with the latest news about your products? A spot where fans can generate their own ideas or follow the discussions around your brand? IKEA did not seize this opportunity, but their fans fans did!
IKEA fans personalized the IKEA experience and created their own spot online; here you can follow or join the latest discussions about IKEA, its furniture, kitchens etc.
You can see the latest blog posts, stories about IKEA online and they even have the IKEApedia!
Very nicely done and you wonder whether this is a missed opportunity by IKEA. Did they forget about their fans or did IKEA leave it up to its fans to create their own social hotspot? Wouldn’t it have been better to facilitate their fans with all materials available by IKEA?
Another nice example we could find: NikeTalk. The ultimate online sneaker community created by one of Nike’s brand fans. Even Windows has fans who created their own social hotspot prior to the introduction of the new Windows 7.
It’s a social network created on Ning to provide Windows 7 peer-to-peer support and experiences. And not only a brand fan page, but also a Twitter account where you can join up and discuss further.
Initiatives which are great opportunities for brands to turn their brand fans into brand advocates. Just enable them with content, ask their opinion, join the conversations and you will turn fans into ambassadors. And brand advocates are everywhere, amongst your co-workers, your family, your friends and they are 5 times more trusted than your brand, telling them you’re the best!
Sources: IKEAfans, NIKETALK, Windows 7 QnA
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As the founder and administrator of IKEAFANS.com, I can tell you that IKEA did not initiate IKEA Fans – they left it to us to do! Kore About Us. In their defense, it is very difficult for a major brand to launch a ‘fan’ site with integrity.
That said, we’ll take all the materials they care to share with us! We’re always seeking ways in which we can work more closely with the mothership to provide what our members want.
Thanks for the blog post! Very well written, and it’s SO nice to see fan communities get the front page.
Susan Martin
http://www.ikeafans.com
http://www.positivefanatics.com
http://www.theikeaworld.com
Nice Article – I’m a big fan of IKEAFANS!!!
It’s amazing to see what brand fans are willing to do, in order to express their support to a brand as Ikea or Nike!
Thank you. Hopefully more brands will enable their fans in the near future!