Posted on by Frank - Follow me on Twitter

2086641 23234fb0f8 Has The Phrase Thank You Lost Value To Consumers Or Fans?

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Did you watch the Teen choice awards this past weekend?  I know, crazy way to start off a post, right?

I can’t believe I was watching it, if nothing more than to satisfy my crush on Selena Gomez.  Anyway, have you noticed that celebrities or even businesses for that matter always have the same cliché “thank you” message to their fans or consumers?

It started to make me think…do consumers of fans actually feel value from a “thank you for your support” message. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t get more generic than that and we’ve heard this for so long from so many people and companies.

I know you’re probably thinking, “Frank, what do you want them to say?”  Well, I want some originality! Spice things up.

 

There Are Better Ways To Show Appreciation To Your Following

First let me start off and say, I believe celebrities and major brands understand that they would not be where they are if it wasn’t for their fans or consumers.  They help them grow, that’s a given.

However, I don’t want to hear another thank you speech.  It’s becoming nauseating to be honest.  Do I really get the feeling that you care about the fans that voted for you at the Teen Choice Awards?  Not really because the way you show your appreciation is too dull.

People like emotion and feeling a connection with those they support, right?  Well how about we see more of that. Those in the position of constant recognition can start to feel the “WOW” feeling go away and start to expect to be acknowledged.

So, how can the “thank you” phrase be restored?

 

Is More Engagement On Social Media The Answer?

No.  That’s not the answer.  Social Media is great and you all know how much I love it and believe in connecting with people, but it’s not going to restore the “thank you” message from brands or celebrities.

I talked a little earlier about connecting through emotion and feeling.

Melina Perez, who is a former professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment was recently let go by the company.  A decision that fans didn’t like at all and couldn’t understand why.

I know many of you probably don’t care about wrestling, but this is a good case study example to prove my point about connecting on a higher level to where that “THANK YOU” actually means something.

Now, Melina has been active on social media engaging with fans on Twitter, posting YouTube videos, and podcasts on her blog.  Her fans care for her and she makes it a point to show her appreciation back.  Here’s a message to the fans after she was released.  It’s not generic at all.  It’s heart felt and you can tell the support from her fans means the world to her.

 

When Do Fans/Followers Feel That Connection?

I sure hope you listened to the podcast from Melina, even if you don’t like wrestling.

If that wasn’t meaningful or a true love for the people in her life, I don’t know what is. Problem is, not enough brands or celebrities have this type of emotion behind their “thank you’s.”

I’m not saying every brand or celebrity needs to get choked up, but what I am saying is they need to make it more personable with their following. You as a fan/supporter want to feel that you really are appreciated and Melina does a great job of that. (She even sent me a direct message on Twitter before!)

This all goes beyond Twitter, Facebook, or any other social network.  This is saying “thank you” and meaning it. Not just, “I got this award, I’m thanking you because I have to.”  Show me why you’re thankful!

 

There’s Not Enough Time To Thank Everyone

That’s a load of horse crap.  Gary Vaynerchuk always replies to his fans on Twitter, does live streams, talks to people for hours after giving a talk.  That’s saying “thank you” without even needing to say it.  That’s going the extra mile.

If one person can do it, and Gary has a lot on his plate, than anyone can do it.  It’s just whether or not you are ACTUALLY thankful for those people who care about you.

There are so many outlets online to make that feeling of appreciation known.  If you don’t like writing, there’s audio and video, and vice versa.  I don’t need to go into detail there because it should be known, but again, the problem is many people take it all for granted.

 

What Have You Seen Recently Where An Actual ‘Thank You” Went A Long Way?

Bottom line is…celebrities and brands need to step up their game.  I gave you an example of both a brand and celebrity in this post.  Yes, Gary Vaynerchuk is a brand in itself.  Melina is too, however, she’s more of a celebrity.

Regardless, they are the types of people that even if they lost everything, they would still show their appreciation to their following.  Melina lost her job, she didn’t ditch the fans which she easily could have.  When Gary has someone who doesn’t like his style, he reaches out to the to see what he could do better.  That’s saying thank you!

What have you noticed brands or celebrities do online that impressed you? Leave a comment.

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Posted in Customer Engagement | Comments (24)

  • http://realmelina.com Shirlz

    Seriously great article. I had to show Melina this after I saw that you linked to RM.Com.

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      I’m really glad you liked the article. I sure hope Melina enjoys it. I meant what I said too. She’s one of the few celebrities out there that truly means it when she thanks her fans!

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  • ComicalGirl8566

    Great article and very true! I know of a certain male wrestler who visited his AOL message board when he was out with back surgery had his own website message board for a bit. Became close with a lot of his fans as Melina has on twitter etc….. They stood by him through thick and thin. He came back…. it is like none of them exist now.

    Melina has never forgotten her fans young or old. That is one thing I admire and respect about her.

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      It’s a shame that not every celebrity or anyone with a fan base doesn’t adopt how she engages on a daily basis. As you mentioned, you knew of someone who interacted when wrestling wasn’t there for them at the time, but upon return, it all stopped. That’s wrong approach I always talk about.

      Melina always says, “I will never change.” She never has and consistently is there for her fans and is a great person. I’ve had the chance to receive some very kind words from her personally.

  • http://twitter.com/Book4MyDaughter Erin Rehill-Seker

    This is a very thoughtful post on what it means to be a celebrity. To think that so many people are only in the spotlight because of the people who bought their music, paid to see their films, talked about them in social media—I’ve never spent too much time thinking about it. On a MUCH smaller scale, it is what we do by having blogs. We put ourselves out there, we want people to read what we have to say, we want them to like us, to follow us, to “share” us. How do we say “Thank You”? I think you wrote about this in a previous post—we read, we comment, we tweet, we share. I think celebrities can do the same! Thanks for getting me to think!

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      I’m always glad to get people thinking, Erin! I think using blogs as a comparable example is a great way to have us think of ways that we can be appreciative of our readers, followers, etc.

      I did write a post similar to this one which was titled, “How Caring Leads To A Positive Relationship.” That post was more of an emphasis on how someone gave me feedback and how I went about showing my appreciation. This one as you mentioned in your comment was to stress how a celebrity or major brand throws around the words “thank you” without actually meaning it. You actually had me thinking with your comparison to us blogging as a smaller scale example!

  • http://www.central-e-commerce.com/ Gabriella

    Good point. The ‘thank you’ message has now become quite generic and in all honest truth, once really can question if it is a sincere one. I find it funny that people question when this is asked, but if you sit down and look….not many celebrities do engage and show appreciation. I think Kimora Lee Simmons and Loren Ridinger are quite good in engaging fans and being thankful in more ways other than actually thanking them.

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      I will have to check into Kimora and Loren, Gabriella. I haven’t heard of them before, but it’s great to see that there are other people who do know how to sincerely thank people without just saying it. I’d go as far as saying that the “thank you” message has become as generic as asking someone, “how are you?” We all say these phrases out of common courtesy, but not many people mean it. Those that are being genuine it shines through!

  • http://pepperscraps.com Pepper

    I actually wrote about the lost thank you just a few days ago. I don’t think this is something even lost in social media, but something that is disappearing from our society. We are too busy to write thank you notes that used to be a social requirement. 

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      Great point, Pepper. Our society has come to expect “good things” to happen to them and when it does, many forget to take a step back and appreciate it rather than taking it for granted.

      I’ll never forget when people use to write thank you notes to people for money given to them for graduating college, baby shower’s, or any big event in someone’s life. Some still do it, but most have turned the other cheek.

  • Singlelife2marriedwife

    I will take a “Thank you” After holding the door for someone, or offering to help with someone who has a baby. Most of the time it seems like a chore! #commenthour

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      We have been conditioned to thank people for almost everything it seems like nowadays that people can see it as a chore, which diminishes its meaning. I wonder how we can get that “chore” mindset out of the “big timers” and even the “little guys” out there?

  • http://twitter.com/juliejordanscot Julie Jordan Scott

    I saw Taylor Swift in concert last night. There is a celebrity who says THANK YOU and I truly, absolutely believe it.

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      Did you enjoy the concert?

      I think young celebrities have more of an appreciation for their following because they remember where they come from. The older celebrities have been soaking in the fame, that they tend to forget being average. Hopefully the young celebrities, like Taylor, can carry on that type of sincere legacy.

  • http://inspirucoocoo.blogspot.com/ Sheedia – InspirU CoocCoo

    I really admire the Kardashians for their connection with their fans and constant thank you’s for everything. They are really a brand and make sure the maintain it by connecting with everyone.

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      The Kardashians are without a doubt a big name brand. Besides hearing them say thank you, what are some ways you have felt they have went above and beyond?

  • Anonymous

    Nice work pointing this out, Frank. I don’t tend to follow celebrities on twitter, however I find that it’s the exception rather than the rule lately when someone thanks me for retweeting something of theirs. Social media is about building relationships in increments; saying ‘thank you’ (in a sincere fashion) is one of the steps to creating goodwill with your audience.

    My blog is new and I received my first comment a few days ago: it was such a great comment that I pointed it out and thanked the commenter on the Facebook page for the blog, so that everybody could see. Giving individual fans a boost every now and then gives everybody a boost, in my view.

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      Congrats on receiving your first comment on your blog. It definitely is a great feeling when someone contributes to a post you’ve written. It shows they care about what you said. The fact that you took the time out to show your appreciation to that reader is what more people have to start doing. Those that are sincere will be the one’s with the healthy relationships.

  • Anonymous

    I agree with Pepper–what we are seeing in the celebrities is simply a cultural lack of gratitude.  We have become such a society of instant gratification that we forget to be grateful for what we have/get (Note that all those words come from the same root word: grateful).

    Thank you for the reminder to express my gratitude to my readers!

    • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

      I liked what Pepper had to say as well. I’m glad as I was able to remind everyone the true meaning of being thankful. It’s funny though…with a society expecting instant gratification, will everyone finally realize that a sincere ‘thank you’ goes a long way?

    • http://www.countingtheyears.com/ Lizzie

      I completely agree with this – we seem to have forgotten what to be grateful for these days because we deserve everything, or at least some celebs believe they do.

      Great post, Frank :)

      • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

        Thank you, Lizzie! Celebs and even the average “joe” all need to take a step back, realize what you do have, and show true appreciation. There’s nothing I think that aggravates people more than when they feel they are taken for granted!

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