[ SECRET POST #4995 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4995 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 19 secrets from Secret Submission Post #715.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

It's absolutely a marketing tool, just not the type of tool you're thinking. Things like fanart and fanfiction help whip up a frenzied fandom, which keeps them talking about the media for FAR long than they otherwise would. Places like Tumblr (but not *just* Tumblr) keep certain fandoms alive on a cult level, because people have others to bounce their thoughts off of. Without that community, the inspiration fizzles out. The interest fizzles out. The media fades from memory.

You don't need that shit for Marvel stuff, because its popular enough that you can have water cooler talks at work about it. But for smaller fandoms (so definitely books), fanworks help keep the story alive and in the minds of the audience.

Just staying on-mind, remembered, is a HUGE challenge for every form of media. Even TV is starting to feel that pinch with the endless flow of competition between various streaming services. You want to be as present in the minds of your audience as you possibly can be.

The benefit of having a fandom that's still talking about you and still thinking about you is you have a ready-made audience for a sequel, follow up book, or next season. You don't have to reacquaint or reinvest them in the series. They're still there. It takes away a good portion of the challenge.

And really, if you look around at how much fandom and nerd culture has grown, you can see that shit at play. Companies are very aggressively trying to turn you into a fan that doesn't stop engaging with their material. They want you to be so in it that it becomes part of your identity. Write the fic, draw the art, buy the funco pops, wear the shirt, get the bumper sticker, buy the comics, go to the movie, tell other people you LOVE THIS THING.

So yeah, it's definitely marketing.

--- This TED talk brought to you by a marketer.