EP77 Fanocracy: Turning fans into customers with David Meerman Scott

SUMMARY:

Today, Steve Burnett and David Meerman Scott sit down to discuss fandom culture and how any business can grow by cultivating a devoted and loyal group around fandom culture.

David shares that showing your passions to your existing and potential customers is the key to creating a genuine human connection. In this way, you gain positive brand recall that makes you stand out from the crowd. He also shares 3 actionable tips that you can apply to your own painting business today.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

3 Strategies to Implement in Your Business Today to Build Fanocracy
How Fanocracy Builds a True Human Connection and Why
How One Contractor Built a $20 Million Business Utilizing Fanocracy

LISTEN HERE:

QUOTES:

07:12 “Building fans is all about a true human connection. We spoke with neuroscientists to find out what’s going on in our brains when we become a fan of something and it turns out all of us are hardwired in our DNA, in our ancient brains, to want to be part of a tribe of people, to be part of a group of people because that’s when we feel safe.”

08:16 “Passion is infectious-even if you don’t share the same passion.

09:05 “Here’s what this means for painting contractors is, the more you can share what you love with your existing and your potential customers, the more they have an opportunity to bond with you as a human being, not just as a painter.”

13:21 “The lesson here, I think, for painting contractors is… it doesn’t have to be skateboarding obviously, it should be whatever you’re passionate about. But show what you do in your off time. Show what you do in your life. Show perhaps what your family does. What do you do when you go on vacation? Show that on social networks, show that on your website.”

17:34 “Everybody listening in here probably has something they love, whether it’s a sports team they love or a hobby they have or some physical activity they love to do or whatever it is on their off time that, should you be able to showcase that, allows you to stand out from the crowd. And you’re not just the painter. You’re the painter who loves to birdwatch or whatever it is.”

26:08 “I mentioned earlier the closer you get to someone, the more powerful the human connection. So video and photographs are very powerful if they’re shot within about 4 feet away and you’re looking directly at the camera and because our brain processes that, intellectually we know it’s on a video or photograph, but our ancient brain, our subconscious brain, processes it as if you were right next to that person. Which is exactly why we feel we know movie stars because of mirror neurons.”

27:27 Matt Risinger in Texas built his contracting business from zero to 20 million and he credits me completely with the advice to record videos from 3 feet away or less. He has more than ½ a million subscribers to his YouTuber channel.

30:39 “The [first thing] I would do right away is, number 1, take a look at your externally-facing website, your social media and make sure, number 1, that you’re eliminating all the images and words that make you generic. If you’re using stock photos of houses and buildings, you should be removing them. You should use real photos of buildings and houses that you’ve painted.”

31:16 “I actually recommend going from third person that’s talking like, “We are such and such a painting contractor and we operate in the Boston area, that kind of thing, to ‘I‘. I’ve been painting for the last 20 years. I’ve been running this business. My customers etc. Go from third person to first person.”

HIGHLIGHTS:

04:08 Create fans with a true human connection

10:08 Show what you love to your customers

15:03 Get attention: your passion makes you different

19:38 Avoiding politics and religion

21:25 Questions from the community

26:44 YouTube: make your audience know you

30:24 Top 3 steps to achieve Fanocracy

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Fanocracy.com

David Meerman Scott: LinkedIn & Twitter

Matt Risinger’s YouTube Channel

ADDITIONAL FREE RESOURCES:

Schedule Your Free Strategy Call With Steve Burnett

Thank you very much for joining us today!

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About the Author

As many of you know, my journey has been one of grit, grace, and transformation. At 19, I was a high school dropout, single father, and struggling paint contractor in Michigan. I later moved to Florida, where I faced both personal and professional hardships. With nothing left to lose, I turned to prayer—and was blessed with a relentless hunger to learn. I devoured books, attended seminars, and discovered better ways to streamline and grow my business—even through the Great Recession (and yes, I did hit the wife lottery along the way!). In 2014, I published How To Double Your Business and later sold the painting business, launching a new chapter: coaching others to grow their businesses. For the past 10 years, I’ve dedicated myself to helping business owners scale through the DYB System, while also drawing from frameworks like EOS, Scaling Up, and The Four Disciplines of Execution. Yet something was still missing—something more adaptive, integrated, and complete. Then I found Pinnacle. After months of research and interviews with other Guides, I joined Pinnacle. Their tools and strategies have exceeded every expectation. Now, as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help leadership teams implement a custom-tailored operating system that draws from the best in the industry—but flexes with your unique business. It’s a dynamic, proven approach to achieve clarity, momentum, and lasting growth. I’m no longer taking on any more 1:1 coaching clients… Instead, I now specialize in working with visionary business owners who are ready to get their leadership teams aligned—around a clear vision, a focused strategy, and an actionable execution plan. With the tools and process I now have as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help turn alignment into momentum, and momentum into results. If your business is growing—but your leadership team isn’t fully rowing in the same direction—let’s talk.