Your fans can make or break your channel. Some of the best YouTubers treat fans like family and make them feel like they’re a part of a bigger community. Your fandom name must be personal, relatable, and help your fans form a stronger bond with you. We’ve jotted down the best practices to help you create a viral fandom name.
1. Build on an existing trend
If you constantly cover a line of trending products you know that your fans already love, why not create a spin-off and pop it in your fandom name. For example, Simply Nailogical and her fans are obsessed with “holo” a type of glitter nail polish that’s trending, so she decided to call her fans “Holosexuals”. This makes the fandom name witty, relatable, and trending.
2. Feed off your personality
Do you have a certain character trait that defines you? Channel your personality through your fandom and be an advocate for positive change. For example, the music band South Korean girl band (G)I-dle call their fandom “Neverland”. They reference Peter Pan’s Neverland and encourage their fans to remain to be forever young and enjoy life like the children in Neverland.
3. Use a word that’s already popular amidst your fandom
If you already have a catchphrase, tagline or ritual that’s working well for your channel, consider repurposing this into a fandom name. Beauty Vlogger James Charles started off his videos with the tagline “hey sisters” and when his catchphrase picked up, he named his fandom “sisters”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmyn_q2YjoA
4. Use a completely random name
If you think fandom names are cliche, think out of the box and come up with a completely unrelated phrase. Commentary YouTuber Danny Gonzalez calls his fans “Greg” and describes Greg as, “An army so strong, haters tremble when it is spoken”. Danny broke conventional fandom norms and positioned himself as a unique creator.
5. Name your fandom after one of your videos/songs/albums
If you’re looking to promote a single video/song as your pillar content, name your fanbase after your star piece. Avril Lavigne calls her fandom Black Stars after her song Black Star and Adele named her fandom Daydreamers after her song Daydreamer. This is a great way to sustain your video/song’s popularity through your fandom, long after the buzz has died out.
6. Plan a marketing strategy
Create a unique marketing strategy and get your fans to join in to be a part of the activities. For example, English singer YUNGBLUD got his fans to tattoo matching black heart tattoos on their fingers and then called themselves the black hearts club. This fun strategy set off waves of excitement amidst his fans.
7. Ask your viewers for suggestions
Give your fans the liberty to choose a new fandom since they’re going to be wearing the name after all. The Dolan Twins created an exclusive video titled “What Is Our New Fandom Name!?!” where they give all the power to their fans and community members to suggest a fandom name. When you ask your fans for suggestions, it makes them feel inclusive and important.
8. Use your own name or nickname
Names hold an unspoken power, they form the core identity of a person. Many YouTubers name their fandom based on their own name and fans love to share this feeling of communal identity with their role models. For example, Logan Paul calls his fans Logang and Miley Cyrus calls her fans Smileys, derived from her childhood nickname “Smiley”. This connection allows fans to associate with their favourite influencers on a personal level.
Picking the right fandom name can help you form a deeper connection with your fans. Global celebrities Ed Sheeran has his Sheerios and Beyoncé has her Beyhives. What name can you come up with for your fandom? We’d love to know.
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