PCBC 2010 - What we can learn from Bon Jovi

I lied. In my last post I mentioned I was going to follow-up with more information on social media. I will, but not this time. For this post I want to talk about what we can learn from Bon Jovi. Yes, as in Bon Jovi the rock band. Bon Jovi represents honesty to its core audience. Honesty is good. Honesty sells.

Bon Jovi was formed in 1983 and continues to sell millions of albums and pack concert halls. In 1986 they released "Slippery When Wet" which went on to sell 12 million copies in the United States and 25 million worldwide. That's a lot of albums. That's a lot of fans.

Over the years they have made slight adjustments to the music based upon the fans. The fans wanted ballads, so they wrote ballads. The fans wanted rock, so they rocked. In 2005 they did a country song called "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland. The song went to number one on the Country Charts and later that year they won a Grammy. The fans trusted Bon Jovi and in 2007 they released a country influenced album called "Lost Highway". The album sold well and the tour was a huge success (fifth highest grossing tour of 2008 in North America).

Today (November 10th), the band released its eleventh studio album "The Circle". The fans wanted some inspirational rock anthems to deal with the realities of the economy so the first single is "We Weren't Born to Follow" which talks about dealing with tough times. The album is currently number five on the Amazon Best Seller List and is sure to be a hit throughout this holiday season.

So, what can we learn from Bon Jovi? After 25+ years they are still doing it for their core audience. They are not trying to create another "Slippery When Wet" and sell 25 million albums. They have a fan base of millions that trust them. They trust them to release music that shows Bon Jovi is in touch with them, they care for them and they listen. Surprisingly, Jon Bon Jovi (lead singer) is only 47 years old. Unlike the Rolling Stones or other aging bands they still care about their core audience and will produce music they want to hear. Is this a sell out? I don't think so. The idea is to produce music people want to hear. It's the same thing with homebuilding or any industry or product. The ultimate goal is to reach an audience and provide them with a service, product or emotion they want. Ten passionate fans are better than 100 flakey ones.

I lied. This post wasn't going to be about social media, but it is. The first lesson in social media is about building your audience - speak from the heart, be passionate, and always be honest. In the end your audience will find you and you'll enjoy a lasting relationship. Maybe not 25+ years, but who knows.

We Weren't Born to Follow (YouTube video)