On August 26th, my friend and co-worker Matt Todd told me about a new convention coming to town called Indy PopCon. I’ll admit, my first reaction was: "Wait a second – didn’t they just announce Indiana Comic Con? Is this some sort of weird copy-cat?" Upon glancing at Indy Pop Con's website, however, all negative assumptions melted away.
Like its name implies, Indy PopCon is a pop culture convention that encompasses a number of interests, including obscure nerd subcultures. When its organizers call it "One Con to Rule Them All," they are not kidding.
Not only am I super excited about this convention, but thousands of other people are stoked about it as well. Between August 25th (when the page was created) and August 27th, their Facebook page had almost 700 likes. And between August 26th and September 1st, a whopping 3,175 people were talking about them. What’s truly amazing about this entire endeavor is that Indy Pop Con essentially grew from nothing.
This wasn’t a major convention planning company; this was the arduous effort of a group of local pop culture enthusiasts including Shawn “Smitty” Smith, Web Master/CFO at IndyMojo.com, Bryan Neely, Chase Kahlo and Carl Doninger. At an impressive 1,570 likes, Indy PopCon continues to grow, and there are some very good reasons why.
I know that everyone and their grandma has been referencing Jay Baer’s Youtility like it’s their Bible, but that’s precisely what Indy PopCon is. One of the key prerequisites of being a “youtility” is deciphering your audience’s personality and knowing what they’ll want. Shawn Smith knew that there was more than one type of nerd out there. Gen Con was primarily for tabletop gamers, Indiana Comic Con is mainly for comic book nerds and Indy PopCon is well, for everyone passionate about anything on TV, radio, the Internet or anything else. Basically, anyone living in the 21st Century.
Interacting with your audience is another element of youtility. By supplying reactionary content, you’re giving potential customers reasons to stick around. Indy Pop Con started two bold initiatives that have set them apart from many other cons. The first was a Reddit AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) event, held on August 27th, where potential con goers could ask Smitty (smitty4popcon) anything they wanted about the con. This is where I found out that Grumpy Cat wouldn’t be there. 🙁
Either way, if someone hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have known.
I don’t know anyone who hates free stuff. Do you? I didn’t think so. Indy PopCon feels the same exact way; which is why they decided to hold a swag pack giveaway with the chance to win VIP tickets to the convention. Unlike other contests that make you fill out a cumbersome form, Indy PopCon encouraged communication and interactivity. The contestant would choose their favorite “character” icon (like anime, comics or Cosplay), make it their profile pic on Twitter or Facebook and then share their pages. The admin would then use an Online Die Roller to determine who the winner was for the day (each icon corresponded with a number). Not only does this encourage people to spread the word, but it provides potential customers with a sense of satisfaction.
The growth of Indy PopCon has been incredible. In just a few weeks, they’ve garnered thousands of followers, tons of spectacular guests and eventually a shout-out from local news station Fox 59 News. Indy PopCon is likely going to continue growing. They speak to the audience as fellow nerds (and not customers); they share hilarious memes and swiftly reply to comments and inquiries. Also, they don’t limit themselves. They’re on Twitter, Tumblr and Google +. Smitty knows what his audience wants, knows how to communicate and knows how to keep them entertained. That’s the definition of Youtility.
