Brett’s Bachelor Buds: Will you accept this successful community rose?
The Bachelor is a franchise predicated on the idea that one person’s journey to find love in abnormal circumstances will be interesting to watch. Its creation hoped that a cult following would keep it afloat — so much so, that entire communities would regard each season as a spectacle akin to March Madness and discuss their theories constantly through Bachelor, Bachelorette, and Bachelor In Paradise seasons like. As I have come to learn over the course of the past year, the franchise has succeeded in doing just that. No community within its following has done this better than Brett’s Bachelor Buds.
Brett’s Bachelor Buds is a Facebook group with 7.4K members and a strong passion for the Bachelor franchise. It is a space for anyone in Bachelor Nation to speak about the show and all the drama-filled implications it has in between airings. Members can discuss current episodes as they air on live threads, post show-related media they find outside of Facebook to discuss, or showcase any Bachelor situations they encounter in real life.
I found this Facebook group after tweets from its admin and creator, Brett Vergara, came up on my Twitter feed during an episode. He was so funny and good at calling out the show’s more wild moments that I looked into where else I could see his content. It just so happened he was promoting the group, and I was an instant join. I have loved my time there ever since.
The Bachelor Buds Experience
If you decided to join this group of wonderful individuals today, you might notice a few things. First, there are posts every day. Yes, even when the show is off air, content is being made by members of Bachelor Nation, and people love to talk about it. During each show’s active season, these posts tend to be about theories. No source is too niche for these theories to arise. For example, there is a current debate about who the next Bachelor will be. Posts came up analyzing who past contestants are communicating with and what activities producers and show runners are up to.
In the off season, discussion turns to filming. Any media that is found regarding upcoming seasons can and will show up in the group. Additionally, content will show up documenting how people in the group are coping without the show’s airing, be it through doing something creative or mourning with wine or reruns. The best part of all of this is that each post has people in the comments relating, sharing tips on how to cope, and making jokes where they can.
How does Brett do it?
According to Lua (n.d.), to have an engaged and successful Facebook group, hosting regular events is a great way to ensure members are active and excited to engage with each other. Brett’s Bachelor Buds employs weekly live event threads started by Brett where members can discuss new episodes as they air. In addition to this, with the online chatting platform Clubhouse’s creation, Brett would bring in franchise cast members to a Clubhouse chatroom and mention it on the page for all interested to join. This kept people refreshing the page to try and catch a Clubhouse meeting.
Another strong point of Brett’s leadership leading to the community being as active as it is is his list of guidelines. According to Monica Waugh Benton (2015), having firm community guidelines visible for all members depicting the type of behavior desired in the group allows for smooth group interaction to occur. Brett has a list of 10 house rules that discuss both general group behavior and what mindsets, such as those demeaning minorities or being far too negative toward Bachelor contestants, are not allowed. Each rule has thorough explanation below it to keep people accountable and educated on acceptable group behavior.
How does the community do it?
The reason I enjoy this Facebook group as much as I do is that it does a fabulous job at maintaining and policing itself. Brett is one man — he cannot always be around to keep group members in check. Whenever things get out of hand, the group is very good at reeling itself in and having centering moments to put everyone back on the right track of loving each other and The Bachelor. If anyone somehow slips through the approval process and acts rudely, they are good at calmly reporting it to Brett and moving forward from the incident.
The group’s success also comes from its friendliness. According to Barnhart (2021), people are more likely to pay attention to content from friends on Facebook groups. Each member is so openly friendly with each other that it feels as if it is a big group of friends. The support is so vivid and so constant that anyone can post at any time, and it feels as if they are sending a DM as a friend or are contributing to one big group chat.
If you are looking for a fun community full of active members dedicated to celebrating the content that makes them happy, look no further than Brett’s Bachelor Buds. It is not only an example of a great community to exist within, but also a great example of how to form a community people want to be a part of on Facebook in the modern day.
References:
Barnhart, B. (2021, June 17). How to build your community with Facebook groups. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/marketing-tips-facebook-groups/
Benton, M.W. (2015, December 9). 10 tips for running a successful Facebook group. Solamar. https://solamaragency.com/2015/12/10-tips-for-running-a-successful-facebook-group/
Lua, A. (n.d.). The complete guide to Facebook groups: How to create a group, build a community and increase your organic reach. Buffer. https://buffer.com/library/facebook-group/