Organization Name: Taylor Swift, Recording Artist
Industry: Entertainment
Web references: Taylor Swift Official Website
Forming a bond with fans in the future will come in the form of constantly providing them with the element of surprise.
– Taylor Swift, Recording Artist
Who is she?
Taylor Swift has become one of the leading music artists in the world. She has been in the limelight for years, starting out as a top performer in country music before crossing over to mainstream pop. At the age of 25 she is already an industry vet, respected for her strong songwriting and vocal ability.
She has also proven to be a savvy social media player, personally active across all of the major platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Her follower reach is huge: 46 million Twitter followers and 71 million likes on Facebook are the big standouts. These fans hang on her every post, eager for any new content that she creates.
Going Back To 1989
The release of her recent album “1989” and the promotion around it is a shining example of Taylor Swift’s social media acumen. She made an event out of it, starting with her September entry into the Tumblr world. The best way to describe Tumblr is that it is a mini-blog community that is carefree and fearless in the way that the rest of the internet used to be. Ms. Swift started out on the right foot, asking the regulars to show her the way and to teach her the ins and outs of Tumblr. This approach made the already likeable artist seem even more endearing and started the online buzz around the release of her new album. This was the second marketing salvo, coming after the release of the first “1989” single “Shake It Off”.
The Blitz Begins
The first track off the album is “Welcome to New York”, an ode to one of Ms. Swift’s favourite cities. The song became the second single off her new album. She timed the release to coincide with her recent move to the Big Apple as well as her appointment as the city’s Global Welcome Ambassador for tourism. Some found it a little too cute and sanitized but none of this seemed to have fazed Ms. Swift. She went on a unique publicity blitz, talking as much about her favourite NYC places and things as she did about the single.
The next thing that Taylor Swift did was to publicly denounce music streaming website Spotify for what she said were its marginal profit-sharing revenue model for artists. Ms. Swift removed her entire catalog, generating lots of debate and publicity that is still ongoing.
By staying relevant and maximizing her media exposure, Taylor Swift has managed to embed herself beyond music and into popular culture. She is tapped in to her fan base and knows how to reach beyond to a wider audience.
Submitted by: Richard Barrett, MOHLTC
Author Contact: info@hypergraphik.com
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References:
What your brand can learn from Taylor Swift’s Tumblr
Taylor Swift’s Wall Street Journal op-ed tells us something about content strategy
Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ Came Out 47 Minutes Early: Best Fan Reactions
Taylor Swift’s Label Pulled Music From Spotify So She Wouldn’t ‘Embarrass’ Fans