Be a "fearless leader" and an "alpha type" in your niche! Check out this singer-songwriter's marketing strategies!

Monday: MicroBusiness and Marketing Marvels FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Hooray for Monday! We hope you’re ready to kickstart this awesome week. Let’s start the day with motivation by talking about our “Marketing Marvels”—outstanding people in the business and marketing industries, and even in the entertainment industry. Every Monday, we highlight these people’s experiences, insights, and contributions in their respective niche. Today, we’ll focus on a popular icon in the music industry. Continue reading to know how you can apply this person’s experiences and strategies in your own brand’s marketing efforts. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

Be a "fearless leader" and an "alpha type" in your niche! Check out this singer-songwriter's marketing strategies! Taylor Swift: American Singer-Songwriter Love Story… Red… All Too Well… Today’s “Marketing Marvel” is no typical “Marvel”—someone who has a business or marketing degree, or any other title related to those fields. In fact, a HUGE chunk of this person’s work and accolades is in the music industry. But, despite not having a business degree displayed among all her trophies, she has shown that she has enough “good ideas and power moves” (lyrics from her song, “The Man”) to prove her marketing prowess. Any guesses on who we’re referring to? She’s none other than… Taylor Swift! Swift is a singer-songwriter whose discography spans multiple genres. Her narrative songwriting, which is often inspired by her personal life and experiences, has received critical praise and widespread media coverage. With over 200 million records sold worldwide, she is one of the best-selling musicians of all time! Eight of her songs topped the Hot 100, and her concert tours are some of the highest-grossing in history. Additionally, Swift has received 11 Grammy Awards (including 3 Album of The Year wins), an Emmy Award, 34 American Music Awards, 29 Billboard Music Awards, and 58 Guinness World Records. She was also featured on the Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time” in 2015 and Billboard’s “Greatest of All Time Artists” in 2019. Woah… that’s LITERALLY A LOT of awards and recognitions! … and there’s more! Having been honored with titles such as “Woman of the Decade” and “Artist of the Decade” in 2019, Swift is regarded as a pop icon due to her influential career, philanthropy, and advocacy for artists’ rights and women empowerment. Marketing Strategies that are “Stronger than a ‘90s Trend” (lyrics from her song, “Willow”) Swift has built a reputation for meticulously planning out her albums via easter eggs, cryptic countdowns, and subtle social media posts. The 2020 albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore,” are the only exceptions to these strategies. It’s interesting that despite being exempted from Swift’s typical marketing tactics when promoting the release of her new soundtracks, these two albums still captured worldwide attention. In fact, “Folklore” became the top best-selling album of 2020, and “Evermore” earned a Grammy nomination for “Album of The Year”—also in 2020! What enabled Swift to successfully pull off two surprise album drops within mere months apart? “Cancel your plans just in case she calls” (lyrics from her song, “August”) because today, we’ll talk about how the singer-songwriter broke MASSIVE chart records on both occasions and kept legions of fans on their toes with her masterpieces! Surprise! Swift knows just how to get people buzzing about her new releases. The element of surprise from her 2020 albums got almost everyone talking—from die-hard fans to casual listeners. Example: When “Folklore” was first released, memes and viral posts were everywhere. On social media, you’d find people posting about her songs’ lyrics in all caps, sharing their interpretations of each song, and even jokingly blaming Swift for making them reconnect with their exes. The impact of the first 2020 album was so strong that excitement spread like wildfire on TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms! That same kind of excitement was also unleashed by the second 2020 album, “Evermore.” What does this teach about marketing? It pays to catch people by surprise—the good kind of surprise. Lots of consumers are on the lookout for something new, and Swift shows that time and again, business owners and marketers should take advantage of that desire/emotion. Think of it as gifting your customers and prospects with something you know they’ll enjoy. Through this, you can get their attention, make a lasting impression, and effectively engage with them. Sharing aesthetics. When Swift sang, “Use my best colors for your portrait” (lyrics from her song, “Tolerate It”), millions of fans felt it… and you should, too, because it gave a glimpse of another marketing strategy from the singer-songwriter! Observe how Swift provided fans with “Folklore” and “Evermore” content that could be screenshotted, shared, and reposted. Here, you’ll see that she understands the impact that visuals hold and uses these to heighten the aesthetics of her albums. You’ll notice this strategy through her picturesque lyric videos, or video clips that loop while listeners play her tracks on Spotify. The key takeaway? It helps to have shareable, aesthetic images that fans can share or post because these make your products come alive more vividly in your target market’s minds! Besides, when fans share your brand’s content on social media, they help drive engagements from friends and family members who interact with them online. In other words, you let your target market do the marketing for you too! Selling “dreams.” This is one of Swift’s simplest yet most effective marketing strategies: The pop icon knows what she loves, and she knows what her fans love about her. Over the course of her 18-year career in the music industry, Swift has been called many things—country singer, pop star, Artist of The Decade, etc… but what remains consistent is the name she’s made for herself as a captivating storyteller and charismatic person. This shows that while building a BIG reputation sounds easy, it actually requires more tact than others think, especially if that reputation is about being an authentic, creative, and trustworthy artist. The marketing lesson you can learn from this? Adding a personal element to marketing isn’t just pathos; ethos also plays a role in keeping fans loyal to your brand. Think about this: Swift’s life-inspired music is brilliant, but her identity as an artist is unparalleled that it leaves fans wanting more from her each time. As a result, she’s gained an audience that genuinely loves hearing what she has to say or sing. Simply said, incorporating fun elements into your marketing is important if you want to establish good connections with your target audience. These compel consumers to appreciate your efforts to engage with them. — Despite the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, that year was a BIG year for Swift. Not only did she write, record, and release 2 studio albums during quarantine—not to mention filming a documentary and re-recording all her old masterpieces—but also gave business owners and marketers a masterclass in marketing. She’s a superstar at writing hooks and a professional at hooking in listeners. Each of her albums brought something new to the table, not just thematically but also in terms of marketing strategy. What else? She made the most out of the isolation caused by the pandemic, surprised her fans, and took bold risks as a singer-songwriter! In a year of canceled tours and limited performances, she kept her spark and hustled. We hope you learned lots of great marketing ideas from today’s “Marvel!” With enough “good ideas and power moves,” you can also delight your target market with your offerings and positively interact with them. It’s time to work your way towards becoming “Marketer of The Decade!” Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Monday’s Marketing Marvels! Diamonds have long been one of nature’s most revered creations. Learn more about Frances Gerety and her iconic De Beers slogan on next week’s Marketing Marvels!