Social media has opened a whole new world for celebrity product endorsers. Now it’s easier than ever to find a celebrity who will post about a product on their Instgram feed for a fee. But does it work? Should marketers be spending limited budget to pay Kim Kardashian for liking their chicken nuggets?
The primary difference between celebrity influencers and brand advocates is the passion for the brand, length of the relationship, the width of impact and compensation…usually a large compensation. According to Forbes, even true influencers are only trusted about 18% of the time verses brand advocates who are trusted 92% of the time (Nielson). Advocates are empowered to promote your brand and will due so without the hefty compensation.
One person who has mastered advocate marketing is an influencer herself, Taylor Swift. The other day, myself and a good friend and business leader found ourselves talking about Swift. We weren’t talking about her music, a video or the supposed competitive spat between her and Katy Perry. We were talking about her social media genius.
Lately, for all the good she’s doing, you’d almost have to hate humanity and any hope of decency to hate Taylor Swift. And by no means am I implying that everything she’s doing isn’t 100% genuine. She may really be the nicest superstar ever but if you look at how Taylor has created a new level of engagement, a new level of excitement and an absolute fervor over what she’s doing in social media, you will notice it’s fantastic marketing. Here are a few lessons marketers can learn from Taylor Swift, the genius of it and why it can work for brands and celebrities alike:
- Creating an authentic two-way connection with passionate fans. Taylor hosted and attended listening parties at her home with top fans for the launch of her 1989 album. She created an authentic connection, engaged with her fans and gave them an exclusive, insider experience. She surprised and delighted them – arguably quite an understatement for those there. But it’s something those fans won’t forget. They took pictures, shared, put it on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, everywhere and created an incredible amount of reach, engagement and buzz.
- She’s connecting with advocates, not influencers. It’s one of the key elements in building a brand advocate community or engaging enthusiasts. These are the people who have a connection and passion for the brand; in this case the community is passionate about Taylor Swift. During the holidays last year, Taylor created frenzy on social media by identifying super fans and buying, and in some cases delivering, Christmas presents to them. She didn’t choose influential music bloggers or pick people based on Klout scores. She didn’t care how many followers they had as long as they were her followers. @NoItsBeks, a fan who received money in order to pay off student loans, currently has 996 followers on Twitter. I’d venture to say that number was far smaller before her gift from Taylor. There are so many influencer and advocate solutions on the market, it’s beneficial to look outside your community to find new influencers and advocates. The best thing you can do is understand who is already engaging with your brand, figure out who is really passionate and build relationships with them. Then have those people share their stories and engage with other passionate fans. It’s authentic, it’s trusted and it’s sustainable. Taylor is doing this so well, it should be a case study.
- Don’t focus on selling. Focus on building relationships. A fan’s day, week or month could be made when Taylor comments on one of their pictures or posts. While people may not have the same reaction when your brand comments, it will still be noticed and appreciated. It’s customer service 101. When Taylor took #taylurking to a new level by giving personalized items as gifts, her fans could have cashed in on their new found fame by selling the gifts or doing media interviews. However, fans quickly declined. It wasn’t about what they could get, it was about the relationship with Taylor. When I talk to marketing professionals about setting up advocate communities – the first question is “so, what’s in it for them?” I always explain that you don’t need to provide anything for them. You really shouldn’t. If you build relationships and a community it will sustain itself without compensating your advocates. Although, as Taylor did, the occasional surprise for your loyal community is always a nice touch.
Taylor’s newest album, 1989, saw record-breaking sales over the last year and her efforts to engage her social community only added to her success. Therefore, I humbly submit to you, in addition to her other titles and accolades, Taylor Swift – marketing genius.
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