Taylor Swift’s cryptic messages send fans to madness

Hello! 🙂

Friday, Oct 24th (which is today) marks the end of my degree journey here in Monash University. While a fair few of you will jump blithely out of superfluous joy, me on the other hand, I feel ..well, there’s no other word for it – sad. 

-> Now on to business. For my 11th post, (11th! Can you believe it?) we are going to have a look on country singer turns 7 times Grammy winner turns pop artist and all-around American sweetheart, Taylor Swift.

Unlike other artist her age, Taylor practically defines the word: Unique (and I’m not saying this because I’m a Swiftie) She wrote her own songs and promotes them differently too. As potential marketers, we can all learn from T.Swift.

Taylor Swift has already promised her fans a very big Halloween treat, as her eagerly anticipated first official pop album: 1989, hit the stands on October 27^th.

But before all the buzz and the hype surrounding her first solo pop album, let’s go on a little investigation a la Scooby-Doo on how she used social media marketing to promote her album, ergo more album sales.

How she engaged with her audience & how she lured their attention are particularly interesting. It’s a simple  method: By using clues.

Let’s find out!

 

T.Swift’s clue #1: Cryptic Clues

T.Swift knows how to create buzz. Seriously. She knows it all too well – Playing Blues Clues to tease an announcement sure did gotten her fan base excited. Well, I for one obediently fall for her very clever digital marketing plans.

For those who are on Instagram (which I think comprises most of us) you’ll know what I’m talking about here. T.Swift utilizes her account to provide cryptic clues to her fans leading up to her album release.

 

For example, 2 weeks before her 1989 album, the 1st clue was a 15 seconds video of her pressing the elevator button of floor 18 for about 6 times.  As predicted, her comment box flooded with replies from her 12 million Instagram followers.

 

Does it means that her new album will have 18 songs? Is her single’s going to be released on the 18th of some month? Or is she shooting a video clip to a forthcoming song, titled 18? These were some of the thousands of reaction posts T.Swift had gained from posting a mere 15 seconds video.

 

T.Swift clue #2: Nothing much. Just this one incredibly cryptic picture…of her cat.

 

 

 

 

T.Swift Clue #3: Something with YAHOO! Now fans are lost. JUST WHAT IS IT?

 

 

 

 

 

THE BIG REVELATION! 

After what seemed like an eternity, T.Swift is finally spilling the beans!

 

Via her Twitter account and alongside the caption, Did you guess it right?, T.Swift revealed that on the 18th of August at precisely 5p.m, she will be performing live on YAHOO!

Naturally, after she tweeted the message, #TaylorSwiftYahoo7Days is trending worldwide. (I guess I know now what the term: Taking the world by storm means)

Besides social media marketing, Taylor also uses viral marketing to promote her album.

Note: [Viral marketing, or also known as viral marketing or marketing buzz is a form of marketing technique whereby information about a company is passed electronicaly from one Internet user to another].

 

 

Above, Taylor can be seen streaming live in a studio via YAHOO! to her fans.

 

So what can marketers learn from T.Swift’s social media campaign? 

Despite being a mega-star with multi-million dollar records, life is all good for Miss Swift but she is definitely NOT the complacent type. She went beyond publicity & actually innovate in a way that speaks directly to her top advocates – her fans!

This is precisely why Swift has turned to Instagram to tell the story of her upcoming 1989 album in a clever way: A 13 day visual countdown.

Swift launched the countdown on October 14 with the promise of revealing one set of lyrics per album track daily, each in a unique image with some level of personalization, either to the song, or where Swift is at the moment (e.g. in a plane, on an elevator). Each image is also in her handwriting and some also include doodles, offering another personal touch.

 

 

If you look closely at the images, the engagement stats are impressive!  The first post netted over 535,000 likes at press time and the remainder range from 360,000 to over 600,000 which seems on par, if not above average for the star’s Instagram posts. The posts are also being shared on Twitter, where considerable engagement is being generated as well.

 

 

What can you learn from a T.Swift’s Instagram teaser campaign?

Make It Special
Whether you opt for a teaser or countdown, make sure the announcement warrants the special attention. Not every product launch or initiative warrants a teaser, nor do consumers want to see you take the same formulaic approach for every announcement. You almost run the risk of “crying wolf” if you tease a big announcement and it’s not all that special to your consumers.

The best strategy is to map out your year and understand which initiatives deserve above and beyond support. Align this with insights from your social media communities on their top wishes and questions to aid in your decision making.

 

Teaser vs. Countdown?
While Taylor Swift’s campaign was a mix of both, you’ll see many companies picking a course of action depending on the company’s overall strategy for the announcement, marketing campaign objectives and anticipated excitement from your customers. For a teaser, you’ll typically see one to two teaser posts that are clever yet coy without spilling the beans before the big reveal. Others may opt for a countdown when there’s more to communicate. This involves a big reveal followed by a series of engaging content that drives buzz and reminds fans that a new product is coming, or event is happening, etc.

Set An Established Timeline
Regardless of which approach your select, it is critical to ensure that all external communications (e.g. PR, marketing, web, customer care) are aligned on the same announcement timeline and flow. If the information is really juicy and has the potential to leak sooner, develop contingency plans should you need to make the big reveal early.

Embrace Visual Storytelling
It would have been easy for Taylor Swift to reveal the lyrics from her upcoming album as text on Facebook or Twitter, but the combination of song lyrics and visuals strikes the right chord. Compiled together, they form a visual story that generates fan excitement around the new songs while showcasing her passion for using social media to connect directly with her fans.

The visuals also allow her fans to share the images with the text intact and in the way the singer intended them to be seen.

The Best Marketing Is Personal
From the handwritten lyrics to imagery that feels in line with Swift’s lifestyle, her album promotion effort feels deeply personal and authentic and not at all like marketing. We as marketers can take a page from Taylor Swift’s playbook. Social media was intended as a channel where people can come together and share experiences and stories.

Next time you’re tempted to go straight for the sell, take a step back and think through how you can make the communication more human and personable. Your consumers will thank you.

So, there you go folks! She can be a singer, but T.Swift sure knows how to create the buzz to gain more sales, something that we can all adapt in the future!