Marketing Like a Mastermind: 4 Taylor Swift-Inspired Strategies You Should Adopt
This article was originally published in Anna Madill's "The Conscious Marketer" LinkedIn Newsletter on November 30, 2023.
We have a confession to make: all of us at Avenue are major Swifties.
We could spend all day talking about how much we loved 1989, Taylor’s Version. Or how the Eras tour changed our lives as individuals and as a team.
As good as Taylor’s music is, her marketing strategies are even better and, combined with her artistry, have led her to become one of the most awarded female pop artists as well as a billionaire.
By recruiting her vast fanbase and tapping into the ever-changing digital landscape, Taylor Swift sets a new standard for digital marketing.
Not all of us can be Taylor Swift, of course, but we can market like her! We did a deep dive on her most powerful marketing strategies, so you too can market like a mastermind and gain more brand visibility, engagement, loyal follower growth, and leverage your platform for positive change.
Create a Fan-centric Experience
You do a lot of work to get to know your customers. You do consumer research, create personas, analyze their social media feeds. But there’s often a missing component: a sense of community with your target customer.
Taylor and Swifties are their own ecosystem. The fans interact with her, she interacts with them. She likes and shares their content and uses trends she spots among her fan base to create different kinds of content, which Swifties share and recreate.
This attention to detail and personal interaction solidifies her fans’ love for her and their fascination with Taylor. Her every move creates waves of user-generated content—basically, free marketing that Taylor and her team can tap into as they like.
It can be difficult to cultivate this kind of symbiotic relationship, especially as a brand that sells a product or a service versus a person. But something similar can be achieved through careful listening and thoughtful consumer engagement.
What This Might Look Like For You
What are some ways you can engage your customers in a way that feels like you and your users are in dialogue with each other?
Comment and reshare customer content
Adopt a voice and tone that is as relatable as possible and fits your specific industry and audience, showing up as a “person” vs. a “brand”
Keep an eye on current trends and online jokes and tap into them whenever possible
Engage customers through social media polls
Stay up-to-date on what your audience is staying up-to-date on
Promote Intrigue and Speculation
Taylor is well known for Easter Eggs, little hidden messages thoughtfully placed throughout her content. These can be references to her personal life, like the number 13 (her lucky number) or guest appearances by her beloved cats (both in real life and in various forms of artwork).
But she also uses these nuggets to tease upcoming releases for her music—album and song names, release dates, tour dates, and more.
Taylor recently took her Easter Egg game one step further by creating a scavenger hunt in partnership with Google. Fans had to use different combinations of search words to attempt to uncover the titles of songs being released on her 1989, Taylor’s Version album. The surge in Google searches was such that it actually crashed Google’s servers.
So what does this all mean from a brand perspective? Hiding Easter Eggs and encouraging speculation and theorizing creates an engaging experience, one that brings a fan base closer together.
What This Might Look Like for You
How can you build content that leaves space for mystery and curiosity with your audience?
Design “New Release” countdowns for social media and your website
Hide hints to upcoming offerings in photos on social
Leave hidden messages in product packaging or other OOH collateral (when applicable)
Use specific keywords to “unlock” more information in search engines
Implement a customer loyalty program that gamifies your customers shopping, encouraging them to unlock levels and discounts through different avenues of engagement
Invite Your Critics Into Your Brand Identity
As surprising as it is to us, Taylor Swift can be a divisive character for people. She’s had her fair share of controversy and plenty of “feuds” both real and imagined.
The thing is, Taylor isn’t afraid to lean into these situations.
For example, the song “Mean” was inspired by a review she received after her 2010 Grammy Awards performance with Stevie Nicks. And when rumors surfaced that Taylor and Katy Perry were “feuding,” Taylor invited Katy to make a cameo in her music video for “You Need to Calm Down.”
In other words, Taylor used these critiques and confrontations as fuel for her art and created inside jokes for her fans.
What This Might Look Like For You
How can you take criticism and turn it into part of your overall brand story? How might it become a strength rather than a weakness?
Listen and elicit customer feedback
Demonstrate improvements to products based on feedback
Turn reviews into campaign fodder, like these one-star reviews of national parks
Partner with a rival, like Burger King did with McDonald’s to support a charity initiative
Tell Your Most Authentic Story
No matter how you experience Taylor Swift, one thing is for sure: She is a master storyteller. Part of the appeal of her music and video content is the way she weaves a clear, powerful narrative.
Taylor is most successful when her music is highly personal. She’s sharing experiences that are vulnerable but also universal. We feel like we learn something about Taylor every time a new song comes out—but we also learn more about ourselves.
When it comes to brand love, the key to consumers’ hearts is approachability. Customers want to be brought into your story and play a central role. That’s what will help you stand out from the rest.
What This Might Look Like For You
How can you make your brand story feel more personal? Here are a few thought starters:
Give a peek behind the scenes, showing the faces of your team and your partners
Answer the question: who inspired this product or service to exist? What is their story?
What drives you to do what you do everyday? What fuels your fire?
Showcase your customer as the hero, share how your business can help solve their problems vs. sharing how great you are
Let Your Purpose Drive You
Taylor isn’t just a pop star, or a marketing genius. She also uses her celebrity power to take on causes that matter to her. Her endorsement of Phil Bresden, a Democratic contender for the Tennessee Senate in 2018, was credited with a sudden jump in voter registration that term.
As we’ve discussed before, consumers expect more from their brands than high-quality goods and services. Consumers are looking to support brands that align with their personal values, brands with a vision beyond the bottom line.
Brands who take a stand for causes that align with their mission aren’t just doing good for the world. They’re doing good for business, too.
What This Might Look Like For You
What does “better business” mean for your brand? There are a few ways you can position your brand to be more purpose-driven.
Consider the causes that best align with your brand’s mission and values, and research ways you can lean in and show up as a company
Study what matters most to your consumers to better align your overall mission, products, and services with your audience
Research ways you can show up for your community through charitable giving, sponsorship, or other forms of support
Develop KPIs centered around these efforts outside of their impact on your bottom line
Taylor Swift creates one of the best marketing experiences by tapping into her fan base, leaning into her vulnerability, and being true to herself and her mission. And you don’t have to have millions of fans or a dozen awards and top-charting songs to make similar impacts with your own customer base. By taking the time to craft an experience, show up authentically, and engage your audience, you can build connections and cultivate brand love that goes both ways.
