Unless you've been living under a rock the past two years, you would've noticed Taylor Swift's rise to ultimate stardom. The girl is everywhere - on the radio, in Diet Coke commercials, sweeping award shows and commanding BuzzFeed articles. While some would say that her billion dollar empire is just luck, Taylor knows exactly what she's doing. More than just a pretty face, Swift is a marketing genius.
1. She's never too good for any musician, celebrity or person
A quick look at Swift's social media profiles highlights just how many friends she has. The friendship that marketers should pay attention to is her friendship with Ed Sheeran. Before Swift, Sheeran was a simple British boy waiting for his break. Despite being above him in every professional aspect, Swift took a chance on him and launched his career.
No matter how big your firm is, never be too good for anyone. Yes, you want to remain competitive, but don't turn your nose up at the small businesses: they're the future. Imagine if your firm was the one to bring a business from a small startup to a household name. Your referrals and organic traffic would go off the charts.
2. She's obsessed with her fans
After the release of her 1989 album, Swift undertook some serious social media stalking to get to know her fans. She tweeted directly at them with photos from her album, encouraging them to go out and a buy physical copy, but the process also allowed her to connect with her fans on a personal level.
For marketers, becoming obsessed with your clients goes beyond just social media stalking. Knowing your client's industry, product and target audience is key. Show your "obsession" with your clients by sending them cool articles you find about their industry. Send them detailed buyer personas, create content that's exactly in line with their goal. This won't only show clients how much you care about them, it will make them obsessed with you in return.
3. She gets fans excited about what's to come
In the month leading up to the release of 1989, Swift gave fans a sneak peek of the album everyday. Her sneak peeks into the "Bad Blood" music video got fans so excited that the video set a Vevo world record with 20.1 million views in just 24 hours.
From a marketing perspective, getting clients excited about what's to come can be a little tricky. Strict process calendars are in place, and you don't want to waste precious time waiting for feedback. What you can do is send them updates and give examples of similar content generating lots of traction. Involving your client in the process will get them excited for the outcome and will make them feel valued for being included in the creation. However, don't set unrealistic expectations for the client - nothing is worse than build-up that has no results.
4. She always goes above and beyond
From her social media stalking, Swift picked a few fans and surprised them with personalized presents for"Swiftmas." Her 1989 album has three extra songs and a booklet full of Polaroids for fans that actually bought the album. She sent a fan $1,989 to help pay off a student loan.
Start how Swift did, get to know your clients through phone calls and meetings. You can get a pretty good idea of what they want from just those interactions, but go beyond that. Spend extra time really getting to know their company. Tweet at them. Share any content they post on your social media. Give them materials before a deadline.
But that's advice you can find from anywhere. Take it from Swift and get even more personal. Send hand-written thank you cards to clients after they've bent over backwards to get you information. Show your appreciation with a giftcard to their favorite restaurant. If they go on vacation or leave, create a spreadsheet for them so they're all caught up. Send get well baskets if you know they're sick.
More importantly, create your client relationships intelligently. You want to make it clear that you've done your hard work and extra perks for goodness sake. Don't post on your company's social media sites that you're sending gifts and cards, get the client to share about it, and your referrals will increase.
Just because Swift is selling music, that doesn't mean her tricks can't be used for marketing. The billion dollar beauty is intelligent and strategic. Study her methods, follow her social media profiles and you too may become an ultimate star.