Social media is rising as the dominant force in marketing and advertising, and this is also true in the arts and entertainment world. Artists are developing newer and more innovative ways of marketing themselves online more and more.
Social media marketing in entertainment is perhaps the most important way for artists to get their work into the public consciousness.
Perhaps the pinnacle of social media marketing in entertainment is Taylor Swift. You don’t have to be a fan of her music to know that she is a marketing genius. Her Twitter and Instagram campaigns for her new album 1989 are the stuff of legend.
You might say, “But she was already massively popular!”
While this is true, she is perhaps even more so now, and it’s all due to her relentless social media posts and clever campaigns.
So where did this all get started?
A couple of months before 1989’s release, she released the album’s first single and video on Yahoo!. This utilized two very key methods for online marketing: clever use of multimedia and online publishing, but the social media circus surrounding the album had yet to begin.
What happened next?
A very important aspect of social media is hashtags. Taylor Swift created the hashtags #TS1989 and #5HoursUntilOutOfTheWoods. These hashtags were very unique to her, and her legion of Twitter and Instagram followers spread them faster tha a bullet train in Tokyo.
Perhaps more importantly, she took complete control over her social media accounts. Fans knew that they were interacting with the one and only Taylor Swift and not some employee or marketing agency.
The way Ms. Swift interacts with her fans, such as inviting them through social media contests to her homes to listen to the album and surprising a select few fans with Christmas presents, shows that she does care about her fans and wants them to come along for the ride.
Also important is the fact that she took to social media to let Apple know that their plan to not pay artists during their three-month free trial was not a way to treat those who create music. This helped her not only win over fans, but also other artists and musicians.
Why is this important?
This shows exactly how artists and musicians can use social media marketing in entertainment to spread the word about their creative projects and help them to keep a loyal fanbase.
The music industry was greatly disrupted by the internet and failed to adapt. The old guard stood their ground and maintained their overly conservative approach to marketing and revenue building, leaving many artists out in the cold. Taylor Swift has shown, though, that artists can take their marketing back into their own hands.
Thanks to T-Swift, social media marketing in entertainment will never be the same. Perhaps the old guard (and even you) can learn a thing or two from this brilliant, young artist.