What Taylor Swift Can Teach Us about Reputation Management
Certain things are synonymous with millennials: Facebook, iPhones, rose gold (AKA “Millennial Pink”), and — you guessed it — Taylor Swift.
A crossover of such iconic millennial things would be too much to process. Or would it?
Let me introduce you to “The Swift Life.”
“Reputation” Lessons from Taylor Swift
After a year of virtually no word from Taylor Swift, she’s come out with new music and a new social media platform.
We’ll dig into what The Swift Life is all about in a moment, but right now, let’s focus on Taylor Swift as a brand.
One lesson we can learn from Ms. Swift is that sometimes you have to reevaluate and reinvent in order to come out back on top with something bigger and better.
Taylor wiped all her social media platforms clean prior to the announcement of her new music. All previous photos and posts were gone.
When she came back, it was one photo and one post at a time, slowly building up to her new “Reputation” (which is, coincidentally, the name of her new album).
Of course, the actual status of Taylor’s reputation is up for personal debate, but you can’t deny that move generated buzz.
Deleting everything off all your digital platforms isn’t something we’d suggest — but the idea behind it is. Editing your content frequently not only keeps it fresh, but also ensures you don’t get lost in the mix with everyone else who’s trying to accomplish a similar goal.
It’s important to focus on what’s important to you and what’s important to your customers.
Highlight the important information you’re offering to draw attention to what’s new and different about you — just like T-Swift forced us to focus on her new music and persona.
Image credit: Instagram (@taylorswift)
The Swift Life
Okay, so if you’re a diehard Swiftie, The Swift Life will make your life easier. It’s a community-driven app that allows you to connect on a one-to-one basis with both Ms. Swift and her other fans.
I first read about the app on Buzzfeed and was, as they say, “shook.” I’m not a real Taylor Swift fan, but I find her whole persona fascinating.
She’s creating an online community for people to connect easily with other like-minded people. The community concept is an important one that I think can and should be mirrored.
But how, you might ask? There are things you can do on your own platforms to reach out to and connect with your community.
One avenue is Facebook, particularly the new Messenger Ads and Lead Ads features.
Most of us already are (or should be) using Facebook to get our brand and image out there — but there are a few new ways to really leverage its potential.
Messenger and Lead Ads can both provide an opportunity for someone to reach out to you and let you know exactly what information they want. In turn, you can cater personally to them, providing curated information for their needs.
If you’re interested in more information on how to take your Facebook ads to the next level and build your social community, check out our own version of Taylor’s live-streamed videos over at 9 Clouds Live.
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