Have you heard the news?
Taylor Swift’s album Folklore, only seven days after its release, became the top-selling album of 2020.
The streaming numbers were astounding! On Spotify, Swift set the global record for first-day album streams by a female artist, tallying almost 81 million streams in a 24-hour period.
But wait! She didn’t stop there…
Five months after the release of Folklore, Swift surprised us - yet again - with a sister album called Evermore. That makes Evermore Taylor Swift’s third full-length album in less than 18 months!
I guess not all of us have been twiddling our thumbs during this pandemic after all…
So what marketing strategies led to the success of the album? And more importantly, what can we learn from them? How can those of us (who may not be mega popstars) produce great results with similar tactics?
Let’s explore together!
What did Taylor do?
An unexpected, unannounced product launch.
Taylor Swift leveraged surprise as her ultimate “news hook” to generate massive publicity for her new 2020 albums. She created surprise and drama by releasing two albums without any previous announcement. In true Taylor fashion, she announced on social media the very night she released Folklore.
And then did the same thing a few months later for her Evermore album.
So what can you do?
Okay, so not all of us have 141 million followers on Instagram that we can drop news to, the night of… and we’re definitely not recommending that you should completely pivot your business by keeping quiet about your products and services, but you CAN introduce elements of surprise to delight your audience.
Celebrate with your clients and consumers— whether that’s a handwritten note, a small gift, or a discounted service or product. Send genuine, heartfelt personal messages. Provide the unexpected by giving more expertise than what is explicitly stated in the scope of the project. Connect with prospects by forging a personal relationship that goes beyond work topics.
What did Taylor do?
2. Visual content personalized for her audience.
Swift had not only one Folklore album cover, but eight. Strategically choosing the number 8 to represent her 8th studio album, Swift announced on social media that she made 8 deluxe CD editions and 8 deluxe vinyl editions available for one week.
The kick: Each deluxe edition had unique covers, photos, and artwork. The physical records felt special because her fans got the choice of what unique album artwork they would purchase, getting to own a specific piece of the album.
So what can you do?
Adding incentives to a purchase or service can boost revenue, especially when there are various options to choose between for different target audiences. Harp on photography for social media, website, products and services. If you can’t take your own original images, there are photo-sharing sites such as Canva, Unsplash, or Flickr that are free. (Just make sure you have the ability to use them.)
What visual content are you creating to keep your marketing feeling fresh?
Do you have different content for different target audiences among your consumers?
What did Taylor do?
3. A single Lead Music Video unpacks the narrative of an entire album.
Swift released a lead music video for her Folklore song, “Cardigan.” She then ties her albums together. Where “Cardigan” ends, the story continues in the music video for “Willow” in her Evermore album. The way she links her products together with a consistent narrative makes you feel like you need to consume both albums to understand the full picture. Instead of making a music video for every song, Swift put the budget into two (extremely well done) videos to tell the entire story instead.
So what can you do?
Too many brands are going unseen and unknown, and as a result, are missing out on opportunities to serve people they will never meet. We live in a visual age where our audiences possess shorter attention spans than ever before. Eliciting memorability will happen more powerfully when you leverage video marketing.
We’d love to help! Schedule a meeting with us today so we can help you develop & execute a video marketing strategy that gets your brand seen, known, and trusted so that you can serve more and more people with the life-changing solutions you provide.
Taylor Swift may have won 2020, but the opportunities in 2021 are endless.
Fiat Lux!
