4 marketing takeaways from Taylor Swift

Perhaps you’ve heard that Taylor Swift recently released a new album, The Life of a Showgirl.

Not only did the full-length smash sales records, but it also spawned endless musical analysis (Who exactly is “Father Figure” about?) and viral moments (Is the mystery of the orange door actually solved?).

Of course, Swift’s marketing savvy is as impressive as her musical talent. The album rollout also illustrated Swift’s knack for promotion — and underscored why she’s a once-in-a-generation pop star.

Although not everyone can land a No. 1 album or launch a sold-out stadium tour, all is not lost: You can still keep it 100 in your own business with these marketing lessons gleaned from Taylor Swift.

Illustration by Olivia Heller

Reward your most loyal customers.

Swift is known for her loyalty to her devoted fans, the Swifties. Years ago, she randomly showed up at a wedding shower she was invited to, and bought Christmas gifts for other followers. Before releasing her reputation and Lover albums, she held Secret Sessions, where she premiered the record (and ate homemade goodies) with hand-picked groups of uber-fans.

These experiences made her followers feel unique and special — and cemented their fandom for life.

Make an effort to know your audience. Knowing who your customers are will make your marketing better.

• Send a brief survey to your email list in exchange for a discount.
• Hold an online conversation and take questions from followers.
• Earlier this year, we surveyed Masters in Marketing readers, and you told us that you wanted to see even more tactical content!

Hold a customer appreciation event.

• If you have a brick-and-mortar store, earmark a certain day to celebrate your customers with a festive event.
• Smaller (or virtual) businesses might run a sale or special to reward customers.
• Take a page from The Hustle’s playbook: Our sister newsletter gives you a unique link to share with friends and colleagues. You start to earn prizes — like notebooks, mugs, or a backpack — when at least three of those people subscribe.

Start a membership club.

• Who doesn’t like to be part of a special club, especially if it offers discounts, members-only events, or exclusive news?
• Consider free or low-cost membership to make this accessible to more people.

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Keep things fresh — but consistent.

With each Swift album era, fans can expect certain things: exclusive vinyl variants, a different color scheme (The Life of a Showgirl is dazzling orange and cool mint green) and special merch options (including a unique cardigan and snow globe). This method appeals to collectors, sure — but also shows the ways Swift’s career builds on itself over time.

Have a regular marketing cadence.

Customers appreciate a business that’s predictable and reliable.

• Send a newsletter on the same day of the week or share a video every two weeks.

Build a content marketing strategy.

It’s easy to lose track of what content you have (or want) to share. A structured content marketing strategy, which could include things such as a content calendar, can help you see what’s missing and what’s successful.

• Alana Chinn, who runs editorial operations for HubSpot‘s marketing blog, uses Asana to manage her team’s content pipeline. She says, “Having that structure means we‘re never scrambling to get content out the door. We know what’s coming, and our audience knows when to expect it.”
• Alana recommends: Content strategy red flags: What B2B marketing teams get wrong and how to course-correct

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Cultivate a brand that shows off your personality.

As a true millennial, Swift was quite active on MySpace and loved to share her life via video blogs or diary entries. Once her career took off, she didn’t use social media as much, but when she did, her personality shone through. After all, only Taylor would accidentally take her parents to a Las Vegas club.

Don’t feel pressure to market everywhere.

• It’s tempting to hop on every viral trend or new social media platform; after all, FOMO is real. Focus your marketing on the channels with the most potential (or the most followers) for better results.

• The HubSpot Marketing YouTube channel has been running the same playbook for three years, and it’s a workhorse for us, getting nearly 425k views every month. HubSpot marketer Nelson Chacón Guzman says the secret is how focused it stays: one channel (YouTube), one format (how-to explainers), and one strategy (search-informed).

Mix your sales messaging with personal insights.

• Customers respond to marketing that sounds human. Share things about your life alongside news about your business; for example, perhaps you ate an amazing dessert, read a great book, or saw a beautiful sunset.

• Focus on your strengths. Not everyone loves being on video or is an award-winning photographer. But maybe you’re an ace copywriter or can make an Instagram caption sing.

• Lean into the areas where you feel most comfortable; your marketing will thank you later.

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Be welcoming.

Swift’s fandom is rife with lore. (Exhibit A: The “No, it’s Becky” meme.)

But even if you’re not an OG fan who saw her open for Rascal Flatts in 2006, you’re not excluded from the fandom. If anything, long-time loyalists want to bring everyone into the fold, whether it’s Taylor Tots (the term for adorable toddler Swifties) or recent converts.

Swift is clearly the same way: For example, the viral TikTok dance for “The Fate of Ophelia” isn’t overly complicated — and you can even do it sitting down!

Occasionally reintroduce yourself.

With the way algorithms work today, it’s easy to miss out on an important event or cool business.

• Don’t shy away from saying hello to your followers every so often. After all, before every Eras Tour show, even Swift did this, exclaiming, “Hi, my name is Taylor — and I was born in 1989!”

Be authoritative, but not exclusive.

• Use inside jokes or niche colloquialisms sparingly, as these phrases might alienate potential customers. Instead, talk about your business using language that everyone can relate to.