There’s a lot that marketers can learn from the marketing minds behind the entertainer Lady Gaga.
1. Give fans a name. Gaga doesn’t like the word “fan” so she calls them her “Little Monsters,” named after her album “The Fame Monster.” She even tattooed “Little Monsters” on her arm and tweeted the pic to fans professing love for them. Now fans are getting their own Little Monster tattoos. By giving the group a formal name, it gives fans a way to refer to each other. Fans feel like they are joining a special club.
2. Make it about something bigger than you. During her concert tour, Gaga recites a “Manifesto of Little Monsters” (text) (video). Although a bit cryptic, most Little Monsters see it as a dedication to them, that her fans have the power to make or break her.
3. Develop shared symbols. The official Little Monster greeting is the outstretched “monster claw” hand. As all Little Monsters know, the clawed hand is part of the choreography in the video of her song “Bad Romance.” Gaga tells the story of watching a fan in Boston greet another fan with the claw hand and that’s when she knew this was the Little Monster symbol. Even Oprah knows the Little Monster greeting. Shared symbols allow fans to identify each other and connect.
4. Make your customers feel like rock stars. One staple of Gaga’s “Monster Ball” tour is to call a fan in the audience during the show. She dials the number onstage, the fan screams out, is located and they are put up on a big screen. While the rest of audience goes bananas, she invites the fan to have a drink with her after the show.
5. Leverage social media. Gaga has the requisite Facebook fan page (over 5 million fans) and Twitter ID (almost 3 million followers) but it’s how she uses them that drives loyalty. On Twitter, she tells fans what she is doing, such as tweeting them before she opened the Grammy Awards. She also tweeted to fans that she was buying them pizza for waiting overnight at an album signing.
From Church of the Customer Blog (thanks Debbie Cavalier)
Thanks for sharing this article Dave. Some great ideas to spark the imagination on how to make your fans or your customers, friends and family feel really special. That’s the key to living a life that has impact on others, isn’t it? Really caring, and finding unique ways of letting them experience that care.
..I just have visions of a gaga fan getting shot on the East side as someone mistakes the claw for a gang sign! ;-p
One thing Dave – is there anyway you can set your RSS feed to deliver the entire post – I know – it does bring me back to the site and thereby raises the likelihood that I’ll comment – but – it also reduces the likelihood that I’ll read the article if I can’t see the whole thing in my reader.
I do appreciate the content – thank you!
Andrew
I love that version of poker face. Shows you Steffani DOES have REAL talent behind all that glitter.
Thanks for the article and all the links, Dave!
Cheers,
Thanks for the post Dave. I think the underlining point here is BE CREATIVE. Engage your audience. In today’s multimedia world of instant connection, fans want to know that they have access to who you really are and they want to be a part of that. They want to feel like you as an artist are similar to them as a person. When they are able to connect through fan names, symbols and what they feel is unique information about who you are or what you’re doing, they feel more connected and therefor have a bigger buy in to you as an artist. Treat your fans like they are your friends and a part of your inner circle and they will not only be loyal, buy merch and see you perform often, but they will bring their other friends along with them.
RMS
http://www.ryanstanley.com
‘Setting the Stage for the Performance of Your Life’
This is a great article about the value of fan interaction. From a music fan perspective there is nothing else I would love more than to connect with my favorite band even if just for a minute in some way.
Too often artists/bands show up for their gig. Talk to their friends or family before the show then talk to the same folks after the show. At this point they’re missing a huge opportunity to connect to their fans, potential fans, etc. At the smallest of shows there is probably 2-3 new fans they could connect with, or they could meet the venue staff (who talk to other folks as well), etc.
Also, connecting long distance via Facebook, Twitter, etc. can mean life long fans. It just takes a minute and it doesn’t have to be something you spend 24 hours a day on.
Thanks for the article, Dave !
What works for Lady Gaga WON’T WORK for the average indie band. Sorry to burst your bubble.