Go Gaga Genius on Social Media Branding

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I’m not really a fan of pop stars. I’m more of an alternative-jazz-punk-fusion kind of guy, more like Incubus, Rage Against The Machine or Red Hot Chilli Peppers. But I couldn’t ignore the aura and the charisma of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta or popularly known as Lady Gaga!

Gaga’s talent, unique sense of style, and exceptional music has made her one of the hottest female artist of the decade. But what has this pop sensation have to do with social media?

Let me break it down to you with just a couple of her social media statistics (as of May 16, 2010):

1. Facebook Fan Page – 7,132,043 Fans
2. Official YouTube Channel – 122,233,383 Total Upload views (which also made her the first franchise to reach one billion views)
3. Verified Twitter Account – 4,023,719 Followers
4. Lady Gaga Alejandro Myspace Page – 1,298,665 Friends
5. According to Adage.Com,
   

   Since fall 2008, her digital-single sales have exceeded 20 million and her album sales hit 8 million…

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*Photo Courtesy of SpreePix-Berlin

Fine, I know she’s a celebrity and is expected to have those digits on her social media space. But name me a celebrity who has achieved this kind of feat to this date? I didn’t think so.

The point is she was (and still is) smart enough to use social media in distributing her music across the globe, extending her brand name, and reaching out to her fans (which are ultimately her customers). So what are the take aways from these amazing achievements?

Well Just Dance a bit and let me break it down to you how an ordinary Poker Face can rock the social media Paparazzi:

1. Great Product comes with Great Responsibilities – Every successful brand you see in social media started out with a great product. For Lady Gaga, it was her sheer talent and individuality that gave her that instantaneous stardom, without which, she would have been just any other pop star with the likes of Spears, Aguilera, and what’s her face? Simpson? (told you, not a fan or Pop stars)

   A great product will always last and will reach the rest of your customers through word of mouth. But a poor product / service cannot be rescued by great marketing, not even social media. In the recent SMX London 2010, Keving Gibbons of SEOptimise said: “Build brands around reputation not products.” – that’s how great it should be.

2. Create Your Own Style – Have you seen her music videos? Have you seen her in the Grammys? Have you seen her performed live? You’ll definitely know it’s Gaga performing. Not only did she create a unique artist, but she created a persona on her own. We’ve seen new brands suffer social media prejudice, being branded as copy-cats for the sole reason that they lacked individuality.

   Cliché as it may sound but – Strive to be Unique. Don’t keep looking at the rear view of what your competitors are doing, instead look at what they’re NOT doing yet and profit from those opportunities of your unique brand.

3. Consistency is Definitely Key – You may not have noticed, but Lady Gaga’s live gigs surpass her recordings – ALWAYS. Whether she’s performing for the Grammy Awards, VMAs, or at American IDOL, her performances are second to none.

   Your social media brand doesn’t have to be perfect all the time. But you have to work at giving your customers consistency in the quality of your products / services. If you have been doing customer service through Twitter then keep it up. If you have been posting blog updates weekly on your Facebook fan page – maintain that frequency. Your customers will be expecting that exact consistency that you have established.

4. Reach Out – According to Steve Berman, Universal Music’s president of sales and marketing;

   Gaga has worked tirelessly in keeping up daily if not hourly communication with her fans and growing fanbase through all the technology that exists now.

   Social media is all about conversation. Yes it has been the shiny little toy in marketing but the core is all about people’s conversations and relationships. Customers will always appreciate a human voice attending to their queries and concerns. It’s even better if you engage in little chats every now and then just to getting to know them a little bit more and learning what gets them engaged.

5. Brag a Little, Impress More – During the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, Gaga teamed up with Sir Elton John to perform a magnificent duet. When they entered the stage, Gaga shouted: “Take my picture Hollywood!” Well she had her bragging rights as she was singing side by side with the legendary Sir Elton John.

   This is quite tricky because the social media field is the center stage to every brand there is. While most shameless promotions end on deaf eyes ears, boasting your brand coverage or increased in sales can actually build credibility to your brand provided you have the performance to back it up with be it excellent customer service or renowned product satisfaction.

Go Gaga Genius on Social Media Branding is a post from: Small Business SEO Tips – SaktoSEO