# The Many Marketing Eras of Taylor Swift

- Link: https://chatterblast.com/blog/the-many-marketing-eras-of-taylor-swift/
- Published: 2023-06-13T11:29:02-04:00
- Author: chatterblastteam

Since the announcement of “The Eras Tour,” Taylor Swift has been having one of her
most viral moments yet. It feels like all anyone can talk about is if they got tickets
to her concert, what they’ll be wearing, or which songs she played at the latest
show.

I’ll come right out and say it: I’m over it. 

That’s right. Bravely, I announce that I am not a Swiftie. But before anyone can
get too defensive, I will say that I respect and appreciate her music, I’m just 
not a legitimate fan (as far as Taylor Swift fans go, which we all know, is intense).
So while her music doesn’t speak to me like it does to many, I still find myself
writing this to sing her praises in another respect. 

Taylor Swift has talent, but she also does a killer job of marketing herself. 

For someone to stay so relevant and popular in the music industry for so long ([17 years](https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/every-taylor-swift-album-era-style),
to be exact), across multiple genres, she must be doing something right. I’m here
to catalog just a few of the best marketing tactics throughout her career to prove
that she owes her fame, at least in part, to an A+ marketing and P.R. team.

## **Reinvention **

Let’s start with one of her most impressive maneuvers. Taylor Swift has reinvented
herself numerous times throughout her career, changing the style of her music and
fashion across multiple genres. Just looking back at a few of her album covers over
the years, you can see clear differences. She made a complete switch from country
to pop just between her albums _Red _and _1989_!

She released her first album, _Taylor Swift_, at the age of 16 and has been releasing
new music ever since, putting her at 33 years old now. That fact alone makes these
moments of metamorphosis feel genuine, allowing young fans to “grow up” with her,
experiencing the same growing-pains put into song along the way. And maybe it is
genuine… but it’s also a stroke of self-promoting genius. 

By continuing to evolve, taking on these unique personas and creating music for 
them, Swift opens herself up to new audiences every time. Some Swifties are loyal
to her edgier sound in an album like _Reputation, _while others only got on board
when she released her more indie side with albums like _Folklore _and _Evermore.
_If the goal is to keep growing your fan base until [even the Linc seems little](https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/taylor-swift-fans-eras-tour-philadelphia-2023-lincoln-financial-field-20230513.html),
Taylor’s really figured it out.  

## **Album Teasers and Merchandise **

Now, not only does her sound vary from album to album, but each Taylor Swift release
has shown a better, more evolved promotion plan. Like many artists following suit
after Beyonce’s _Lemonade_, she left some albums as surprise drops with little to
no warming (_Folklore _and _Evermore)_, but was much craftier when it came to building
excitement for other album releases. 

Taylor adopted the use of social media early in her career and continues to use 
it creatively to hint at new music for her fans to decipher. In her own words, she’ll
often drop “cryptic clues” when telling fans about new music. Leading up to her 
release of 2022’s _Midnights_, for example, she leaned into TikTok to tease a few
song titles. In this case, she was a bit more straightforward in the reveal, however,
you’d only catch this tidbit if you’re on TikTok, which is a strategic way to ensure
followers. Can’t miss that next hot reveal! 

>  [@taylorswift](https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorswift?refer=embed)
> Midnights tracklist reveal!! Introducing: Midnights Mayhem with Me 🌌😎 [#TSmidnighTS](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tsmidnights?refer=embed)
> [#SwiftTok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/swifttok?refer=embed) [#MidnightsMayhemWithMe](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/midnightsmayhemwithme?refer=embed)
>  [♬ Midnights Mayhem episode 1 – Taylor Swift](https://www.tiktok.com/music/Midnights-Mayhem-episode-1-7145678054226955051?refer=embed)

She also got clever with her merchandise for _Midnights_. [Four different editions and art covers](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-midnights-artwork-clock-1235140079/)
of the album were released on vinyl, including the ‘Jade Green’, ‘Blue Moon’, ‘Mahogany’,
and ‘Lavender’ editions. When all four album covers are put together, they form 
a clock. 

Not only does this give fans more buying options, but it gives them additional incentive_
_to invest in all four editions (for… a clock). The fact that it’s an original idea
from Taylor herself is just the sort of thing to make her fans say “I have to have
them all.” 

## **Throwbacks **

If fans aren’t excited enough about albums when they come out the first time around,
Taylor Swift has also found ways to give them a second life of hype (and thus give
herself a chance to keep capitalizing on it). Taylor released her first re-recorded
album, _Fearless (Taylor’s Version), _in [2021](https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-fearless-rerecording-album-breaks-billboard-records/).

The album contained all of the songs on the original record, along with six brand
new songs. Even though most of this music was familiar to fans, the album [debuted at number one](https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-fearless-rerecording-album-breaks-billboard-records/)
on the _Billboard 200_, and became the first re-recorded album in history to do 
so.

There’s genius behind this move for both old fans and new: old fans who might’ve
fallen off the Swiftie bandwagon have incentive to get back on, while new fans who
might not have explored this earlier era can now be formally introduced. She went
on to release _Red (Taylor’s Version) _later in 2021, calling back to a different
era altogether. 

If that reference to an “eras” wasn’t enough of a hint, the next shout-out goes 
to her current tour, “The Eras Tour.” Rather than touring a new album, Taylor decided
to go on tour honoring all ten of her studio albums, including “surprise songs” 
which change for each show. The design of this tour offered something to every single
subset of Swifties since it has a little something from every album. Not only did
this create an absolute [craze when tickets went on sale](https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/taylor-swift-crash-ticketmaster-site-1235433274/),
but fans started streaming her past hits as a result and [increased daily streams](https://en.as.com/entertainment/how-taylor-swifts-eras-tour-has-helped-her-streaming-numbers-n/)
of her music. Marketing. Genius. 

## **Relationship-Building with Her Fans **

This one exists across all of the tactics I listed before but deserves its own discussion,
as Taylor Swift is probably unmatched when it comes to connecting with her fans.
While some may not consider this a “marketing tactic,” it’s hard to argue that at
least some of her popularity cannot be attributed to her ability to build authentic-
seeming relationships with fans. I mentioned earlier that she was an early adopter
of social media, but she doesn’t use it just to share content. Taylor often uses
social to create personal moments of connection with fans and followers. 

One of her first efforts at this was way back in 2014, when she sent Christmas presents
to 32 of her followers on Tumblr, during what fans call “[Swiftmas](https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-swiftmas-6415161/).”
All of these individuals were fans with whom she had interacted with on Tumblr or
in-person. The presents reflected said relationships with that trademark Taylor 
Thoughtfulness. 

> View this post on Instagram
> [A post shared by Hailey Johnson (@missshailey)](https://www.instagram.com/p/vRhXa8LUqz/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)

She continues to regularly [find and chat with her fans through social media](https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/taylor-swift-reunites-with-10-year-old-fan-during-massachusetts-concert/XE2HVTRIKBBHFIM7C7EO5VJAQY/)
and will stay in touch with them years later, like an old friend. She’s even invited
fans to her own home to listen to unreleased music with her, in what she calls “
[Secret Sessions](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/10/taylor-swift-1989-secret-sessions-video).”

This kind of above-and-beyond effort to know her fans has made her not only famous,
but beloved dearly by her fans. I guess there’s a reason the Swiftie’s go so hard.

And while I don’t see myself getting converted anytime soon, I have a lot of respect
for how much strategy, effort, and thought Taylor Swift puts into her career. Between
finding, listening to, and engaging with her audiences to create a sense of personality,
mystery and excitement around her work, I think we all stand to learn a thing or
two from Taylor Swift’s marketing. (Her latest move? Distancing from [Matt Healy](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-1975-matty-healy-ice-spice-apology-1234721163/?sub_action=logged_in).
Though I’m still curious why she publicized a relationship with someone so starkly
in contrast with the values she claims in the first place.)