Memorable Social Media Marketing Campaigns From Big Names in Music

Social Media

Before there was social media, musicians had to promote themselves through traditional marketing strategies. Now that social media marketing has become so crucial today, some of the biggest names in music are leveraging it in super creative ways to promote their albums, tours, and more.

After doing some research on some well-known social media marketing campaigns from some of the most popular artists today, here are some of the most memorable ones I came across.

Taylor Swift’s 1989 Album Release

T. Swift is no stranger to social media. The girl knows how to use it to her advantage and is always engaging with her fans using Twitter and Instagram. She finds a unique way to interact with her audience on each site she joins. During the release of her most recent album titled “1989,” it was only natural that she would promote it on social media. She created hype for the album months in advance by Tweeting about the album using the hashtags #TS1989 and #5HoursUntilOutoftheWoods. Both hashtags trended worldwide. She also joined Tumblr a month before her album launch, which was not a coincidence.

Demi Lovato’s Timed Twitter Campaign

Another pop diva who is very familiar with social media is Demi Lovato. Back in 2013 she promoted her new album on social media in a very original and unique way. Before the scheduled release of her full album titled “Demi,” she released tracks in a timed Twitter campaign. She encouraged her viewers to Tweet the track name in order to unlock it so they could hear the whole song. Once the track became a trending topic on Twitter, it became unlocked for everyone who wanted to listen to it. In just hours, the campaign achieved four worldwide trending topics and all of the songs were unlocked. The campaign was only launched the day before.

Justin Timberlake’s #TakeBackTN Campaign

The Prince of Pop knows a thing or two about leveraging social media. A social media campaign was created around his album “The 20/20 Experience” where his viewers were able to Tweet the hashtag #TakeBackTN, which is the name of a song from the album, and when they included it in their Tweets they unlocked new, exclusive content including an interactive map that features all the places that were filmed for the video. As if JT couldn’t get more clever, the hashtag is a play on words. You could interpret the letters TN as “The Night” or “Tennessee,” which is the state he’s from.

Beyonce’s Surprise Album Release

How could anyone forget Beyonce’s surprise album drop? Instead of traditional marketing methods, Beyonce turned to Twitter and Instagram to promote the album “Beyonce.” It had no prior promotion, which is what made the campaign so intriguing. She posted a 10 second video of her album on Instagram along with the caption “Surprise!” Right after she made the announcement on Instagram, the album was released on iTunes. Her marketing method demonstrated the true power of social media.

Drake’s Surprise Album Release

Drake took a similar marketing approach to Beyonce. In February of this year, the ex-Degrassi star released an unexpected album via Twitter and linked to his latest mixtape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.” Before his album was released he posted a bizarre message of the album art on Instagram. The surprise album release seems to be a rising trend and seems to create a ton of buzz.

All of these social media campaigns have something in common. Each artist intended to get their audience engaged and made their campaigns more interactive. They wanted their fans to be involved, and they definitely accomplished that goal. All the campaigns truly show how powerful social media is and what it can do for your business, whichever one you may be in.