Jerry Seinfeld says he “hates her”.
Flipping off Mets fans doesn’t make anyone popular. Crazy, eccentric, and a bit brash, yes…but don’t think for a moment that Lady Gaga doesn’t know what she’s doing.Two years ago, she came out of nowhere and has expertly parlayed her post-modern pop revolution into a business empire.
What’s her secret?
The smart folks point to her sprawling social media presence where she rules without equal.
My knee-jerk rebuttal is “of course…she’s a freak!”
But there’s something more, much more. Take a close look and you’ll see a strange genius to her social media antics and a blueprint you can apply to your own blog.
Strap in boy and girls – Here’s Gaga:
1. Don’t Be a Wuss (Fake It Until You Make It)
“When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year-old girl,” she says. “Then I say, ‘Bitch, you’re Lady Gaga, you get up and walk the walk today’. “
Being the best ain’t easy. Building a ubiquitous and DEEP social brand is emotionally draining. You will hit the wall. The question is what will you do when that moment comes. Will you pack it up and fade away or “Get Up and Walk the Walk Today”.
By the way, Gaga didn’t invent this grit. The best performers, athletes, authors and artists play hurt. They understand that hard work is 95% of the battle
2. Get Your 10,000 Hours In…
Gaga has been a sensation in the making for most of her 24-year-old life. She trained with Christina Aguilera’s vocal coach, played Pink Floyd covers for her band in High School and sharpened her instincts and style in underground clubs in NYC. When she “arrived”, her success was already earned.
You need to put in your time too. Social Brands succeed through expert storytelling and breathtaking writing. If you want to break through, you need to write until you are sick and then write some more. The same goes with your story. Write it. Tell it. Refine it and re-tell it. You can start acting like a diva once you’ve logged some sweat time.
3. Bet it All on Your Fans
“Michael got burned and he lifted that glittered glove so damn high so his fans could see him because he was in the art of show business”
Gaga adores her fans. She writes for them. Gives them exclusive access to her public concerts and private thoughts. She doesn’t rant and rave about her lack of privacy. She knows she is an entertainer and that she needs to bring it.
Her fans have rewarded her by propelling her past her competition in just 2 years. They swarm her albums, spread her story like Ebola and crush any outside dissent. Her devotion has gained her an army.
Sound familiar? Yep…Gaga has a Tribe. The lesson here is how she attracted her fans to her banner. In this case 100% dedication. Are you 100% dedicated to your readers, followers and fans? Do you publish daily? Are you constantly on the lookout for anything that will make your tribes’ lives better?
4. Model Success
The burning dance club question these days is if Gaga is a Madonna clone. If you listen to Gaga she clearly thinks the subject is moot. She sources her creative inspiration from Madonna, Michael Jackson, Queen, and Andy Warhol to name a few. Gaga knows that the best way to succeed fast is to find a successful model and make it your own.
How about you?
Are you reinventing the wheel? If so, stop it. Find someone that is “Crushing It”, study his or her model, and then make it your own. Add your personality, perspective and passion to make it distinct. Most of the fundamentals of blogging have been figured out. So don’t waste precious time spinning your wheels when a good enough answer is right in front of you.
Once you’ve quickly established your fundamentals…then its time to -
5. Create a Spectacle –
I’m sure you’ve already witnessed one of Gaga’s fashion spectacles. From torn fishnets and panties to Kermit the Frog dresses, Gaga makes sure she is never ignored. Her fashion sense is coldly calculated to shock, mesmerize and entrance. Lady Gaga is a walking show and she always over-delivers.
The days of “Me Too Blogging” are over (Maybe they never worked). Before the end of the day, 42,000 new blogs will be published; this is a publishing tide that will drown copycats – quick. To stand out – you need to create a spectacle. Find the line in your niche, nuzzle up to it and then frequently blow right past it.
Remember, your blog is a “digital show and you always have to deliver”.
6. Practice Your Craft Every Day
“I write music every day”
I’m sure that there are legions of songwriters lining up to write the next Gaga hit. But, Lady Gaga insists on writing her own music for 2 reasons: 1) It’s her brand and she controls every “jot and tittle” and 2) It’s her craft and she knows the Superstar’s Creed – Practice Makes Perfect.
Friend, are you writing every day? Are you mastering your craft with constant, deliberate practice? If you are looking for a magic bullet for success then this is it. Practice – or in the case of social branding, blog, post, tweet and create something new every single damn day.
Do this and your competitors will swear you are cheating.
7. Sweat the Details
Lady Gaga is gearing up for her next album launch. She knows the stakes and like a cagey Poker player with 2 aces – she’s going all in.
“I think I’m gonna get the album title tattooed on me and put out the photo”
Every detail of her album from the name, to the art, to the song lyrics is being scrutinized by Gaga. Nothing is being left to chance.
I suck at details. But I’ve found that true social branding is nestled deep in the details. The smallest item needs to be beat into line to make sure your readers get 100% and then some from your blog. Your font, graphics, blog titles, Facebook welcome tab, Twitter background and even your comment button must be made to toe the line.
Quick caveat: Strive for perfection but don’t wait for it. Keep moving forward and improve your blog branding incrementally. If you are truly a perfectionist then you’ll get everything squared away sooner rather than later.
8. Name and Nurture Your Tribe
Lady Gaga chuckles and slyly tells Larry King that she calls her Fans – “Monsters”. In fact, she named her 2nd album “Fame Monsters” in homage to her Tribe. Brilliant.
Gaga’s Monsters are influential and have pegged her star to the top of the Facebook, Twitter, and Pop Charts for 2 years. They even have poured enough cash into Gaga’s coffers to earn her a #4 spot on the Forbes Most Powerful Celebrities list.
Think about your reader. Describe them. What do they care about? What do they hate? Why are they following you? What’s your nickname for your tribe? This belly-to-belly intimacy is what makes social media work.
It works for Gaga – it will for you too.
Tell me something -
How are you crafting your blog’s brand? Are you pushing for superstar status? Did you learn something from the new Queen of Pop?
If you want to get more hard-hitting advice like you’ve just read sent directly to your email inbox then go ahead and subscribe here.
(Source: Rolling Stones Magazine; July Issue)
lady gaga i think don’t have time for blogging.. But tips here are great and really help bloggers to achieve what they thought of.
Brilliant post and analogies. I’m inspired to identify a fan transfer post to work on now. Congrats on the long list of comments and trackbacks. You deserve them and more.
Hey there Brenda. Always great to see you in the comments. By the way did you see your cameo in yesterday’s post?
I am not a fan of Lady Gaga. I do not understand her songs.
And I agree on all of your points. thank you.
awesomenessssss!
Stanford… this post was very.. very .. VERY.. inspirational for me. I read every single worth and I’m going to make an effort to follow each single step you described. I really liked the part when you said that having success depends 95% on the ability to work hard at your ‘craft’. It means making your blog/craft successful is something we all can do, if only we work HARD at it!
Thanks again for posting this.
Great post, loved the humor "spread her story like Ebola", lol! Excellent insight, I'll have to try to think of a name for my tribe. . . .
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Really love this article.. so I think lady gaga is very inspiring… especially me as her fans..
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One of your best posts Stanford. I love it. I will be shamelessly emulating what you've done here in terms of the approach you've used. Lady Gaga is a great model for success, and I'm impressed by your insight with this post.
I'm only 2 months into my blogging/social trip but I'm confident I can stand on the shoulders of a select few giants and prophets – you're dead right about not needing to reinvent the wheel! Just gotta do it a little bit better, be a little bit different and a little more relentless than the rest. It's the extra 1% that counts!
Thanks again for a great post!
James
My recent post 5 ways to keep your customers coming back for more
I absolutely love the novel approach to writing this post. Posts like this one are a "Fascinating Way to Spice Up a Boring Blog." You definitely take your own advice!
Christina Aguilera gets compared with some chick called Gaga and I’m infuriated. Who the heck is this Gaga thingy? Does she even have pipes as luxurious as Xtina’s? Those where the questions on my mind until I finally saw the video for Just Dance and Poker Face and this poor boy was hooked 4 life! lol
I ain’t ashamed to say I’m a lil’ monster. She represents a whole lot of insecurities which I deal with day in day out. She’s a living testimony that “freaks” can still be a major success. Her syle may sometimes be over the top but it still gets your tongue wagging and ain’t no bad publicity with that chick even when she’s strutting round town in her 5 inch heels, underwear and cellulite. lol
Creating a spectacle and fussing over details remains one of her strongest points as her music videos just don’t miss! But then fusing over the details gives me quite a migraine and feeds my paranoia so I just let go sometimes and come back afterwards to fix the tiny details.
Get Up and Walk the Walk Today ya’all
P.S: Do please install the subscribe to comments Plugin. Thanks
"Strange Genius" is a great way to describe Lady Gaga. She plainly displays her oddities and people feel they can be themselves through her. Plus, her music is fantastic!
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what is your name for us (your readers)? just curious…
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Man, you're COOL, but … uhmm … how about WILD, OVER THE TOP + BEYOND (no, not beyoncée, please
Want to see YOUR Mohawk =8-O
Hee, hee – I need to be a role model – I just cut it all off.
I just love this! Now you just have to do Michael Jackson or Andy Warhol next
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lol, I'm thinking hard about Jackson Pollack – freaky I know.
I think you've got her pegged, and I would imagine that the synergy that's created by doing all of those things is greater than the sum of the parts. There's still some sense of mystery, though, about how all of these things actually work to get you to the point of Gaga-dom.
Many of us would like to have the kind of success that Lady Gaga has had so far. I think there are several main differences between Gaga's world, however, and most of us. Gaga's outrageous, rebellious, in-your-face persona works for show biz, but what if your business is about environmentally friendly cat litter? Or ergonomic office chairs? Not so much.
The trick is to distill down all of these things, demystify them, and apply them. I don't think it's easy for most of us to see the Gaga connection to our own situations. Even the fact that she uses a stage name and lives a persona in public would come across to many of us and our customer base as fake or too over the top.
So, I've made it easy on myself. It really comes down to doing three things.
First, like Gaga, instill yourself with your sense of purpose and buy into your own message.
Second, use leverage to get that message out there. While you can't use American Idol to display your performance, you can use powerful websites to get your message to a larger audience. The main sites to use, of course, are Google, Yahoo! and Bing and their search results. That's still the main way people will find you.
Third, all the fancy presentation and message making won't work if people don't want what you have. Make sure that your offering has value above and beyond what the person next to you is offering. That will attract an audience and a following, including the search engines and the crowds on social media sites. That's it. Simple and demystified.
Thanks for the great post!
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I agree, you have to do what fits with your brand – however, no one has the right to be boring, opaque, and dull. If your brand or niche dictates this then don't waste time or money with social media. It takes a bit of creativity but even the kitty litter manufacturer can have a fun and dynamic personality.
Hi Stanford – great post and as a new blogger building a profile and working out direction, I love the focus on hard work, dedication, self belief and an incremental approach. Inspiring!
Terri
My recent post Gems 3
Dude, this is totally brilliant. I've read A LOT of social media articles and this is so fabulous! I'm not a huge fan of Lady G, but you're right – there is so much to learn from her! I think my favorites are #5 and #8…
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Great post, very informative. Keep up the good work, Thanks.
Love the 8 points. Great guidelines to follow for sure. She no doubt knows exactly what she's doing.
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Phenomenal post, Stanford. You're so good at capturing what really matters and communicating it with passion and focus. Keep "crushing it!"
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Thanks Michelle, stop on by anytime!
I started my blog before the word “blog” was coined. It was for my small group of friends, at least at first. I have lamented the dearth of bloggerly “indicators of success” — I rarely get comments, trackbacks, or even much spam for that matter. However, that’s kind of the point: it’s a quiet niche blog that attracts a tiny, fringe population.
My point is that although you can learn from Lady Gaga’s success and apply it as necessary, know what audience you want to attract and play to them — which may not be the most populous group. Lady Gaga’s goals appear to be to create a rampant, massive following, and social evolution has strongly “selected for” her techniques. But, for instance, the audience I want shuns labels and, rather than be enamored with a name, would be repelled by it: so I don’t name them collectively (only the occasional “Dear Reader” title crops up).
Jason, you know – I agree with you. However, I admire Gaga's because she puts her fans at the CENTER of her activities. She creates great content (music) and gives them a spectacular experience. Its not about the numbers in my opinion – its about the passion.
What do you think?
Thx! Welcome to the tribe! Your write @copyblogger Brian's tweet was a plus. I also was happy to see generous mentions from @ambercadabra, @chrisguillebeau, and many other terrific new friends.
Hey, stumbled on this post via twitter, it’s great! I pretty much “nothing” Lady GaGa (except that Glee episode, loved that!) but this is a fab article. Thankyou! xx
Brian Clark was nice enough to tweet this post out. WOW!
it takes a lot to wow this king, and you've done it.
Not only is this one of the best post's I've red this year, you have the coolest looking blog/site I've seen in a long time.
Keep crushing it. You've earned a new fan, and a new subscriber, Stanford.
The Franchise King®
@copyblogger – Brian is awesome. Copybloggers posts have been an inspiration for me. I'm glad you enjoy the scene here – keep coming back
Great concept post, which should get lots of hits. For a long time. The quote in point #1 is priceless. Great article.
I thought I was going to catch some heat for #1 – I'm glad my readers have some Chutzpah!
What an awesome analogy, Lady Gaga is the alpha and omega of epicness.
I'm very inspired by the way she creates her brand – it's mind-blowing. I believe more bloggers should pick her as a role model – there's just insane amounts of marketing advice coming from here !
Nice one, Stanford !
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Thanks Mars – I've already changed how I approach my blog based on Gaga's approach. Although I'm going to leave the fashion stuff alone
Great post Stanford! Live larger than life and the world beats a path to your door!
I especially liked how you point out that success is more than being crass and loud – it's about hard, hard crass and loud work. My dad's favorite phrase, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" rings true today as much as it did when he first heard it many years ago.
-Matt
My recent post Build a Business Website Part Three- Build an eCommerce Website
Loved this post Stanford! I think using Gaga as inspiration for making our blogging bigger and better is spot on. I don’t know if I care for all of her tactics, but there is no doubt that everything she does she does for a reason, and she’s made herself a force to be reckoned with!
I agree that sometimes her tactics (or antics) are off – like flipping off Mets fans. But she is doing a great job at taking care of her #1 business which is being a larger than life attraction for her fans
My wife is a huge fan of GaGa, which means…I know much more about her than I'd like. However, the post is dead on and as much as we may not agree with the 'sound' of message delivery, the path taken to deliver that message is the most important factor.
Thanks, Stanford!
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Hmm..Blaming your Gaga love on the wife huh?
Just like I know more than I should about Twilight because my wife loves it…
By the way – I like your Blog Myth post!
LOL, caught me!! Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to read!
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Something important to take into consideration – giving promotion 110% is great, but misplaced if there's no content to push in the first place. Lady Gaga might be famous for a myriad of reasons now, but it started with music. The music is what got her popular, not the frog dress.
Now , that's not to say a frog dress can't make you just as famous, but always remember who your fans are, and why they're your fans.
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Right on! I think Gaga would agree too since she spent years in the Clubs perfecting her sound (AKA: Message)
Stanford- v. insightful post. Not a LG fan by any stretch but she has a great swagger and is the reigning queen of self promotion.
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Awesome post – thanks for the link through 3T.
I've always thought Lady Gaga was a marketing genius. I really like how you've broken down her successful actions into doable actions for bloggers. There's an amazing amount of value and it's a good reminder to keep your branding inline and relevant. What I've learned from Gaga is certainly to "sweat the details." It seems like so many people want you to ignore the little things because It's a bit more difficult. In my opinion, those are the differentiators, the things that set you apart from the norm.
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Stanford – awesome post! Gaga does know how to build a tribe and she is darn good at it. Behind all that shock value is a very smart business woman who know what she is doing. I think what she has taught me is that there is always room for someone new!
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Stanford,
Thanks for the link through 3T. This post rocks! I am so out of the loop when it comes to new music having moved to Israel with my wife and two little kids last year. But I know Lady Gaga from watching that episode of Glee where it was all about Gaga. I have found myself questioning the whole "me too" approach lately and trying to steer clear away from it. It's funny, when I first started blogging for my business, I looked at it as a way to inform clients and potential clients about social media fundamentals. A lot of what I was saying was rehashed by other bloggers a lot. Then there'd be a post that was just different and I loved it more than all the other posts (I was doing this a lot on my blog to book project Lurkers Anonymous b/c I didn't care if anyone was reading – I was writing like it was my public notebook). Now I'm at the point where I don't want to write it if it ain't truly me. We can all learn from Gaga to work hard, inject ourselves in what we write, and bring it.
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"Now I'm at the point where I don't want to write it if it ain't truly me" – Bravo. This is the straightest path to being a superstar.
stanford, lady g is not someone i like/follow but i did fully get the blog. i am just waiting for the whole world to turn bald given she was snapped the other day bald.
Hi Stanford, just popping into say hi. I love Lady G – we go for a lot of walks together on the beach and she really picks me up, energises me and makes me feel ready to take on the world. So I will add: be disctincitve, be fun, be an energy ball!
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