With more than 42 million Twitter followers, almost 3 billion YouTube views and more than 67 million likes on Facebook, Lady Gaga is truly a media sensation and an audience-building maverick — landing in the top 10 of all digital media channels. But what can you learn from this outrageous pop superstar that applies to your B2B audience?
Find your niche and be unique
There is no question that Lady Gaga’s flamboyant dress and style make her unique and define her brand.
How can your company be unique? As a company, it is tempting to try to be all things to all people. It is important, however, to find your niche and truly own it.
While you might have lots of product and service offerings, which one or two do you deliver best? Identify those offerings and do something different than your competition.
Be authentic
Lady Gaga is known for posting updates about her sleepless nights and missing her dog while on the road.
How can your company authentically connect with customers? Your company’s messaging needs to have personality and honesty. Can your CEO share personal insights from a recent conference? Find ways to give your customers a peak behind the scenes of what makes your organization amazing.
Be relevant
Lady Gaga connects with fans over current events. For example, proceeds from her Jan. 24, 2010, concert were donated to Haiti relief.
How can your company connect with customers and prospects in a timely and meaningful way? Does your industry typically have plant shutdowns in July? Offer some advice on how to use plant shutdowns to enhance operations.
Stand for something
Lady Gaga is quoted as saying, “Being provocative is not just about getting people’s attention. It’s about saying something that really affects people in a positive way.”
Does your company feel strongly about your technical solution being superior to the alternatives? Take a controversial stand and be ready to defend it. People connect with people and companies who are passionate and are willing to share their expertise.
Be accessible
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogging … Lady Gaga offers her fans every communication channel as a means of connecting with her.
How are you making your internal company experts available to your industry? Social media has made all levels of the organization accessible to outsiders. While you may not have the budget or human resources to be on all channels, select a few social channels and engage the help of your company experts to connect. Try a combination of blog posts, Twitter and LinkedIn as a starting point.
While Lady Gaga and the music industry can be outrageous as well as entertaining, the truly great entertainers have mastered the art of building a personal brand and connecting with fans. What will your company do differently to build a brand that is unique while adding value to customers and prospects that can be immediately used?
