Lori Lewis calls herself “a student of social media” even though she’s more knowledgeable than anyone we know in and around the radio business. The truth is that we’re all learning the in’s and out’s of what it means to behave socially on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. In today’s guest post, Lori taps into the innate wisdom of Taylor Swift, and applies some common sense to the “selfie” phenomenon.
The Taylor Swift Op-Ed piece that ran in the Wall Street Journal earlier in the month caught the attention of many – including lots of radio people who work with music stations.
Everyone who has had the privilege to meet Taylor knows that she is one of those rare artists that understands today’s real currency is personalized attention.
(KFRG/Riverside-San Bernardino On-Air Talent Heather Froglear, with her daughter, and Taylor Swift.)
But maybe one side of Taylor that has gone less recognized is how insightful and moving she can be with her words – beyond writing awesome break-up songs.
If you read her piece, you know she gave us endless eye-catching quotes – words that go deeper than just an opinion piece about the state of the music industry – words you can apply to your own brand:
On the value of music (and more importantly, our own talent):
“My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet…is that they all realize their worth and ask for it.”
On connection:
“Forming a bond with fans in the future will come in the form of constantly providing them with the element of surprise. No, I did not say ‘shock’; I said surprise.”
On separating yourself from the pack:
“In the YouTube generation we live in, I walked out onstage every night of my stadium tour last year knowing almost every fan had already seen the show online. To continue to show them something they had never seen before, I brought out dozens of special guest performers to sing their hits with me.”
And then this quote – the one that had everyone buzzing.
On keeping up with what fans really want:
“There are a few things I have witnessed becoming obsolete in the past few years, the first being autographs. I haven’t been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera. The only memento “kids these days” want is a selfie.”
Many might see “selfies” as self-involved, mindless snapshots but there’s something fun about this digital photo trend that can help a brand stay energetic and lively – so long as it’s handled right. If you think you or your station is above “selfies,” hopefully some of the guidelines and examples below will change your mind.
The key to “selfies” is that they must exceed expectations in order for this type of self-expression to work. Anything self-indulgent and/or run selfie of the mill is as brand erosive as a bad break. Over time, the audience becomes fatigued and unmoved – creating passive fans.
And there is no value in a passive social fan base.
So we have to keep working at this – but understanding why we’re doing it in the first place. Here are some “selfie” guidelines:
- “Selfies” give brands the visual opportunity to tell a story with few words.
- When brands emulate how fans participate – the likelier the content is share-worthy in their eyes.
- And most of all – you just make someone’s day.
Just look at some of your colleagues, who are stars in their own right, foregoing the autograph for their own “celebrity selfie” moments:
(WBOS – Radio 929/Boston Jason Rossi)
(Publicist Stephanie)
(WBFM – B93/Sheboygan On-Air Talent Jessica Lynn)
(WRIF/Detroit Afternoon Mad Man Meltdown with Kid Rock)
(KILT – The Bull/Houston On-Air Talent Nick Russo)
(XHRM – Magic 92.5/San Diego’s Kristi from the Jagger and Kristi Morning show)
(Hybrid Jazz show host/Trish Hennessey)
(KIOT/San Francisco PD Brian Figula)
(WHQG -THE HOG/Milwaukee PD Joe Calgaro)
(KMKF – K-ROCK 101.5/Manhatten PD/Morning Star Shawn Rock)
(WGTR – Gator 107.9/Myrtle Beach PD Jeff Roper)
(Owner/Publisher Sands Report Scott Sands)
(Music Dir./Exec Producer at The Big Time with Whitney Allen – Jackie Stevens)
(Pat Clark and AJ, Hosts of “Pat and AJ In The Morning,” currently ‘on the beach’)
And EMI/Nashville’s John Trapane reminds us that we’re not the only one that takes selfies, the artists do, too!
We even take selfies with people we don’t really know:
And forget celebrities, some of our favorite selfies are with the ones we love most:
And my favorite of them all – asking the artist to say, “Hi” to someone else while taking a selfie. Cumulus/Atlanta OM Rob Roberts, along with artist Ed Sheeran, had a message for me as I was writing this piece:
I’m sure there will be a day where we say, “Remember when we used to take all those awful selfies?” But until then, Taylor Swift’s words capture the spirit of our culture so well at this point in time.
This moment is exciting. There are so many creative avenues to explore. How else do you explain an entirely viral type of self-expression?
“Stepping out of your comfort zone is rewarded. The only real risk is being too afraid to take a risk at all.”
And just this week – maybe one of the greatest selfies of all time, captured on the streets of Omaha. What would you have done if you’d happened across these two guys on the street? Would you have had your wits about you to take a selfie?
A little back story on that selfie of me and the dog – his name is Coal and he is one of my favorite rescue dogs ever. He was rescued as a tiny puppy from a meth house bust in Kentucky and later adopted by my friend Nina, a Navy veteran and Search & Rescue dog trainer. Coal is now a certified Search and Rescue dog and was, in fact, the youngest dog ever to earn a search vest. He’s a clever boy and a great dog (yes, he’s a pit bull – my favorite breed).
Laura, and that story makes the selife even more interesting. As we know, there’s a story behind every one of them. Thanks for sharing Coal’s story.
The selfie is today’s currency of cool….as in “Show me the Selfie”.
Yup, and Taylor Swift has probably picked up on that faster than any other music star. Thanks, Brad.