“Social media is a reflection of what we love, so people are becoming very good at sharing exactly what they love and the brands and musicians they love,” writes Calum Branan in an article about Lada Gaga replacing Oprah as #1 on Fortune magazine’s Celebrity 100 list. “People relate to her and social networking is all about that personal connection. People look at her background and where she’s come from and they look at what she’s achieved in a relatively short period of time.”
I agree. Brands have something to learn from Lada Gaga about how to be better conversation architects. For Lada Gaga, social media is the fulcrum of all her marketing and product management. It allows her to learn directly from her fans and audience and she uses that information to evolve her live show and tap into the zeitgeist. By communicating directly with her fans, she is a real person, not a distant celebrity. And the constant innovation and creativity she brings to her music and live show gives her fans something new to talk about every day. Brands must do the same thing. Unless they can learn to be more like Lada Gaga, they too may suffer the same fate as Oprah as newer, younger and more socially savvy brands topple the reigning ones.
