Online Communication, Business Assessment

    In today's day and age, especially post-Covid-19, online presence and, specifically, online shopping is at an all-time high. When I need something, my first thought is to get it on Amazon before I even consider driving to the store, and I definitely can't remember the last time I went to the mall. Because of this, businesses have had to find new and improved ways of marketing to potential customers online. Let's take Taylor Swift's merchandise store as an example. When most people think of Taylor Swift, the image that comes to mind is a brilliant singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and performer. What people don't always see, however, is how genius of a businesswoman she is, and how she and her marketing team go above and beyond to sell her brand to customers. 

When you open Swift's website, a pop-up ad reminding you to shop her target-exclusive black friday merch is the first thing you see. Closing out of this tab, you come face to face with Swift's most recent album - The Tortured Poets Department - and an option to stream/download the album onto your device. The top of the home page features 4 other tabs, allowing you to choose between the Merch Shop, Tour Dates, Directed Projects, and Mailing List Sign-Up sections. Each selection brings you to a different area of her website where you can view these various options. 

I believe this organization method is intended to bring attention to Swift's most recent work, seeing as The Tortured Poets Department is both the first thing you see and also the overall theme of the website design. This is something that is changed for each "era", aka each time a new album is announced and/or released. Along with the website's theme changing, the merchandise that she has displayed first always corresponds to and changes with her current era. I find this to be a very effective way for her to advertise what she is trying to promote, as well as bring more attention to her current project, as it is what your attention is first drawn to. More examples of different eras can be seen below. 

Swift's business communicates an identity online through both its website and its social media platforms. TaylorSwift.com communicates this identity through changes in the website's visual elements and advertisements during each album release, each time showcasing the same information, but displaying it in an updated way with each era. This is reflected on their social media, specifically their Instagram account (@TaylorNation), which also changes its profile picture, bio, and highlights during each of Swift's eras.

One of the biggest ways that Swift's website and social media exemplify good online communication with customers/fans is through the use of "easter eggs" - or references/details/messages hidden throughout their posts, stories, and music videos. Linked here is an article by Elle Magazine that discusses the easter eggs present in Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" music video. Overall, easter eggs are an excellent way to get fans engaged and get people talking about the things that they are doing as a company. TaylorNation is also quite active on social media, posting and replying to fans on both Instagram and Twitter almost every day, which is another way they communicate with consumers. However, this form of business communication generally appeals to a younger fanbase. The business could improve itself by searching for new ways to connect with customers that garner support from an older audience.

Some easter eggs in action! :

Though she isn't often seen as such, Taylor Swift is a businesswoman at her core. Her ability to rally her fans together, break records time and time again, and get people to buy multiple copies of the same record just because it's on different colored vinyl (guilty.... as sin) is not a coincidence - she truly is a mastermind at her craft.