Beyoncé + Instagram: an Internet Slaying Duo
If there is anyone who has revolutionized the music industry, it’s Beyoncé and her marketing team. While the music industry crumbled under the evolution of the digital age, Beyoncé’s team adapted and used it to their advantage. Beyoncé has pushed the norms of music production and music marketing. Ever since her self-titled album, visual albums and surprise album releases — aka “pulling a Beyoncé” — have become a standard in the music industry. Numerous artists like Frank Ocean and Justin Bieber have integrated visuals as a core component of their music and surprise albums have become the norm for album releases. BEYONCÉ (2014) transitioned her from a pop-star to a musical-icon and trailblazer for music innovation.
And it all started with one Instagram post.
https://www.instagram.com/p/h2YFO6Pw1d/?hl=en
Beyoncé and her team understand that we live in a visual culture and Instagram is the epitome of that world. Her Instagram mirrors her music where she simply just puts it out there into the world and lets us make it viral and create the discussion around it.
Instagram has been the core platform that Beyoncé uses and has mastered its functions to strengthen her relationship with fans and her music’s presence. The success of her Instagram account lies in the fact that despite her fame, she is still enigmatic. Beyoncé is pretty strict on how much of her personal life is exposed, and when fans do get a glimpse, they go crazy. Her Instagram account has become the exclusive source into Beyoncé’s personal life — outside of that she’s unreachable. Instagram is also the exclusive source for all her current projects, specifically for all her album releases.
Beyoncé’s magnum opus, self-titled album has become a pivotal moment in her career and in transforming the music industry. Beyoncé used Instagram to reverse the album marketing strategy. Instead of using a bottom-up process that builds up to the release of album, she releases the album first and then launches the marketing plan. Instagram has become the tip of the iceberg for Beyoncé’s marketing strategies: it starts on Instagram then leaks into every other social platform. The surprise post on Instagram is meticulously planned and is instantly supported with a succinct marketing plan. Her Facebook page and website is immediately updated and her music magically appears on every music platform. The one post creates a ripple effect and soon, every click you make on the internet is Beyoncé-fied.
Beyoncé’s marketing team works rigorously to perfectly curate their plan but the primary element of their strategy lies in word of mouth. Their marketing plan doesn’t include various facets; they know the stature of their artist, the power of the BeyHive, and how viral-hungry media outlets are, and so they plant the seed on Instagram and let the magic happen. Her marketing team are masters of surprise.
Example: “Pic of Blue Ivy… pic of food, more food, more food… Beyoncé wearing a giraffe hat… announcement and release of new self-titled album — the BeyHive are ecstatic! Everyone buys a full album for the first time since 2000! Everyone is talking about it! The Internet is broken! — cupcakes… cookies…”
After breaking the Internet, Beyoncé posted a picture of cupcakes and cookies… I find it hilarious that that’s what she — and I guess her team — decided would be the next best post after the announcement. Its effortless, cheeky, and in a way, makes her seem more authentic. I think what makes Beyoncé’s Instagram marketing strategy so effective is its simplicity and how it effortlessly blends her art, brand and personal life.
