I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE
Social Media Tips from Shia LaBeouf
by David Powell
Actor Shia LaBeouf, most famous for his role in the Transformers saga, recently doubled his following on Twitter. If he were to give you his strategy for the rapid growth of his followers, it would look like this:
- Plagiarize first. Film a short movie based entirely on a graphic novel you didn’t write and don’t even pretend to give credit to the actual author.
- Be classy and apologize. But plagiarize someone else’s apology (it’s hard not to love that sort of irony).
- Get violent. Drunkenly head-butt an Englishman, and in your apology tweet, make sure to hashtag #STOPHEADBUTTING
- Retire daily. Claim your public life is one giant “performance art” project and then call it quits by tweeting every day:
I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE
5. Be classy again with tuxedo accessories. Specifically, wear a paper bag onto which you’ve magic-markered your catchphrase “I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE” to the red carpet premier of your latest film. Find yourself more famous than you’ve been since Transformer 3.
A little out of the box, but hey, if it works, roll with it.
The point is, our not famous LaBeouf found the spotlight again.
Seriously. When he started tweeting about his lost fame, Shia had roughly 80k followers on Twitter.
At the time of this writing, he has nearly twice that.
His methods may seem crazy, but they got him 80,000 more followers.
We can learn so much from this man.
Whether he’s an artist, a thief, or just really far from sober, we can learn about marketing our brands from LaBeouf.
It’s a stretch, sure.
But it’s fun.
Repetition
From January 13 to February 9, Shia tweeted “I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE” a total of 21 times.
21 Tweets that said the said the exact same thing.
The takeaway here? Repetition works.
Here’s two practical reasons:
Presenting a consistent message to your audience is key. No, don’t tweet the same thing 21 times, but have the same voice in your tweets. Make sure that you are presenting your brand with a consistent voice and maintaining your stance on relevant topics and issues.
Re-posting content is a great way to get more people to engage with that content. This one is even more practical, and the folks at Buffer wrote a great piece about it. If you post about your content on social networks once, post about it twice. More posts mean hitting more timezones, more readers, and ultimately more engagement.
Build-Up
Remember the paper bag? LaBeouf wasn’t just tweeting for art; he was leading up to something.
The repeated mantra culminated in a satisfying climax when LaBeouf appeared in his paper bag cowl. He led up to that moment with his social media interactions, and when it happened, the cameras were ready. Building up to the event worked.
Our analogous lesson from this:
Let people know about upcoming deals, events, products, whatever from your brand early and often. Then, when you’re ready to release it, you have a social community already primed to receive it. And if you’ve primed your audience, don’t disappoint them. Deliver on your crescendo with all the ferocity of a declining movie star scribbling with a magic marker on a paper bag.
Purpose
Claiming his actions were part of a life characterized by “performance art,” LaBeouf drew attention—from peers as well tabloids.
Most celebrity news sites were following Shia from the time he stole his film, and even more weighed in after the head-butting incident.
James Franco wrote an article about the artistic nature of LaBeouf’s debacle in the NY Times.
Jaden Smith tweeted LaBeouf, reaching out as someone who understood being “crazy.”
If you’ve got a marketing bone in your body, the words “Free Press” have to have crossed your mind at some point while reading this. Why did everyone want to write about someone who isn’t even famous anymore?
That answer is our last tip from the social media genius that is LaBeouf:
“Why?” attracts people. Your purpose—your why—whether or not it’s valid, is the reason people will accept or reject you. Shia claimed to be revealing and re-shaping society’s understanding of art, and people noticed. In the same line, Apple Inc. claimed to be re-shaping the world of technology and bringing the greatest innovation to the forefront, and people noticed.
In the words of Simon Sinek,
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
It worked for Shia, and he’s not even famous.
It could probably work for you.
David Powell is the social media manager for Prize Launch. He currently lives in Nashville, TN where he is building a web design company.
