On Super-fans and Little Monsters

You can think what you want about her. She’s known for her bizarre, unpredictable, glam rock, fashion-inspired music and persona. There is only one Lady Gaga, and whether you love her or hate her, it’s hard to deny that she has become an unstoppable force in pop culture, a musical icon of our generation. Just this month, Forbes Magazine named her number seven on its annual list of World’s Most Powerful Women. She’s sold more than 15 million albums and 51 million singles. And this has all happened within a mere two years. So what’s all the fuss about? And what can we, as photographers and small business owners, learn from her success? I recently began thinking a lot about this and have become sort of fascinated with her story, so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on it all. [And I'd like to dedicate this post to my friend Carrie, who inspired me to think twice about Lady Gaga when she began posting very uncharacteristic ALL CAPS Facebook updates in a panicked attempt to get tickets to see her live. That kind of dedication is worth examining, and that's what has led me to this blog post!]

[source: Entertainment Weekly]

You might remember a post I wrote last year about Brand Dolly. Well, I think Dolly Parton and Lady Gaga, and their respective brands, have a lot in common that extends well beyond their love for over-the-top makeup and fashion, their dynamic stage presence and musical giftedness, and the fact they have been embraced and adopted by the gay community. And here are what I see to be just a few of those things:

Start with an amazing product.

It can’t be denied that Lady Gaga is talented. She’s got some major pipes. And every song she’s released has become a chart-topping hit. Just Dance. Poker Face. Bad Romance. Telephone. Alejandro. They’re all about as dance-y as they come, and, well, people love to dance. The thing is, it’s hard to create a strong brand around a crappy product. It doesn’t matter how good things look on the surface… if there’s no real substance, then you might as well call it a day. Everyone might talk about Gaga’s outfits or her offbeat behavior in public, but when she opens her mouth to sing, she brings it. Plain and simple. The other stuff? They’re all just puzzle pieces that form her image. The same can be said for photographers. Fact is, you can spend thousands on logo design and marketing materials and SEO, but if all you have to show are lackluster images… you’re not going to get hired. Clients are smart enough to see past hype. These things might help you gain momentum in the beginning, but what will REALLY get people talking is your amazing customer service or your lightning-speed turnaround time or your professionalism or your interesting, dynamic, gorgeous images. They’re paying you a pretty big chunk of change to deliver an outstanding product. So do it!

“People will always talk, so let’s give them something to talk about.” - Lady Gaga

o o o o o o o o o o o

Be yourself…. to the fullest extent.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from observing Lady Gaga’s rise to fame, it’s this: she is who she is, and most people either really love her or really hate her. But she has never tried to be a people pleaser. She smartly realized that trying to please everyone would water down her image and leave her putting out mediocre material and wearing predictable red carpet dresses. And if she did those things, she wouldn’t be Lady Gaga. Now am I saying that everyone needs to run out and wear dresses made of stuffed animals to be successful? Absolutely not! It really doesn’t matter who you are or what you like to wear or do or what you think. What’s important is allowing those things to reflect in everything you do. Practice authenticity and honesty always. In building my own brand, this is something I really struggle with. Honestly, I just want people to LIKE me. I don’t want to offend or alienate anyone. I take everything extremely personally. I obsess over every single word I write on this blog and every image I produce and every email I send. And as a result, I’ve made some pretty lame business decisions. I’ve tried to cater to people who, at the end of the day, aren’t my ideal clients anyway. If I had only put myself out there from the very beginning, if I had decided early on that I wouldn’t constantly compromise myself, I probably would never have gotten into these situations. Never mind the fact that all that time spent fretting would have been far more productive had it been invested in clients who were already invested in ME. Photographer Jasmine Star talks a lot about the idea of attracting and repelling. She’s not afraid to talk openly and candidly on her blog about her faith or her relationship with her husband or her photography tricks or her likes and dislikes, because even if these things might alienate some readers or drive away some potential clients, they will that much more attract the kinds of clients she DOES want… ones that share a lot of her same perspectives and values and personality traits. And clearly this has worked, because she’s one of the biggest photographers in the country, adored by both clients and other photographers alike. Same way it has worked for Lady Gaga. She never compromises to try to please her harshest critics, and as a result, she has made her fans that much more loyal to her.

“Well that’s your opinion, isn’t it? And I’m not about to waste my time trying to change it.” - Lady Gaga

[source: The Fab Life]

o o o o o o o o

Be yourself….ALWAYS.

“When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year-old girl. Then I say, ‘[...] You’re Lady Gaga! Get up and walk the walk today’.” - Lady Gaga

Another thing that is crucial to Lady Gaga’s success is not only that she is 100% percent herself, no matter how weird it might seem to some people, but that she is also herself ALL THE TIME. Think about it. Have you ever seen a photo of her in which she looks “normal”? Nope. She clearly doesn’t shop at Gap… more like a Halloween costume shop. For even her everyday clothes! Why is this so important? Because consistency is HUGE. It communicates to her fans that this really is who she is. It’s not just a show she puts on a few nights a week… it’s her lifestyle. We always know what to expect from Lady Gaga… and that is something completely UNexpected. This keeps people on their toes, talking about her latest outfit or what she’ll say on Larry King. It’s part of her myth… and everyone loves a myth. A story. A mysterious image. Someone who can’t easily be explained or neatly wrapped up in a little box of preconceived notions and expectations. As a photographer, it’s easy to forget to be “on” at all times. You really never know who’s going to be watching or who will overhear you telling someone you’re a photographer. You never know when you’ll be asked for a business card. So is the person you are at the grocery store and the movies the same person you are on a shoot or at a wedding? Or would it be easy for people to see that the nice, outgoing person who takes their photograph is not the same as the lousy tipper or the rude customer? It’s not an easy feat, this whole consistency thing. But if your brand is YOU (or if a big part of your brand is you), then it’s your responsibility to be a good representation of that brand ALWAYS.

“I used to walk down the street like I was a star. I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be- and then to fight so hard for it that the lie becomes the truth.” - Lady Gaga

[source: The Fab Life]

o o o o o o o o

Know your audience. Perform for them. Involve them. Inspire them. Thank them. LOVE them.

“My new album I’m creating [...] was written with this new instinctual energy that I’ve developed getting to know my fans. They protect me, so now it’s my destiny to protect them.” - Lady Gaga

Nobody rises to fame (or infamy) on their own. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an audience, a fan base, to build a brand. Lady Gaga might never have risen beyond the New York City club scene had a lot of people (and a few very important and influential people) not believed in her. And what I love about her is that her attitude is always one of indebtedness, never one of entitlement. She’s even given a name to her fans- she’s the Mother Monster to her “Little Monsters.” And sure, it might sound totally weird. But the idea that she chooses to be inclusive rather than exclusive, that she has created a family centered around her music and bizarre outfits and performances… well, I think that’s pretty amazing. She knows the key to her success, and that is the support of her fans. Without them, her name might still be Stephani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. (Doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?) She might still be considered the outsider, the androgynous-looking freak who nobody understands. Or maybe her genius lies in the fact that she still IS that person, and she’s made it her mission to help other kids feel like they’re not alone. That everyone is weird in their own way, and it’s okay to accept and embrace that. I love how much she works toward boosting the self-esteem of her fans, and I think that is one of the biggest reasons they are drawn to her. So how do we apply that to this photography business? Well, I think it’s important to understand that we will never find success unless we always remember where we came from, and that our fans and supporters and clients are the ones who got us where we are. Without them, we would still be shooting as a hobby. Without them, we might be stuck in careers we hate. So with that in mind, I think it’s incredibly important to consistently recognize that and thank those who support us. It could be a card, or a small gift, or even just a simple “happy birthday” post on Facebook. These are the kinds of acts that make our service, our BRAND, memorable. And more than that, they remind us to keep our attitudes in check. None of us are self-made. We are who we are because of the people who love us. And we should love them back. Really, truly, genuinely love them.

“When I’m writing music, I’m thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It’s all about everything coming altogether- performance art, pop performance art, fashion. For me, it’s everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. I want to bring that back. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us.” - Lady Gaga

o o o o o o o o

Let’s face it. Not all of us can be Lady Gaga. Frankly, the thought of wearing a dress made of raw meat makes me gaggy. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think we have a lot to learn from the empire she’s built. Let’s bring the super-fan back. Let’s love on our Little Monsters. Let’s give ‘em something to talk about.