5 Things We Can Learn From Taylor Swift About Making Connections

1. Using Relationships as the Bedrock to Success

Taylor’s Approach: From an early age, Taylor knew the importance relationships would play in her success. While her peers focused on being famous, she focused on connecting with her Swiftie fan base. Taylor spent hours each day engaging with Swifties on Myspace and Tumblr daily.

As time went on, she held on to those genuine connections with her fans. While she may have pulled back from social media in more recent years, she continued to show up for fans through meet and greets, gifts sent to fans to help support them, and more.

buildbetter Takeaway: You can be the best at what you do, but if you are going at it alone, it's not enough to be successful. You need to win allies. These are not just people who would love to see you succeed, but people who are invested in your success. People who act as a sounding board to keep moving you in the right direction. For a superstar like Taylor, it's the first thousand fans. For you and I it can be the first group of colleagues we were in the trenches with at our first job or that first junior level boss that keeps an eye on us, mentoring us throughout our careers.

2. Showing Appreciation

Taylor’s Approach: Prior to the official release of her albums 1989, reputation, and Lover, Taylor showed appreciation to her fans for catapulting her career to such high levels. She invited super fans from all over the world to attend secret listening sessions of her albums and additional unreleased songs at her homes. This concept and the scale at which it happened (across New York, Nashville, Los Angeles, Rhode Island, and London) was unheard of across artists in any industry, let alone someone of Taylor’s popularity.

buildbetter Takeaway: Maintaining relationships can become difficult. We focus so much on creating the initial bond that we forget to nurture it over time. You worked hard to get others invested into your success, it would be silly to let that slip. One of the best ways you can do that is show your appreciation for their support. Figure out the appropriate gesture, big or small, that reminds them of this. Whether it’s an out of the blue text, sending them a podcast they'd really enjoy, or tickets to the Eras Tour when it comes to a city near them (yea, right).

3. Creating Mutually Beneficial Relationships Through Giving Back

Taylor’s approach: When you have Taylor Swift's fanbase, it can be hard to figure out a way to give back to each and every one of them. To put it in perspective:

• The Eras Tour could have a $5 billion impact on U.S. GDP

• With its sheer size, her followers would constitute the 5th largest populated country in the world

• If you created an economy based on Taylor Swift ticket sales, it would be equivalent to a small Caribbean nation

• After she posted about National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 19, vote.org saw a 25% year over year increase in registered voters (more than 35k new voters)

But she always finds a way. One of the most impactful ways she's able to communicate directly with all her Swifties is the use of Easter Eggs. Taylor leaves secret messages in each of her album booklets, within her lyrics, by engaging with particular rumors and theories from fans on Tumblr, and much more. All of which give Swifties info that the regular individual isn't privy to, representing a genius way to give back to millions of fans, all at once.

She also notably invited 2,000 foster families to watch her final reputation tour dress rehearsal.

buildbetter Takeaway: Real relationships are not one way, not even when it comes to a superstar and her fans. Sometimes we get caught up in how our relationships have always functioned with others where there is a lot of "give" from connections and not much "ask." If you find yourself in that position, it's time to find a way you can help them to establish the "mutually beneficial" part of that connection. If you can't think of anything, then have a conversation expressing your appreciation and asking what you can do to be helpful to them, big or small.

I personally like to keep a "give-ask" tracker in my relationship manager to always have an idea of how I can help my connections.

4. Showing Genuine Interest Through Your Actions

Taylor’s Approach: There's been a lot of fan talk so far, but let's move to some of the other parts of Taylor's "network." When it comes to business associates, Taylor has a sharp memory for details about them. Not just what role they serve, but the smaller details about their spouses and children. In fact, these are probably the more important details in their world!

Taylor and her team make a point to make notes on any associates she interacts with and then review those notes before meeting again. She knows right where the conversation left off and makes a point to remember the small details.

buildbetter Takeaway: It's great when someone asks you how you are doing, it shows they are interested in you. But by bringing the people that matter most to you into the conversation, it shows they deeply care. So for the people you interact often with, do more than the bare minimum of knowing how they are liking their job. If you want to stand out, ask them how their daughter is settling into her new preschool (cough, cough…Leena and Addie).

5. Nurturing All Aspects of Your Support System

Taylor’s Approach: In addition to the fans lifting her to meteoric highs and select business associates helping to navigate those highs, Taylor doesn't neglect the backbone of her support system enabling her incredible performances day in and day out—the impressive tour crew. On the first US leg of the Eras Tour tour alone, Taylor reportedly gave out bonuses totaling more than $55 million to her crew, including dancers, riggers, sound technicians, catering staff, and truckers. This includes 50 truck drivers receiving $100K each with an accompanying hand written thank-you note.

buildbetter Takeaway: It's easy to only acknowledge the flashy parts of your network that are constantly in front of you. That probably consists of your current colleagues, the people that work below or above you, and anyone you speak to regularly as a result of your current role. It can be much harder, but just as important, to carve out the time to catch up with mentors and other connections that have had big impacts on where you are today. Don't turn goodwill into resentment because you forgot about those people.

It doesn't take too much to build relationships, here's what I'm committing to this week:

• 🎂 Celebrating a friends birthday

• 🍽 Grabbing dinner with fellow CMU soccer alumni

• ⚽ Playing in a soccer tournament with friends

• 💏 Taking my fiancée out on a date

What are you committing to this week? Reply to this email!