Madonna has never had much of a presence on social media, but she is a woman known for reinventing herself time and time again. For her 12th studio album, MDNA which came out on March 26, she has sworn off traditional methods of promotion such as posing for magazine covers and performing on morning shows. This has allowed her to spend less time traveling all over the country and more time rehearsing for her upcoming tour. Instead of interacting with middle men to promote her album, she is going directly to the fans.
Facebook engagement
Madonna only conducted one in-person interview, sitting down with Jimmy Fallon on March 24. But even that had a social aspect. The interview was broadcasted via livestream on her Facebook page, and you needed to “Like” the page in order to watch the live interview. The interview took place in a makeshift studio at Facebook’s New York office. The audio was a little hard to hear at times, but you could still hear Fallon’s hilarious comments while they listened to parts of the album. Fallon and Madonna exchanged banter about her classic ‘Borderline’ and Madonna went on to sing a few lines. Madonna even taught Fallon some dance moves, which the Facebook employees in the audience thoroughly enjoyed! Fallon also asked Madonna questions that fans were submitting in real time.
In preparation for the livestream, her manager, Guy Oseary worked with Facebook to fill out her timeline with old music videos, live performances, and photo shoots. Sneak previews of tracks from MDNA were released and shared on Facebook leading up to the album’s release, and fans can even answer polls asking which songs from her previous albums she should perform on her upcoming tour.
Madonna’s big Twitter debut
Up until a few weeks ago, Madonna had no presence on Twitter. But she began tweeting from @MadonnaMDNAday the day before MDNA’s release on March 26. Then on the day of the release she hosted a live Twitter chat using the #askmadonna hashtag. She tweeted with Ryan Seacrest, Ellen Degeneres, and thousands of fans who had been submitting questions for a few days leading up to the chat, as well as in real-time.
Fans asked questions about her vocal warm-ups, her favorite foods, and her opinions of other celebrities such as Justin Bieber. Madonna really liked the suggestion of one participant to film her next tour in 3D, giving fans yet another thing to look forward to in the pop diva’s career.
While it was originally said that Madonna was only joining Twitter for one day, she appears to still be tweeting. She is still answering fan questions as well as engaging with celebrities such as Lionel Richie and Jessie J. She has even had a Twitter conversation with Britney Spears about reenacting their on-stage liplock on her upcoming tour, and personally inviting Katy Perry and President Obama to her concerts.
Listening to MDNA
The new promotion methods aren’t just limited to live chats on social media sites. Up until April 1, members of the design-focus daily deals site Fab.com had the opportunity to buy a deluxe version of MDNA for just $7.99, almost half of what it costs from other outlets. Fab.com even dedicated its homepage to MDNA.
Spotify users can enter for a chance to win premium tickets to her sold-out U.S. tour. Users that listen to MDNA three time’s during the first three weeks that it’s out will be entered into the contest, and they can boost their chances of winning by also signing up for a “Madonna Superfans” newsletter.
Do you think Madonna’s latest reinvention of her image will be effective?
Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog!
