This past July, I had the pleasure of seeing Jennifer Lopez in concert on her It’s My Party Tour. It was the second time I’d seen her perform live, but this time was special. This tour was to celebrate her 50th birthday with the people she loves most (besides her family!): her fans.
I have so much respect for J.Lo and the work she puts in to her career. From singing, to dancing, to acting, she always has a new project in the works. Not to mention, she is a producer and serial entrepreneur with a clothing line, fragrances, and tons of investment ventures. She also is mother to her twins, Max and Emme, and a soon-to-be-bride to her equally hard-working beau, Alex Rodriguez.
But J.Lo is one of those artists who remembers where she came from — after all, she is Jenny from the block! Despite her immense fortune and fame, she remains humble.
I love being a Jennifer Lopez fan because she has mutual love and appreciation for the people who support her. She will say she owes her success to her fans. You notice it and feel it with everything she does.
More Than Music Videos – J.Lo’s YouTube Channel
I recently started following Jennifer’s YouTube channel, which she started actively publishing to in April 2019. As she mentions in her introductory video below, we get to know and understand Jennifer as a person through her channel. We get to go behind-the-scenes on her latest projects and see a glimpse into her life — from work, to family, to health, and everything in between.
Looking at Jennifer’s channel through a marketing lens, it is a brilliant way to promote her brand because everybody wins. She builds a more authentic relationship with her fans by showing us the real Jennifer — not the woman you see in movie trailers and music videos. Her channel takes fans on a journey that bring us closer to her while also deepening our loyalty.
It’s this type of content and approach that helps Jennifer sell out arenas and theaters all over the world. She knows that to grow her brand, she needs to build relationships, yet she does so in a way that is sincere. As we know, she keeps it real!
100 Million Followers and Counting
At 50 years old, Jennifer Lopez and her career show no signs of slowing down. On Instagram yesterday, she hit 100 million followers! Rather than popping a bottle of champagne in her dressing room and celebrating alone with her team, Jennifer saw this milestone as an opportunity to connect with her fans.
She posted a video that did much more than verbally express gratitude — she offered to fly out two lucky fans to Canada for a VIP premiere of her new movie, Hustlers. Not only that, but she facilitated the contest via text message. That’s right, I now have Jennifer Lopez’s number in my phone.
Even though I didn’t win, Jennifer’s text message strategy hits the mark in several ways:
- For starters, she promoted this texting line by first GIVING to her audience. There was something in it for them — a potential free trip with Jennifer!
- Look at how sincere her words are! It really sounds like Jennifer, not a robotic contest generator.
- J.Lo doesn’t limit herself to her email list. She explored a new channel and now has a new way to reach her most connected fans.
- It surprises and delights her audience — you never know when she will reach out. “Sorry, can’t talk now — just got a text from J.Lo!”
- By adding text messaging to her marketing toolbox, Jennifer is building an even more integrated strategy with a presence on any and every channel.
Like Jennifer, brands need to take a more human approach if they want to truly build meaningful relationships. Your audience is not a statistic, a lead, or your next sale. They are people.
If you want your audience to fall in love with you and your products, be genuine. Don’t shake them down with promotional-speak because your eyes are laser-focused on the bottom line. The best way to grow and sell is to genuinely serve your audience. They’ll feel more connected and will be even more likely to find other fans (no one goes to a J.Lo concert alone!).
And just for fun, here’s one of my favorite clips of Jennifer when she was on carpool karaoke with James Corden. He goes through her phone’s contact list and sends a hilarious text message to Leonardo DiCaprio. Now we can all be in J.Lo’s contacts!
READ MORE: Jennifer Lopez isn’t the only celebrity who’s got this marketing thing down… so does Taylor Swift.
