When Taylor Swift dropped “The Tortured Poets Department,” it wasn’t just another album release. 

It was a masterclass in influencer marketing, combining the forces of Meta and TikTok to ignite a firestorm of fan engagement. 

The proof?

👉 In the U.S., Billboard reported that the album landed 243.4M on-demand streams and 1.4M copies sold, 600K of which were vinyl LPs.

It broke Spotify’s record! 🤯

This was no ordinary campaign; it’s a playbook every influencer marketing manager should study.

Join me as I discover what we can learn from Taylor’s partnership with Meta and TikTok.

We’ll look at:

👉 Taylor’s special Instagram feature,

👉 Licensing issues between UMG & TikTok,

👉 Taylor’s special TikTok deal,

👉 And the Kim Kardashian scandal.

Ready? Let’s roll.👇

Let’s start with Taylor’s partnership with Meta.

Taylor’s collaboration with Meta turned Instagram and Threads into a playground for Swifties. 

What did they do?

From April 15th, a simple refresh on Taylor’s Instagram profile kicked off a countdown, whipping up excitement and nudging fans to hop over to Threads for more surprises. 

Here, hashtags like #TTPD and #Swifties set off shimmer effects and celebratory hearts, pulling fans deeper into the experience. 

My takeaway? 

👉 Clever use of social features can turbocharge engagement, keeping fans glued and interactive.

And the proof is in the numbers.

My favourite influencer marketing platform found Taylor Swift’s Instagram stats, and they were pretty impressive:

📊 Taylor has nearly 284M followers on Instagram.

📊 She has an epic 2.23% engagement rate!

📊 Her audience is growing by 3.4%.

But what about TikTok? How did Taylor tease her album on the platform? And did it work?

Let’s find out. 👇

Despite a feud between Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok over licensing issues, Swift’s team secured a deal that brought her music back to TikTok. 

This move was crucial because, as I realised, not using TikTok could have significantly impacted the album’s success.

Swift’s TikTok campaign encouraged fans to create videos with her music, participate in challenges, and use the hashtag #THETORTUREDPOETSDEPARTMENT for a chance to be featured in the Taylor Swift Fan Spotlight carousel.

This strategy amplified the album’s reach and fostered a feeling of community among fans, demonstrating the importance of integrating user-generated content into marketing strategies.

Taylor’s stats on TikTok are also pretty impressive.

📊 Taylor has nearly 30M followers on TikTok.

📊 Her last 3 posts had an engagement rate above 32%!

📊 Her TiKTok audience is growing by 34.5%.

So, what can we learn from all of this?

Kim Kardashian lost over 1M Instagram followers after Taylor Swift released her song “thanK you aIMee”. 🤯

Many fans think this song hints at their long-standing feud.

Right after the album came out, people noticed that Kardashian’s followers were decreasing.

They found several hints in the song “thanK you aIMee” that it might be about Kardashian.

One clue is how the letters K, I, and M are capitalised in the song’s title, spelling out her first name.

Neither Kardashian nor Swift have commented on these fan theories.

However, Kardashian’s Instagram followers dropped from 364.3 million to 363 million over the weekend after the album called The Tortured Poets Department was released.

The lessons from Taylor’s partnership with Meta and TikTok are worth gold. Here’s my take: 

✅ Use all the platform features:

Taylor’s clever use of Instagram’s countdown and TikTok’s community challenges shows the goldmine in platform-specific features. Tailor your content and watch engagement soar.

✅ Always Push for user-generated content:

Get fans involved! Encouraging them to create their own videos or posts keeps the excitement organic and widespread. More content means more buzz—simple as that.

✅ Be flexible:

Taylor’s negotiations with TikTok amidst industry beef highlight a critical skill: adaptability. Always be ready to pivot and keep your campaign on track.

✅ Keep the hype alive:

Don’t just drop a bomb and bounce. Taylor’s phased rollout with Easter eggs kept fans coming back for more, proving that anticipation can be just as powerful as the main event.

Taylor Swift’s strategic use of Meta and TikTok for her latest album isn’t just impressive; it’s a blueprint for marketing success. If you’re crafting campaigns, take a page from Taylor’s book—engage creatively, adapt swiftly, and always keep your audience craving more.