What we can learn about Marketing from the Kardashian Klan?

Love them or hate them, you definitely know them and that is what successful marketing is. The Kardashian Klan is a diligent marketing machine, whether it is social media, emojis, game apps, retail stores, talk shows, books, reality TV or advertising endorsements; there is absolutely no stone they’ve left unturned.

Family drama, dysfunctional relationships, and disastrous marriages propelled all of them towards a lucrative, billion dollar empire in less than a decade. They are definitely mavens at creating intrigue and using scandals to spin the straw into gold.

You have to give Kim Kardashian the credit for being savvy and opportunistic enough to not only monetize on her sex tape but also leveraged it to bank E! for running her reality show. That’s how the story started and the rest is history.

Let’s look at a few strategies we can learn from the Klan

1)    Using Social Media is key to staying in the limelight

Combined, the Klan has over 434 million followers on just Instagram. Can you imagine what this number would be like if we combined their followers on all social media platforms?! Kim earns around $300,000 a pop across platforms from sponsored posts. But keep in mind, simply updating Facebook and Twitter feeds will get you nowhere. The trick is to create content that is engaging, consistent, humorous, and relatable. Get creative in your approach and choose something that makes you stand out. Like Kim chose her larger-than-life derriere.

2)    Don’t’ be afraid to experiment and reinvent

The most recent reinvention that took place in the Klan is Bruce’s journey to evolving into Caitlyn and Khloe channelizing her energies and getting into a fitness regime. Whatever it maybe, they are never afraid to experiment. Sometimes it’s a hit (Keeping up with the Kardashians) and sometimes a miss (Kocktails with Khloe). Nonetheless, they take bold choices and are undeterred by trolls.

Kim wanted to redefine beauty, so she went and got naked on the cover of a few magazines. Caitlyn wanted to be true to who she was, so she went onto the cover of Vogue. These kinds of moves makes the believers feel that they too can live the dream of being true to who they are, while it angers the traditionalists. Similarly, brands should never be afraid to experiment, if it doesn’t work out shake it off and move on to the next thing but at least give it a shot.

3)    No publicity is bad publicity

If this wasn’t true, the Klan would have disappeared into oblivion by now. They leverage media attention to get people to talk about them, they don’t care if you’re a lover or a hater as long as you give them attention; they continue to grow. Not only have they successfully realized their target audience but have also managed to cater to every aspect of their audiences lives from clothes, accessories, cosmetics to workout routines; they have truly tapped into the minds of their consumers. The best part is the Klan is fully aware of their flaws and instead of cloyingly hiding it, they put it out for people to see and profit from it.

Now this is a strategy brands can and should follow, if you screw up don’t try to be surreptitious, instead embrace it and enjoy your time in the sun. Even better, double down and monetize on it!

4)    Collaborate with other businesses

You can’t do everything yourself and most importantly you can’t be good at everything. The Klan realized that and from the beginning of their careers they have collaborated with other brands to create a multibillion dollar empire. They’ve partnered with Sears, Skechers and the popular Las Vegas nightclub Tao. Kim didn’t develop her mobile app herself, did she? She was backed up by a team of creatives and developers. Their other partnerships include people like Brian Lee of Legalzoom and billionaire jeweler Pascal Mouwad.

So keep this in mind while pursuing your business. When a variety of knowledge and skills are pooled, it creates a talent pool that is vast and more competent, able and experienced. Learn to give up a little control and collaborate.

5)    Be Patient and build success

Let’s follow Kim’s journey here and see how she stacked up her successes/controversies to build an empire. She leveraged a sex tap to garner a social media following, which she used to get media attention, she leveraged the media to turn herself into a mini celebrity, she leveraged her mini celebrity status to get her own TV show which turned her entire family into celebrities, the Klan then leveraged their celebrity status to get sponsorships and partnerships with major brands across the world and made millions. Now they have their independent businesses and careers.

Brands should keep in mind that success isn’t a vertical road but a horizontal stack. Take the outcome (positive or negative) from one major event and use it to fuel another. Leverage each success and milk it until there is nothing left.

The Klan may not be around forever but they definitely are making the most of their time as should businesses. Creating a profitable brand in a volatile market is a humongous task but it isn’t impossible.

So get working!