Lady Gaga is a social media queen. With 41.2 million followers on Twitter, and 64,325,012 likes on Facebook, how could she not be considered a social media guru? Lady Gaga prides herself on using social media to connect and engage directly with her fans, or “little monsters.”
In 2012, Gaga created a new social networking site for her most devoted fans called LittleMonsters.com. The website is invite-only, allowing you to sign up through Facebook, Twitter, or email. The site allows fans to buy concert tickets, download her music, and most importantly, communicate with other fans and even Gaga herself. According to Melissa A. Click, Hyunji Lee, and Holly Willson Holladay, Gaga engages with her little monsters by sharing their creative work, such as their own art and music, provides links to fan photos, and can even be seen wearing fan-designed fashion.
Mitchell Osak states that Lady Gaga employs a social media strategy called “mass intimacy,” which is an approach that builds on an emotional connection between fans by providing original, exclusive, and updated content.
We see this “mass intimacy” strategy in Gaga’s website. Through LittleMonsters.com, she establishes relationships with her fans by being completely transparent and authentic. She encourages self-expression and positive self-esteem in her little monsters.
Fans create a new world through this website. While this is an imaginary world, little monsters get the chance to develop a relationship with Lady Gaga. Click et al. mention the idea that this is a “parasocial” relationship, which means that fans are experiencing the illusion of a face-to-face relationship.
One tactic Gaga used to embrace her fan base was by encouraging fans to upload videos of themselves singing and dancing to her songs, which were then compiled and shown during one of her performances on Saturday Night Live. Lady Gaga also engages fans on her social media platforms by providing them with new updates, contests to win prizes, and encouraging them to ask questions.
Although Gaga only uses social media as a platform to form relationships with her fans and not to promote her albums, ultimately her ability to engage and connect with fans is the factor that will prompt her little monsters to go buy her albums and stay loyal to her brand. Like Click et al. mention, “fan-celebrity relationships are important vehicles for self-reflection with the potential to exert great influence on fans’ attitudes and behaviors.”
Here’s a word from Lady Gaga’s Marketing Director:
Unplugged 
I’ve always know Lady Gaga was ahead of the game in terms of social media, but I never expected to find something as in depth as Littlemonsters.com. I think the idea of mass intimacy is a great strategy for a fan base. Even more so the way that she engages the fans who are involved in the website. It shows a good picture that she really cares about the fans and is intersted when they share things they have made with her instead of her just showing them. It seems like she has embraced two way media and understands communication.
Wow! This is a great idea, having the best and most loyal fans all in one place to interact and talk about a common interest in Lady Gaga is amazing! It really does create a bigger connection than if she just opened it up to anyone, Its also really good for the artist herself as she can see the reaction of her best fans when she releases new art or music, as they most likely get first look. The main thing about this idea is that she is doing it to create lasting connections with fans and not to promote new albums, if she has that more personal connection then the album sales will come. Id definitely recommend any artist to do this!
This method of mass intimacy and relationship building sites for exclusively Gaga’s fans is more than brilliant. And by not promoting her albums/work through this site gives the site more authenticity and probably reinforces her fans to continue buying and most likely grow to respect and appreciate her as an artist and an individual more so.
Congregating all the most loyal and devoted fans to one place where they can be connected with all at once is ingenious. Who would have thought that going exclusive could have it’s benefits? It is obvious that Lady Gaga and her social media team are on top of the game and aware that people like being rewarded for being the most at something. In this case, the most devoted and loyal fans are given the opportunity for privileged chances that anyone would love to receive. This “mass intimacy” approach cannot be easy but since she has that type of power, why not use it to her advantage?