With the US leg of pop royalty Taylor Swift’s Eras tour well underway, it got us thinking about who will be in line to snag a ticket here in the UK. In order to find out, we built a core audience from the followers of a number of Taylor Swift-centric social media accounts - a mixture of established fan accounts and dedicated Eras tour profiles - and got to work. Right away, some interesting groups emerged; here are five hand-picked tribes to illustrate Taylor Swift’s UK audience.

Politically Minded Brits:

This tribe is one that centres around staying informed. Taking to Twitter for news and current affairs, their top influencers are largely made up of politicians and news providers, the likes of Ed Milliband and BBC news, along with a peppering of pop culture. The last few years have seen Taylor Swift undergo somewhat of a political evolution, notably breaking her silence during Trump’s presidency. This newfound ideological visibility may also have increased her popularity with an audience such as this.

The Politically Minded Brits, with bio keywords and top job titles making reference both to children and to senior roles like ‘founder’ and ‘director’, bear the mark of an audience broadly Millennial or older. Such a strong millennial presence is indicative of a fanbase that has followed Swift throughout her career, and one with considerable loyalty. In terms of this tribe’s top categories, they dominate in Politics, News, Government, and People & Society, while maintaining a strong presence in Music & Audio. Despite music and entertainment taking up their place comparatively far down this audience’s list of priorities, the Politically Minded Brits are not to be ignored, coming second overall in terms of size.

Hardcore Directioners:

It’s somewhat unusual to see a tribe with such a steadfast loyalty to one particular band or musical artist, but this group coalesces totally and unanimously around the UK’s own One Direction. Although the group has since disbanded, with each member pursuing their own solo career, the Hardcore Directioners maintain a passion for the group and its former members. Top influencers for the group include the family of One Direction members, bands like 5 Seconds of Summer and Blink-182, as well as pop culture figures from Scooter Braun to Bella Hadid. The group skews strongly female, and is almost entirely entertainment focussed, with negligible reference to business or the professional world. Making up the third largest segment of Taylor Swift’s audience, the Hardcore Directioners illustrate the potential merit of marketing towards the fanbases of similar or competitor brands.

Beauty & Lifestyle Lovers:

Also on the roster are the Beauty & Lifestyle Lovers. Comprising both consumers and content creators in the space, this tribe has a penchant for all things style, shopping, and skincare. Household names like Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Marie Claire all make an appearance, along with bloggers Victoria Magrath, Zoella, and Fleur De Force. Given this group is firmly centred around fashion and beauty, it figures that they’re some of Swift’s biggest fans, having herself been long considered a mastermind of reinvention and image.

LGBTQ+ Creatives:

Another Arts & Entertainment-focussed tribe, this group unites around a combination of entertainers - chiefly drag performers, such as Shangela and Sasha Velour - and LGBTQ+ organisations like Stonewall and Pride in London. Having very publicly doubled down on her support for the community with the release of ‘You Need To Calm Down’, a song with an anti-hate and pro-equality message, the artist cemented both her allyship and an already strong relationship with LGBTQ+ folk. This audience’s passions extend to all areas of pop culture and the arts, with Pop Music taking the top spot in terms of category interests. In addition to a shared interest in forms of entertainment and cultural phenomena attributed to the LGBTQ+ community, this group is also centred around jobs in the creative sector. Top job titles include actor, musician, dancer, and illustrator, further solidifying a strong connection to the arts.

Swiftie Superfans:

Finally, we have our circle of hardcore Taylor Swift fans. Ranking eighth in size in our study, these diehard swifties make up a modest, but highly dedicated, segment of the core audience. In addition to musicians like Charli XCX and Hayley Kiyoko, the Swiftie Superfans also follow Swift’s brother Austin, as well as popular music events like BST Hyde Park. For a group of individuals who live and breathe Taylor Swift, it’s no surprise we see a tribe enchanted by her online presence. With top bio keywords densely populated with Swift-specific vocabulary, their loyalty is anything but delicate. Long story short, this tribe’s love story with the country singer turned pop princess is one set to last for evermore.

In sum, the Fifty platform shows that Taylor Swift’s fanbase is anything but homogenous. Aside from the five discussed above, Sports & Entertainment Fans, Alternative Music Lovers, and Literary Creatives were just some of the other tribes that helped paint the picture of a diverse and vibrant audience. Far from simply interesting, Taylor Swift’s audience landscape provides several standout opportunities for targeted marketing.

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