What Taylor Swift’s fan community taught GoFundMe about real-time engagement

Audiences  crave social communities.

“They’re forming communities around shared values and belonging,” Sarah Peck, VP of communications at GoFundMe, said during Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference.

To understand how and where to meaningfully engage, GoFundMe turned to data.

“We fielded the Social State of Giving report to answer a simple question: How are people giving and asking for help online?” she said.

The findings showed digital and real-world activism have merged and generosity spreads socially, with 46% of respondents saying someone else’s donation post inspired them to give too, she said.

Identify cultural moments

Then Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour live-streaming trend took off.

“Taylor’s fans are already an incredibly organized and motivated community,” Peck said.

GoFundMe had already seen Swifties show up on its platform in meaningful ways, like donating $13 per person to children’s hospitals Swift visited or helping a fellow fan pay for her wedding so she didn’t have to sell her signed guitar.

Peck’s team wanted to amplify their actions while introducing their own new fundraising tools.

Engage the right influencers