Wish to sharpen your music advertising and marketing abilities with a purpose to develop your fanbase?
You may create the very best tracks on this planet and distribute that music worldwide, however your songs gained’t go very far with out good music advertising and marketing.
Sure, that’s true for artists in any respect ranges, together with superstars like Billie Eilish. In case you think about the careers of your musical heroes, I’ll guess most of them have been the beneficiaries of excellent music advertising and marketing.
However does “advertising and marketing” sounds intimidating? Or possibly like some soulless enterprise exercise? The let’s body it as one thing extra thrilling and inventive.
Good music advertising and marketing is:
- telling part of your music’s story
- in a compelling manner
- to the appropriate viewers
- via the appropriate medium
- on the proper time
- so your supreme listener will discover, care, and take motion
When you’ve got a strategy to observe outcomes and follow-up with audience-members primarily based on the particular actions they’ve taken, all the higher! However I’ll depart extra superior ideas corresponding to optimization and retargeting for an additional day.
At the moment I wish to discover 5 widespread music advertising and marketing errors you need to keep away from if you wish to steer your profession in the appropriate course:
Be careful for these music advertising and marketing pitfalls!
1. Not advertising and marketing your music in any respect
What’s the MOST widespread crack in an artist’s advertising and marketing basis? It’s not advertising and marketing in any respect.
You may know the sort of artist. They excel at taking part in exhibits, recording tracks, even releasing music. All of the enjoyable stuff. Maybe they put up a couple of present in Instagram Tales or create a Fb Occasion. Or they may put a hyperlink to their newest single on their homepage.
However they’re actually simply checking issues off an inventory. These artists don’t take extra steps to make these actions really feel really particular. They don’t incentivize participation. What a disgrace!
It is advisable join the dots between the specified outcome and the steps it is going to take to get there. As a result of the precise legwork of excellent music advertising and marketing begins by discovering the STORY you need inform, after which determining the way to inform that story nicely.
Earlier than you launch a track, announce a present, or drop an album, you need to reply these questions:
- What’s distinctive about my track, occasion, or profession?
- Who’s it for?
- Why ought to they care?
- How will somebody really feel as soon as they attend, hear, or buy?
- The place do they reside?
- When do they should take motion?
Not every bit of promoting content material you create has to deal with ALL of the above. However YOU ought to know the entire story earlier than you start telling it.
Then you need to checklist all of the avenues and instruments it’s important to inform that story. Phrases, video, photos, emails, texts, and extra. Make use of what you will have!
2. Neglecting your audience
One of many greatest advertising and marketing errors musicians make is failing to outline WHO their diehard viewers actually is: their demographics, preferences, wants, and behaviors.
We would like our music to be cherished. By everybody. However that ain’t gonna occur. Every time Taylor Swift sells out some large metropolis stadium, there are lots of of 1000’s and even hundreds of thousands of people that stayed residence.
Don’t dilute your music’s influence by anticipating it will likely be all issues to all individuals. If the web proves something, it’s the ability of leaning into your area of interest. You don’t wish to solid too broad a web. It is advisable start with a audience in thoughts which helps you focus your efforts on the appropriate individuals, the appropriate platforms, and the proper of content material that successfully drives engagement and motion.
Your viewers and your concentrating on can change over time. However not less than start each advertising and marketing effort with a selected viewers in thoughts.
3. Not creating sufficient video content material
TikTok, Reels, Shorts. Social video is every part proper now. It’s THE main manner artists attain new listeners as we speak. So it’s onerous to overstate the significance of a vertical-video technique. I imply, frequent, high-quality video output.
It’s best to create a mixture of movies, together with:
- Efficiency movies (“reside” at residence, in live performance, or in an fascinating setting)
- Behind-the-scenes whereas recording
- Touring adventures
- Enjoyable information about your songs or lyrics
- Discuss to us instantly (whereas strolling the canine, placing on make-up, and so on.)
- Livestreams and AMAs
- Cowl track snippets
- Gear opinions or tutorials
- Highlights from non-musical points of your life
- Occasional memes, skits, or traits (so long as it pertains to YOUR artistry or pursuits)
The way in which that social platforms work now, viral moments have an more and more shorter shelf-life. So you possibly can’t lean on a couple of good movies for too lengthy. They’ll go stale.
As for high quality, social video can seem informal, but it surely ought to NOT look newbie. Be certain it has strong sound and lighting.
You may “batch” your content material creation by capturing a bunch of movies as soon as a month, or you possibly can combine TikTok into your day by day life. Both manner, video content material creation ought to be baked into your ongoing efforts as a musician.
4. Squandering social engagement
Are you aware the place your lifelong followers are almost definitely to be? Within the feedback of your posts!
And but numerous musicians make the error of ignoring the ability of social engagement. They put up content material as if social is a one-to-many distribution channel. They don’t encourage additional dialogue, ask questions, or invite participation. Or they DO — however then fail to answer these feedback. Both as a result of they’re too busy, too disorganized, or worse, they consider it as a activity that’s beneath them.
These are your followers, your advocates, your prospects. A coronary heart or a thumbs-up is the least you are able to do. Now think about how endeared you’d be in case your favourite artist put aside time to have a small however precise human dialog with you within the feedback part.
This form of personalised social administration isn’t “scalable,” it isn’t at all times enjoyable, and also you gained’t instantly see the outcomes. However provided that it’s a free, easy, and direct strategy to deepen your reference to individuals who’ve already responded to your content material, I would argue there’s no higher use of your time.
Write ‘em again!
5. Ignoring the information
Information sounds chilly. Artists are heat, feeling, distinctive, proof against numbers. However we shouldn’t ignore what the information is telling us. Information is the story of how nicely we’re telling our story. How, if, when, and the place our music is connecting.
Information doesn’t promise to current a reasonably image. However it may be a goldmine for musicians. In all these analytics dashboards, advert units, and insights, you’ll discover the keys to your profession progress.
The place do it’s worthwhile to enhance? How must you pivot in your advertising and marketing? What are your choices to get higher outcomes for cheaper prices?
Your intestine instincts are priceless, however the information doesn’t (often) lie. Make a behavior of checking your numbers and the story they inform. Comply with the surprises. Lean into the successes. Study from the failures. Repeat.
Conclusion
Whereas the music business continues to vary quickly, most of the widespread music advertising and marketing errors above are (sadly) perennial.
So preserve them in thoughts this yr, and in all of the years forward. At all times attempt for a extra strategic strategy to your storytelling, concentrating on, content material creation, engagement habits, and evaluation.
Higher music advertising and marketing might imply the distinction between obscurity and notoriety in our more and more aggressive and noisy world.
Need assist reaching new followers? Take a look at our Alternatives as we speak!
