Wish to sharpen your music advertising and marketing abilities with a view to develop your fanbase?
You possibly can create one of the best tracks on the planet and distribute that music worldwide, however your songs received’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 take into account 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 artistic.
Good music advertising and marketing is:
- telling part of your music’s story
- in a compelling means
- to the fitting viewers
- by the fitting medium
- on the proper time
- so your ideally suited listener will discover, care, and take motion
You probably have a strategy to monitor outcomes and follow-up with audience-members based mostly on the particular actions they’ve taken, all the higher! However I’ll go away extra superior ideas reminiscent of optimization and retargeting for an additional day.
Right now I need to discover 5 widespread music advertising and marketing errors you need to keep away from if you wish to steer your profession in the fitting path:
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 would possibly know one of these artist. They excel at taking part in reveals, recording tracks, even releasing music. All of the enjoyable stuff. Maybe they publish a few present in Instagram Tales or create a Fb Occasion. Or they could put a hyperlink to their newest single on their homepage.
However they’re actually simply checking issues off a listing. These artists don’t take further 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 can 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 best way to inform that story nicely.
Earlier than you launch a tune, announce a present, or drop an album, you need to reply these questions:
- What’s distinctive about my tune, 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 dwell?
- When do they should take motion?
Not each piece of selling 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 listing all of the avenues and instruments it’s a must to inform that story. Phrases, video, footage, emails, texts, and extra. Make use of what you’ve got!
2. Neglecting your audience
One of many largest 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 liked. By everybody. However that ain’t gonna occur. Each time Taylor Swift sells out some huge metropolis stadium, there are a whole lot of 1000’s and even thousands and thousands of people that stayed dwelling.
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 need to forged too extensive a internet. It is advisable start with a audience in thoughts which helps you focus your efforts on the fitting individuals, the fitting platforms, and the correct of content material that successfully drives engagement and motion.
Your viewers and your focusing on can change over time. However no 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 all the things proper now. It’s THE main means artists attain new listeners immediately. So it’s laborious 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 (“dwell” at dwelling, in live performance, or in an fascinating setting)
- Behind-the-scenes whereas recording
- Touring adventures
- Enjoyable info about your songs or lyrics
- Discuss to us immediately (whereas strolling the canine, placing on make-up, and many others.)
- Livestreams and AMAs
- Cowl tune snippets
- Gear critiques or tutorials
- Highlights from non-musical facets of your life
- Occasional memes, skits, or developments (so long as it pertains to YOUR artistry or pursuits)
The best way that social platforms work now, viral moments have an more and more shorter shelf-life. So you possibly can’t lean on just a few good movies for too lengthy. They’ll go stale.
As for high quality, social video can seem informal, nevertheless it ought to NOT look beginner. Ensure it has strong sound and lighting.
You possibly can “batch” your content material creation by taking pictures a bunch of movies as soon as a month, or you possibly can combine TikTok into your day by day life. Both means, video content material creation must be baked into your ongoing efforts as a musician.
4. Squandering social engagement
Have you learnt the place your lifelong followers are more than likely to be? Within the feedback of your posts!
And but numerous musicians make the error of ignoring the ability of social engagement. They publish 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 job that’s beneath them.
These are your followers, your advocates, your clients. 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 all the time enjoyable, and also you received’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’d 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 essential 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 invaluable, however the knowledge doesn’t (often) lie. Make a behavior of checking your numbers and the story they inform. Observe the surprises. Lean into the successes. Study from the failures. Repeat.
Conclusion
Whereas the music business continues to vary quickly, lots of the widespread music advertising and marketing errors above are (sadly) perennial.
So maintain them in thoughts this yr, and in all of the years forward. All the time attempt for a extra strategic strategy to your storytelling, focusing 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.
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