Need to sharpen your music advertising abilities with a view to develop your fanbase?
You possibly can create the very best tracks on the planet and distribute that music worldwide, however your songs gained’t go very far with out good music advertising.
Sure, that’s true for artists in any respect ranges, together with superstars like Billie Eilish. Should you contemplate the careers of your musical heroes, I’ll wager most of them had been the beneficiaries of fine music advertising.
However does “advertising” sounds intimidating? Or possibly like some soulless enterprise exercise? The let’s body it as one thing extra thrilling and inventive.
Good music advertising is:
- telling part of your music’s story
- in a compelling method
- to the best viewers
- by way of the best medium
- on the proper time
- so your preferrred listener will discover, care, and take motion
When you’ve got a solution to monitor outcomes and follow-up with audience-members based mostly on the particular actions they’ve taken, all the higher! However I’ll depart extra superior ideas resembling optimization and retargeting for one more day.
In the present day I wish to discover 5 frequent music advertising errors you must keep away from if you wish to steer your profession in the best route:
Be careful for these music advertising pitfalls!
1. Not advertising your music in any respect
What’s the MOST frequent crack in an artist’s advertising basis? It’s not advertising in any respect.
You may know this kind of artist. They excel at enjoying 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 may 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 extra steps to make these actions really feel actually particular. They don’t incentivize participation. What a disgrace!
That you must join the dots between the specified end result and the steps it should take to get there. As a result of the precise legwork of fine music advertising begins by discovering the STORY you need inform, after which determining learn how to inform that story properly.
Earlier than you launch a music, announce a present, or drop an album, you must reply these questions:
- What’s distinctive about my music, occasion, or profession?
- Who’s it for?
- Why ought to they care?
- How will somebody really feel as soon as they attend, pay attention, or buy?
- The place do they stay?
- When do they should take motion?
Not every bit of promoting content material you create has to handle ALL of the above. However YOU ought to know the entire story earlier than you start telling it.
Then you must listing all of the avenues and instruments it’s important to inform that story. Phrases, video, footage, emails, texts, and extra. Make use of what you might have!
2. Neglecting your target market
One of many greatest advertising errors musicians make is failing to outline WHO their diehard viewers actually is: their demographics, preferences, wants, and behaviors.
We wish our music to be cherished. By everybody. However that ain’t gonna occur. At any time when Taylor Swift sells out some large metropolis stadium, there are tons of of 1000’s and even hundreds of thousands of people that stayed house.
Don’t dilute your music’s influence by anticipating it will likely be all issues to all folks. If the web proves something, it’s the ability of leaning into your area of interest. You don’t wish to forged too vast a web. That you must start with a target market in thoughts which helps you focus your efforts on the best folks, the best platforms, and the correct of content material that successfully drives engagement and motion.
Your viewers and your focusing on can change over time. However at the least start each advertising 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 major method artists attain new listeners as we speak. So it’s exhausting to overstate the significance of a vertical-video technique. I imply, frequent, high-quality video output.
You need to create a mixture of movies, together with:
- Efficiency movies (“stay” at house, in live performance, or in an fascinating setting)
- Behind-the-scenes whereas recording
- Touring adventures
- Enjoyable details about your songs or lyrics
- Discuss to us immediately (whereas strolling the canine, placing on make-up, and many others.)
- Livestreams and AMAs
- Cowl music snippets
- Gear critiques or tutorials
- Highlights from non-musical facets of your life
- Occasional memes, skits, or traits (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 a number of good movies for too lengthy. They’ll go stale.
As for high quality, social video can seem informal, nevertheless it ought to NOT look novice. Be certain it has stable 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 method, 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 probably 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 reply to 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 kind of customized social administration isn’t “scalable,” it isn’t all the time enjoyable, and also you gained’t instantly see the outcomes. However on condition that it’s a free, easy, and direct solution 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
Knowledge sounds chilly. Artists are heat, feeling, distinctive, proof against numbers. However we shouldn’t ignore what the information is telling us. Knowledge is the story of how properly we’re telling our story. How, if, when, and the place our music is connecting.
Knowledge doesn’t promise to current a fairly 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 development.
The place do you could enhance? How must you pivot in your advertising? What are your choices to get higher outcomes for cheaper prices?
Your intestine instincts are precious, however the knowledge doesn’t (often) lie. Make a behavior of checking your numbers and the story they inform. Comply with the surprises. Lean into the successes. Be taught from the failures. Repeat.
Conclusion
Whereas the music trade continues to alter quickly, most of the frequent music advertising errors above are (sadly) perennial.
So preserve them in thoughts this 12 months, and in all of the years forward. All the time attempt for a extra strategic method to your storytelling, focusing on, content material creation, engagement habits, and evaluation.
Higher music advertising could 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!
