If you want to get your music recognized and develop your fan base, music marketing is not an option. It’s a requirement.
So, where do you begin?
We need to start thinking about how you’re going to promote your music in order to get it in front of the right people, develop momentum, and see constant growth. Great marketing is all about creating enthusiasm, conveying stories, and gaining traction over time. Your music and content are among thousands of things that only one person will see in a day. The digital world has never been more chaotic. So, how will you distinguish yourself from the crowd?
Most musicians concentrate on creating excellent music while ignoring one of the most vital aspects of promoting it: music marketing. This is the vehicle via which you may promote your music, get it noticed, increase the number of views on your music videos, build a fanbase, and so much more. There are numerous opportunities for independent musicians to carve out their own niche in the music industry and make a significant impression.
Here are 6 music marketing tips & strategies to help you tackle music promotion as an artist effectively in 2022.
- Build Your Brand Foundation
In 2022, this is the most essential layer of music marketing. Nothing else fits properly without it. The foundation of developing a great music brand is who you are and what you stand for as an artist, as well as considering who your audience is and who would connect with you.
Music promotion is not an easy task. However, without a strong basis, nothing will work. Consider your artist brand to be an extension of your personal identity. It’s an aesthetically pleasing depiction of who you are, and it’s what someone will notice the first time you enter their world. As a result, it is critical that you make a good first impression. Here are the first stages to building your music marketing brand: Make a list of everything that has anything to do with you or your music. Mark the areas that are most important to you. How does that APPEAR? Make a visual map of it. Colors, imagery, tone of speech, music, and clothing Compare it to how you’ve been putting it up to this point. Is it correct?
To build a name for yourself in the music industry as an artist, you must stand for something. Getting your branding foundation correct will influence everything else, including your music, visuals, band pictures, and, eventually, your career.
- Know Your Demographic and Psychographic
The more you know about your target audience, the better you can develop music and content that they will enjoy. If people like it, you’ll gain organic traction more quickly. Knowing who and where your present admirers are will help you discover more about who is watching you and why they are watching you.
To understand your demographic and their behavior, you can obtain precise analytic information from your social media accounts, Spotify For Artists, and other sources. If you’re beginning from scratch, you should create an example fan avatar. It’s standard practice in digital marketing to identify who you’re trying to advertise to before you start. Marketing is no different in the music industry.
Consider artists who are similar to you. What kind of individual listens to them, and what do they like about them?
- Look After Your Current Fans First
When trying to gain more music followers, it’s easy to become preoccupied with numbers in music marketing.
Here’s the deal.
Marketing your music to a wider audience begins with taking care of your current fans first. It’s in your best advantage to cultivate a loyal following. A group. Learn how to create an ecosystem around your business, music, and music marketing platforms that can transform a casual fan into an obsessive superfan.
To accomplish this, artists must shift their focus away from numbers and toward gaining new followers. From the outside looking in, if you provide value to your present audience, individuals will see a community that they want to be a part of.
As an artist, you should give more than you take.
Being a musician is not the same as being a salesperson. You must give more and do more for your followers if you want future followers to join you on your quest.
- Allocate Time for Speaking 1-1 With Your Audience
Every day, you must set aside time to communicate with and engage with your audience. I can’t emphasize how crucial the one-on-one is when it comes to expanding your audience (it’s also the most successful type of marketing ever!).
This includes commenting on their Instagram photos, responding to their messages, and initiating conversations about them. Take an honest interest and you will be rewarded! This gives you a great opportunity to be more human and make a true connection with your fans.
Do you want the music industry to take notice of you? The music industry and record labels are only interested in musicians that have a following. A cult of people who would go to any length for you. A group. The power is in the audience, and strengthening your present audience with genuine one-on-one connections is how you can develop something unique.
- Choose Which Social Media Platforms You Will Focus On
To begin, select no more than two platforms. As an artist, you don’t have the time to devote to it properly. Investigate Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to see what works best for you. For musicians, social media is all about consumption, and when used correctly, it is the most potent instrument they have.
Everyone says you should be on every digital platform, but there isn’t enough time in the day to be effective on all of them. It’s overwhelming, and it’s not the best music promotion method for new artists. So you select a platform based on your skill set.
If you enjoy the video and being on camera, I recommend looking into how you may use YouTube. If you want to establish a community and enjoy photography and short-form content, I recommend Instagram (this is a fantastic site for artists and musicians in general; if you’re not sure, I recommend Instagram for musicians).
TikTok has the highest organic reach and engagement right now, therefore musicians should check it out. However, keep in mind that on this platform, you must grasp what works and how to produce virality, as TikTok excels at this. Check out this tutorial for some TikTok content ideas for musicians.
- Release Music More Frequently
Building momentum and exponential development in music marketing take time. How are you meant to establish a fanbase or create visible momentum if you only release music once a year?
Planning your next single release is great. But what about the next few singles?
Releasing one song without knowing when the next single will be released implies that you have to start again with each music release. Because you aren’t focused on sustainable growth, you experience popularity and focus surges that gradually fade away. The importance of music quality and consistency cannot be overstated.
Take care of your fans and continue to deliver value with consistent and frequent releases. Remember, you’re never more than ONE song away from greatness. One song has the power to dramatically transform your life. You never realize how close you are until it’s too late. Continue to write, release, and learn!