Independent Pop Music Artist 2
Delivered March 27, 2020. Contributor: Jennifer P.
Goals
Gain an understanding of marketing music in order to develop a plan for promoting a pop music project, including insights into how to invest in various promotional strategies for the greatest level of success.
Early Findings
Social Media
- Social should be a core tool for marketing for independent musicians, however its use to grow a fan base is dependent on striking an effective balance between social and promotional content.
- It's noted that an ideal balance is having about 80% of posts be conversational, and 20% promotional content.
- Examples of ideal content to include are video and photo of recording in the studio, short song previews, and images from performances or tours.
- Other social media strategies for independent artists to promote include targeted hashtags, Facebook groups, and cross promoting on social media with other independent musicians.
Crowdfunding & Contests
- Two suggestions for gaining fan engagement are to use an online crowdfunding platform, as well as creating online contests.
- Crowdfunding can involve support that allows fans to contribute in a meaningful way, such as sharing photographs for an album cover, collaborating with song lyric creation, or offering rewards such as free swag for financial support of a project.
- Contests similarly can be promoted on social media, and ask fans to contribute in exchange for potential prizes, such as free concert tickets, albums, or music access.
- Both these strategies allow independent artists to get the word out about their music, while generating organic fan engagement.
Artist/Band Website
- The artist website can also be a tool to reach new fans if designed and promoted effectively.
- Various platforms allow artists to embed streaming music into a website, allowing fans to visit and preview content, which can aid in building an e-mail list for later promoting content and events.
- One source notes that new fans are more likely to genuinely engage with content on a website than on social media platforms.
Proposed next steps:
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