Getting noticed and making it big are great aspirations for any artist or band. To achieve
that goal takes determination and effort. It also takes a good marketing strategy. Some of the best online marketing strategies to take advantage of combine not only the image of the band, but networking as well. There are ways to break this down into an achievable strategy.
Social Networking
Online social networks are optimal for two reasons. The first is that they promote visibility. There is a name to go with the image portrayed. It is easy to gather followers using online social networks such as Facebook, MySpace or even Linkedin. But it does not stop there. That is your initial foray into digital marketing.
Online Forums
There are a number of online music forums that you should join. The idea is to create music awareness of your art and gain an audience with the forum community. This is unlike the social networking step in that individuals who frequent music forums are a stickler for the details. Vague music commentary on Facebook is not going to impress many on a music forum. You must know what you are talking about and how to go about promoting your own agenda. Online marketing strategies that work the best are ones that make you:
- Accessible
- Knowledgeable of your craft
- Open minded
Online music forums are for “music geeks” what tech forms are for “computer geeks.” It helps to have that in the back of your mind. Here is a sampling of the various online music forums that can give you credibility and a strong marketing base:
Virtually any indie music magazine has a forum as well. Those are excellent resources to use in your marketing strategy. The more recognizable your name…the more interest you can generate.
The next phase of good online marketing strategies is implementation. Start by registering with the music forum. To ensure no confusion, make your username your performance name. For example: if your name is Harry but your performance name is IndigoBlue, you want to register as IndigoBlue. The idea is to start awareness and name recognition.
After registering, it is time to post. Take some time to look at the forums and see what the discussions are about and who is posting. Do NOT jump right in and start posting. This is sure-fire way to get posters upset. As with most things in life there is proper etiquette to follow and unofficial “rules” for behavior. If a topic is listed in the forum, stay with that topic. Read posts and respond accordingly with politeness and well thought out answers. If you want to post links to your music or web page…do so in the proper areas.
Online marketing strategies do work and online forums are a fantastic way to promote your band. The key is patience and recognition. The bigger following you can achieve online…the bigger following you will have at shows. One final piece of advice is this: ignore the detractors and those that instill discord. It is the Internet and it will happen occasionally. Your goal is to stay harmonious and find those fans. Get started!
Good idea. Shame, there used to be so many more music forums around. I guess with Twitter and the like; forums are becoming a bit obsolete.
I agree with you on this point, but in the end, you are talking to a whole community so the best thing to do is understand how they interact, first understand them and then share. It’s also great to have all your projects well branded, this way once somebody picks up on your music, they can easily find anything that has to do with it. So social networks are important, YouTube channels, your website, your Spotify, etc. are important. I want to add a tool that will help you brand yourself. Take into consideration the tools available online. These are made by professionals and you can just customize their mockups or design templates according to your needs. Make sure to drop by placeit.net for the new musician section, as it can definitely be of great help.