How to Promote Your Music. The 8 Segments of Marketing.
There are many coaches selling what I call a ‘one-trick-pony approach’ to teach you how to promote your music. They will assure you that if you simply do this one thing, all of your wildest dreams will come true.
But what if they don’t come true?
If you’ve followed their music streaming success strategy to the letter and still only have 38 monthly Spotify listeners, it might be time to re-route and change lanes.
When introducing The 8 Segments of Marketing, this is where the Marketing Map stands head and shoulders above other tools. It combines both strategy and structure.
The 8 Segments of Marketing
When it comes to CONTENT we’re looking at the audio, visual, video and written content that you produce. Some of this is shared freely on social platforms whilst other pieces of content are bundled together into physical or digital products that you can sell to your fan-base.
With SOCIAL MEDIA we’re looking at platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and other apps/websites where users can interact with each other as well as musicians, brands and influencers.
Our definition of PR is centred around traditional media channels such as TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines as well as Blogs and other content-sharing sites. There is overlap between many of these areas, however, they all stand-alone and require a distinct route-planner.
STREAMING is one of the best ways for artists to generate interest at crowd-level. It can also be a very effective tool for income generation when hitting the scale of millions of monthly viewers and listeners. Some platforms combine streaming and social interaction, however, we’re looking at channels such as Spotify and YouTube which are predominantly geared towards content delivery rather than peer-to-peer interaction.
When looking at BRAND AWARENESS we’re looking at the value of your name, Search Engine Optimization, findability and your ability to reach the widest audience. There are many tools which will aid this area and subsequent activities.
With BRAND PARTNERSHIPS we’re zooming in to see how you can position yourself in front of other people’s audiences. This could be through corporate sponsorship or the collaborative creation of content.
DIRECT MARKETING is concerned with the ownership of data and your ability to reach people without relying on middlemen, social media algorithms or industry gatekeepers. A large email list for example can produce high and predictable open rates, whilst a social media post might reach the news feeds of just 1% of your audience who simply keep on scrolling.
One of the best ways to invite fans deeper is through EVENTS. These may take place offline or online. Either way, the key is to create immersive and memorable experiences where people can feel a sense of belonging and involvement.
If you can achieve this, you’ll have no trouble getting people to support your mission, celebrate the music and spend money on your merch.
Here is a link to see the case studies of how we’ve helped music artists, brands and creators.
I am confident that the Marketing Map For Music Acts E-Book is going to change the way you promote yourself as an artist.