1. Build a community of followers and fans through social media.
We all know that social media is an essential tool for 21st-century artists of all kinds. But do you realize its full potential? Focus your band’s social media efforts on building an audience and a sense of community, not just on advertising your music and shows. For better or worse, social media engagement statistics have become an important way of measuring the popularity, potential, and credibility of musicians. This means it can have a major impact on the types of partnerships and opportunities that arise for you. Deeper engagement with your followers is the best way to foster this kind of organic growth.
You might try the following:
Promote your events and engage with followers on the event page
Talk about your band’s current favorite music and share your inspirations Create promotional social media contests and offer your custom merch as rewards
Post stories about your travels and tour adventures
Genuine engagement and interesting content are the best ways to make sure your band’s social media actually makes an impact in the long-run.
2. Push your creative limits with new content and covers.
This strategy ties in with the first one. Digital content is important for growing your audience, especially video content. What kinds of videos might interest your followers on each platform? Instagram users might love a behind-the-scenes clip, while Facebook is best for snippets from your new music video. Ask fans to submit their videos from your shows, too! Creating digital content is essential for creative project crowdfunding, too. Adapting creative covers of well-known songs is another surefire way of attracting attention. You might write a slower, acoustic version of a classic non-acoustic song. YouTube has historically been the best platform for this strategy. Just make sure to brush up on the basics of copyright law before uploading it!
3. Make your music available on streaming services.
Choosing to make your band’s music available on a major streaming service can be a bit intimidating. While it can open up your work to more listeners than ever, you also risk having your music submerged in a massive catalog of chart-toppers. The thought that it might not be worth the effort for bands just getting started is perfectly reasonable. However, there are some situations in which making your band’s music available for streaming is a smart move. Niche genres and styles like these are much better suited for this strategy: Since the competition for attention tends to be lower on the major streaming services for these niche areas, bands whose music fits into these styles stand a much higher chance of seeing growth in their band’s visibility and popularity.
4. Focus on your band’s owned properties.
While it’s important to develop your social media strategies and increase your follower count with great content and engagement, much more goes into successfully promoting your band. Your owned properties are the digital materials and outlets that your band completely controls on its own. They include:
An EPK (or electronic press kit), including a band bio, music samples, tour dates, and contact info Your owned properties will become more and more important as your band begins reaching outside of its local scene. Thankfully, you can easily build your band’s digital presence with a few simple tools. Free and inexpensive WordPress plugins, for instance, make it incredibly easy to create a highly-functional blog in no time.
5. Immerse yourself in the local music scene.
This strategy might seem self-evident, but many bands neglect their outreach. It’s easy to increase your visibility by establishing goals and taking the initiative!This starts with focusing on your local music scene. Network wherever and whenever you can, form relationships with other bands in the area and in your genre and build a following in smaller venues. Then reach out to local publications, print, and digital. Even a brief mention in a small paper’s events calendar can be a game-changer. When you’re ready, expand your reach. Music blogs and podcasts are the best ways to get started. Many popular podcasts even have systems in place for bands to submit their songs to be played during transitions and breaks. Explore all your options and don’t be afraid to take risks to get your name out there! Promoting your band takes more planning than you might have initially imagined! From creating the right band merch to studying up on other marketing strategies that unite your digital and in-venue outreach, it’s definitely a team effort. However, the payoff is worth it.
