Regardless of your specialty within the Entertainment
Industry, the only way to be successful is if someone knows who you are and
what you do. From small business owners , to party promoters , to musicians …. you may create great products or services, but if no one knows about it,
they will wind up gathering dust on a shelf somewhere. You may be the only one
who RSVPs to your party, or sadly, the only person who will be listening to
your music is your mother. So now what? How do we get things moving?
#1 Identify your target audience and broaden it with niche marketing
You have got to get the word out. People love to support
businesses, independent music and people that they believe in. Having a loyal and broad fan base is essential.
No matter what your business, it is necessary to aim your marketing to a
specific group of people who would have a natural interest in you work. This is
your target audience.
A prime example is
with the group Turquoise Jeep.They gear their marketing, merchandise,
and music to males ages 15-35 based on a void that they saw in the industry.
They showcase their work on Youtube (a site most frequented by males in this
age range), and they perform at music festivals such as FunFunFun Fest and
South by Southwest . Their merchandise is the college
guys basic uniform — a t-shirt, and they sing and rap about subjects that are
most important to that group in a comedic manner. They are also a bit
controversial, which keeps fans talking. Although their music can appeal to a
wide range of audiences, they have chosen this group as their main focus.
#2 Create a fan base by exposing your product to a
receptive crowd online
Facebook,
Twitter and your
website are great ways to keep your current customers
informed about your brand, but make sure you keep all of these platforms
updated and interactive. If people tweet about your product, share links on
Facebook, and traffic is sent to your updated website as it appears higher in
Google rankings, you are
sure to gain more support.
However, there is more to sharing music on the web than
Facebook. Although a very valuable resource, this will only put your music in
front of people you know, or who are already familiar with your music. To
attract a new audience, give people a free sample of your music on great
streaming websites like Spotify. Have your music included
in the line up on Pandora. Pandora is such a great resource since
it selects music for the listener’s station based on similarities in musical characteristics and will place your music in front of someone who is open to something new.
And certainly don’t forget about Reverbnation, which provides you with all the tools needed
to promote , sell and share your music, tour dates, and merchandise alone – or
in conjunction with social media sites like Facebook.
#3 Get personal
“ People already know about themselves, they want to know
about you…. Just being a human, I think that is what is missing in music today,
a lot of artists are… they are trying so hard to be something they’re not… and
that’s what I am bringing back [humanity]”~Christian Monroe
People want to know your story, they want to know how you
got to where you are today. Whether you sold t-shirts out of the trunk of your
car and turned that into a million dollar business like Johnny Cupcakes , or had the good fortune to be born into a musical family and then discovered
by Clive Davis like Whitney Houston, to a pharmacist taking syrup, 125 years ago, and turning it into a drink with
household name like Coca-Cola. People want to connect with you, your past, your product, and thus will support
your future.
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