Marketing for singersContent marketing musicians

In the past, regardless of if they were The Beatles or an underground band, creating content wasn’t at the top of a musician’s agenda. Their work process consisted of making an album, playing live shows and doing the promo with radio stations and magazines. How times have changed!

The first real form of content creation musicians were tasked with making, was the music video. The launch of MTV made music videos a must and in 1981 the first music video played on MTV; Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.

Fast forward to the present day, making music is no longer enough. MiDIA research found that 45 per cent of fans think music is more than just a song. Fans want blog posts, photos, live videos, tweets, updates, alternative versions of songs and more! Over the years, music videos have evolved too: smoke machines and extravagant outfits have gone and scenic, movie-like videos have taken their place.

Here are some examples:

Some of the most popular musicians on Instagram are Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. Each of them use the platform well to give their followers (in excess of 100 million) an insight into their lives and promote new material. It’s not just social media, though.

Bands and artists are now posting blogs and journal posts from tours. Moby, like many other artists, has a well-read journal on his website full of his thoughts, happenings and insights for his followers to enjoy. Creating all this content might seem tiresome but it can spark interest, drive traffic and help make new fans.

Why is creating content important?

The reason musicians create so much content is to create a relationship with their audience. Consumers no longer value music in the way they did during the music industry’s peak in 1999 – it’s something that many consumers now view as ‘free’. To increase the likelihood of physical sales of CDs, vinyl and merchandise, musicians must build relationships and reward their fans with experiences.

A daunting task indeed for the budding musician but there are some things to make the process of creating content easier:

Create content in one go

This is a good tactic to use if you’re strapped for time and have more pressing matters at hand. Dedicating a week or so to taking photos in the studio, backstage videos and typing up posts about the story of your band and inspirations can be useful. Put this content in a vault and slowly release it piece by piece. These can then be shared in a higher volume in the lead up to a release such as a new single.

Obviously, after a while, this content may become outdated but by doing this every few months, you can take the stress out of content creation.

Make it personal

The content must match with your identity as a musician and be personal. Connecting with the audience makes them want to share content and recommend you. The personal element can be gained by asking followers to send in photos they’ve taken at concerts or by hosting live Q&As on
social media. Followers and readers can be kept engaged by announcing surprise gigs and giveaways, exclusive to followers.

Instagram MarketingInstagram

A quick Instagram post is one of the easiest ways of giving a personal message. Fans want a backstage pass into the lives of the artists and Instagram is a fast way of doing just that.

There’s no set formula to what you should post on Instagram but as a general rule, your profile should consist of more music-related photos (live shots, backstage, album covers, promo shots) than anything else. The rest should be you in your everyday life – selfies and all!

Instagram Stories also allow bands to share short videos for their followers – these can be a sneak peek at new music direct from the studio, rehearsal clips and backstage footage at gigs.

The art of silence

Although the ability to keep in touch and have a direct connection with followers is wonderful, it can remove the mysterious enigma of a musician. If done correctly, silence is a powerful thing and can be used in an impactful way. Silence is a technique that David Bowie, Bon Iver, and more recently Gorillaz, have used successfully.

The need for content is affecting a range of industries. If you need help with creating a content strategy, get in touch with The Ideal Marketing Company on 01858 374 170.

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