The 6 mainstays of Digital Music Marketing

By Virginie Berger, Founder and Music Strategist, Don't believe the Hype (France)

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Table of Contents

1. Digital Marketing - marketing vs promotion?

2. The 6 mainstays of digital marketing

3. Key learnings

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As explained in the previous white paper - “Well, What is music marketing?” - a music strategy could be definedas the analysis, the construction, the development and the execution of a marketing plan. It serves the purpose ofbroadcasting the music creation of an artist, make it available and generate profits.Internet is a real media, a support in the artist’s developments.On the Internet, there are many different ways to develop direct relationships with your audience.With an eye to start more concretely, it seems important to go back over a few definitions as well as themarketing and promotion basics.

First of all, people get often confused between marketing and promotion. In the sense that they mix marketingand promotion assuming it is the same tool while in reality the two are clearly different. Their definitions will helpyou understand and separate their functions:

Marketing: make yourself known

Marketing concentrates on how to get your public informed of your existence, your offer, the reason for thisoffer, and why this offer is something they covet. One of the marketing’s objectives is therefore to make theaudience you focus on know you, love you and trust you.

Indeed, your public can know you and like what you do, but what pushes them into buying your album or going toyour concert? What assures them you’re as good as you say you are?You need to build a relationship based on trust with your current and future fans. In the case of an establishedartist, the trust bond should be strong enough for them to be sure your next album will be as good as theprevious one. If you are still developing your fan base, you need to convince them your album is as good as thesingle they hear and that the live version might be even better.

1. DIGITAL MARKETING - MARKETING VS PROMOTION?

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Promotion: get into action

Promotion mainly concentrates on the influence. If your marketing work is solid, your public will spread the word:“I know this artist, I like him/her, I believe his/her album will be good”. One of the promotion’s objectives is tomove on to the next step: convince your public to buy this album and to buy tickets for your concert.

One can translate marketing and promotion into an equation already mentioned in the previous white booklet:Visibility + Connection = Monetization.

In order to understand the purpose of marketing and promotion, simply think of the Four Ps:

•Product – What will you sell?

•Price – How much will you sell it?

•Placement – Where will you sell it?

•Promotion – How will you let people know you are selling it?

For instance, thinking about these different questions can help you answer extremely concrete ones such as:

Should I sell or give my music?

If I decide to give it, how will I make money?

Where are my fans?

What is the best way to connect to my fans?

How can I attract a bigger crowd to my concerts, or people who will buy my merchandising?

What are my strengths?

You need to keep in mind that people have the choice. You have the choice. A plethora of choices. Too manychoices. Where should you be seen? What should you sell? What is your message? It is essential for you to takethe time and ask yourself the right questions concerning your goals and the way to reach them.

Over 20 millions artists coexist on the Internet. Along with billions of different contents. For any artist not aimingfor a commercial success, what could he/she do to emerge from the web darkness?

We covered this point: fans don’t only want to come in contact with your music, they want to come in contactwith you. So how could digital marketing help you? And what can you rely on?

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1.ContentContent is the starting point. Your music, your videos, your pictures, your blog posts, your newsletters. You are a musician, so your goal is to get people to listen to your music. And what do your fans look for and exchange? Content. Each title, each picture, each video posted on your blog is a way to commit your fans or to be discovered by others. This content also gives you the opportunity to create an impulse purchase. A selling point should be easily accessible nearby.

2.SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)Each digital content can be indexed and suggested as a result powered by an Internet search engine. Every single content with its own url or its website address is a destination for the public and the other websites. SEO allows you to be found and singled out amongst billions of research results.

3.Social mediaThanks to social media, you broadcast and share information in connecting to others. You are addressing a prepared audience, ready to receive your information and pass it on. Social media are primarily tools that magnify pre-existent efforts. Obviously, without any attractive content (music, video, contest, information, blog posts, humour, etc.), social media won’t be of much help to your case in terms of marketing.

4.Data analysisDigital marketing allows you to assess the success of your efforts and this, in real-time. Many tools are available to help you in developing campaigns aimed at building and committing your fan base. That way you can assess the impact of your actions: Did they increase your visibility, attract more fans, secure their loyalty, or sell your content? Answering these questions will help you optimize your actions.

5.Monetization strategyYou can now directly sell through your website or other platforms. This personalise your offer.

2. THE 6 MAINSTAYS OF DIGITAL MARKETING

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6. Knowing your public

Every artist is different. To each their own public. You will therefore develop your understanding of your fans, and that way be able to create longer term relationships.

The Pareto’s principle establishes that 80% of the sales are purchased by 20% of the clients. This principle illustrates well the 1000 True Fans theory. It allows you to identify what you need to concentrate your efforts on: the heart of your audience.

First of all, true fans, regular and casual, are just categories. This will just help you recognize your audience. Especially since these categories are quite arbitrary and non definitive. A fan can shift from a category to another.

Understand how your fans establish a connection with you and your music will help you improve your connection with them, develop your music and make money from your content.

You need to set out, using digital marketing, to develop tailored strategies, i.e. strategies adapted to your specific needs and situation, using web tools.

We all are defining a new direction for the music industry. What is truly interesting is that artists are not exclusively in the running for a deal anymore. It is now a matter of finding the best way to directly reach your audience. Because, in the end, it all comes down to two elements in the music industry, the artist and the fan. The intermediary that the web can represent is only there to enhance the value.

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Marketing is not promotion

Marketing concentrates on how to get your public informed of your existence, your offer, the reason for thisoffer, and why this offer is something they covet while Promotion mainly concentrates on the influence.

Why do you need marketing? Because marketing helps you to answer to 4 essentials questions.

•Product – What will you sell?

•Price – How much will you sell it?

•Placement – Where will you sell it?

•Promotion – How will you let people know you are selling it?

Digital marketing - The 6 mainstays

1.Content: The starting point.

2.SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): SEO allows you to be found and singled out amongst billions of research results.

3.Social media: Without any attractive content (music, video, contest, information, blog posts, humour, etc.), social media won’t be of much help to your case in terms of marketing.

4.Data analysis: Did your actions increase your visibility, attract more fans, secure their loyalty, or sell your content? Answering these questions will help you optimize your actions.

5.Monetization strategy: You can now directly sell through your website or other platforms.

6. Knowing your public: Understand how your fans establish a connection with you and your music will help you improve your connection with them, develop your music and make money from your content.

3. KEY LEARNINGS: HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER

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Virginie Berger, more than 12 years of experience in the media and musicindustry, former marketing and content director of MySpace France,reader for IMM, Nanterre university, Irma and author, is the founder andmusic strategist of "Don't believe the Hype", a website and a full servicemarketing and promotion company.

Don’t believe the Hype the website (http://virginieberger.com) isdedicated to musicians, artists, bands and people from the music industry.It gives them the tools, resources, expertise and guidance to help themtake their music career to the next level.

Don’t believe the Hype the agency is a complete one stop label/artistsservices agency that implements 360 degree multi-tiered marketing andpromotion campaigns providing strategic plans, music marketing, socialmedia and website, business development, project management, mediapromotion, sync & license all under one roof.

Twitter @virbergEmail virberg@gmail.com

About the author

MIDEM is the most important event for the world’s music community,providing valuable knowledge and connections to source business and findsolutions. MidemNet is the definitive event for monetising music in thedigital age.

MIDEM/MidemNet takes place every 3rd week of January and bringstogether 7,200 professionals from more than 3,200 different companiesand 78 countries, and 400 international journalists.