“What are the 4 pillars that the best-performing music marketing campaigns focus on?” Our December QOTM!
Let’s dive into what core values should be at the center of your music marketing campaigns.
A music marketing campaign doesn’t have to be rocket science BUT because there are so many possibilities in the realm of marketing, it might feel like it at the beginning. To make things attainable, we focus our efforts on 4 pillars to ensure we are hitting all sides of the campaign without getting overwhelmed.
So what are these pillars…?
1. Artist Brand:
It’s best to start with what is NOT an Artist Brand. It’s not your logo, definitely not your profile pic, or the filter you think makes you “edgy.” It’s who you are. It’s the story behind your music, the personality you show, and the reason fans go, “Yep, this is them.” To nail an artist brand in a campaign is to determine which emotions you want to evoke through marketing and combine the visuals and sonic landscape that make it easy for the consumer to identify with the emotions. It’s important, though, to be different enough to be remembered.
2. Release Brand / Song or Album Message:
When assessing your campaign, make sure each song or album is their own mini-world that makes sense in the world created around your artist brand. Your release brand sets the stage: curating moods and emotional impact. When your message is tight and consistent with your artist brand, it sticks, resonates, and, most importantly, creates conversation. That's when real momentum snowballs.
3. Content Strategy:
Posting randomly isn’t a strategy, it’s actually really frustrating haha. Smart content is consistent, meaningful, and the buzz word of the year…authentic. Behind-the-scenes clips, lyric snippets, offbeat studio moments, or even a well-timed meme keep fans coming back. It’s the difference between casual listeners and die-hard supporters. And please, always keep in mind that shareable content will perform each time, which is why relatable content, humorous content, and raw talent content typically does the best on platforms like Tiktok.
4. Targeted Advertising
Ads are misconstrued because they, too, require strategy. Well thought out, data-driven campaigns put your music in front of the people who actually care. But without strategy, you are literally setting money on fire. Do your research (or hire an agency that knows what they’re doing) to ensure you have an ad strategy in place prior to running the ads. Pro tip: take one of your highest performing pieces of content relevant to your music career and put some targeted ad-spend toward that. And noooo…please don’t boost your posts. You are funking up your algorithm.
Bottom line: Align these four pillars and your campaign stops being a shot in the dark. And once you have these fleshed out, your campaign doesn’t have to stop there. Go back and see how you can add even more creativity to your brand and content strategy. The sky is the limit but starting with structure will help avoid burnout.