Music Marketing - Preparing for an Awareness Campaign

An awareness campaign’s primary purpose is to create familiarity. It allows potential fans and music industry gatekeepers; Program Directors, DJs, press reporters, bloggers, event promoters, and others, the chance to “stumble” upon or “discover” your music. This is important. An awareness campaign is not direct marketing. Fans and industry types want to “discover” or feel that they have “found” music they want to support on their own. They do not want to be marketed to or pushed into taking a chance on a new artist or group. This means that your awareness campaign must not come across as a marketing message but at the same time have all the key elements needed to have the same effect as direct marketing. Sounds twisted I know!

Here is an example:
A direct marketing strategy that targets new fans to go listen to an artist or group’s latest single may be in the form of an email ad that contains a picture of the CD cover, the artist or group, and a message that may say; “Go listen to the new single NOW!” Whereas an awareness campaign starts in a user forum or online music fan hang out simply talking about other music and artists. How it works is simple. When an artist or group joins a forum or blog community they create a profile. In that profile there is a place to add a signature that will be displayed each time a new message is communicated by the artist or group. In that signature area an artist or group will place a link to their music or website. This way, when an artist or group is simply talking back and forth with music fans about other artists or topics, those same fans have the chance to click on their link and “discover” the music on their own. Social networks work the same way. An artist or group may log onto myspace and start looking for music that interests them personally. As they find music and artists they like, they leave a comment about the music on that artists profile page. As other fans read the comments they will see the link to the commenting artists profile and simply click to check out who was commenting. Again, they have “discovered” new music on their own. This is what web 2.0 is all about!

Here is the catch. You have to be prepared for new fans and industry types to “discover” your music. You have to have a marketing message without marketing. Again, twisted, I know! By this I mean you have to make sure you have paths set up within all your social networking, music forum, and blogging profiles that lead people to your music. Then you have to insure that the destination you are sending people to is consistent, clear, and easy to navigate. Remember, you have less than five seconds to grab the attention of potential fans and music industry professional when they land on your webpage. FIVE SECONDS! People will scan a page quickly, if there is not something on that page that grabs them and screams; “Look further, this might be interesting and you may like the music!!!” they will leave... fast!

Don’t Confuse Your Potential Fans
The worst thing you can do while marketing your music is to confuse your audience. Consistency is a must! Every social network, music forum, and blogging profile must be consistent. I am not saying make them exact. But I am saying have the same songs, pictures, and messages contained within them. You have to remember that if a potential fan “discovers” your music and likes it, they are going to start searching out additional information about you and your music. It is a huge mistake to try to be everything to everybody. Thinking that offering fans a variety, by creating different looks and feels between different social networks or profile pages, will capture more fans will actually cause you to gain less fans. People want consistency. If a fan really is into your music, they will find the other songs. They will visit your website and stay long enough to discover song number two, three, and maybe even four off your CD. But each of the landing pages, the pages that they land on from the path you have lead them down from your signature or profile page, must be consistent and contain the same music, images, and message.

First Impressions are the ONLY Impressions
First impressions are everything. In fact, when marketing music they are the only impression that matters. In the first five seconds a potential fan will decide if they like you or not. If they decide they don’t, they will not change their mind later! It is very important that you take this into consideration when starting your awareness campaign. Ask yourself; What is the image I want fans to have of me and my music? What picture do I have or need to get that will convey this message? What song best fits within this image of myself and music? What can I say in less than ten words about myself and my music that lets potential fans know everything they need to know to make the decision weather or not my music is for them?

These questions determine what message you will present and how you will present that message on each of your landing pages. The answers make up your individual identity as a musical artist. Your identity is what the fans base their first impression on and ultimately decide if they will invest more time and effort to get to know you and your music better. Blindly creating myspace, youtube, or other profiles without knowing the answers to these questions will lead to profile pages that are not consistent and/or give bad first impressions.

Clearly Communicate Your Image
Five seconds is fast. if a potential fan or music industry professional lands on your profile page or websites home page and it takes longer than two seconds to figure out what is what and how to get anywhere you have already lost them. Cluttered pages will kill your ability to convert visitors into fans. You must have a clear page that contains your images, music, and messages in a way that can be viewed fast. I am not saying do not be artistic. But I am saying make sure you do not have a background that makes it impossible to read the text on your page. In addition, do not have more than one thing automatically play. Meaning; if you have an mp3 player and a video player on your landing page do not set them both to start playing automatically!

Landing Pages are For Communicating a Message
You may feel that your home page or profile page needs to say everything you want to communicate to your fans you. This is a mistake. Your landing page must only contain your marketing message, news, and features with links that will guide fans to other areas of your website or profile page to learn more. Remember, you only have five seconds. Too much information will overload potential fans. Try to think about how much you can read in five seconds. Now, think about trying to wade through a massive amount of information, pictures, video, or graphics to find the needed information to make a judgement weather or not you like something. If you have too many choices you  can not make a choice in five seconds. Your job is to look at your own page and determine weather or not a potential fan can easily read and get your message in five seconds. Remember, it is best to consider that every person who lands on your page only has an eighth grade education. Why? Because not everyone can read as fast as you or understand what you can. You want to reach all levels of fans, not just the super fast readers or smart ones!

Do Not Scream at Potential Fans... At First!
When designing your landing pages it is best not to have a bunch of graphics that say buy this, go here, listen to this, read that, etc. You want to have a clear message that gives potential fans the ability to “discover” a great new artist. Once they decide they like an artist they will click on your menu links and go deeper into your website. At this point, they are looking for direction. This means that the sub pages of your website can contain these graphics and indeed should. Once a potential fan click deeper within your site they want to know hat to do, where to go, and how to find more information about you and your music. Lead them!

Conclusion
An awareness campaign is most effective when you capture the attention of potential fans without them knowing it. This is accomplished through repetition, consistency, and clear paths that lead to what is promised. Any awareness campaign must start with knowing what it is you want to say and then finding the best way to say it.

Resources:
Awareness Campaigns Explained! - A complete step-by-step guide to planning and executing successful music marketing awareness campaigns that create buzz, gain new fans, and drive merchandise and CD sales.

Peace,
Jai
“Love the Music in Yourself, Not Yourself in the Music!”
©2009 Jai Hutcherson. All Rights Reserved.

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