Last year, we launched the Symphonic Fam Facebook group: a place where musicians, music industry professionals, and members of our ever-growing Symphonic community can share their industry knowledge, network with others, collaborate, and more.
Since then, we decided it would be an awesome opportunity for members of the Symphonic team to share their industry knowledge and professional experience by answering questions in the form of an AMA (Ask Me Anything) within the group!
Our most recent AMA covering Advertising with Andrew Faraone, Symphonic’s Digital Advertising Specialist had valuable questions.
Key TL;DR takeaways:
There’s no true ‘model’ to achieve greatness as each artist and community is different, but I’ll provide some ideas of helping cast a wider net in order to grow in markets you’re not currently in.
COLLABORATION – this is my #1 in getting more exposure as teaming up with artists to throw events in cities where they’re popular and you’re not and vice versa will help you build on your image in other markets. Getting sales or RSVP data from these shows and using that information to market new releases and content to these people will help convert them into fans.
METRICS – keep an eye on data trends in your social metrics; this information will help you know what new towns or cities are buzzing or interested in your music. Setting up targeted posts or ads that market you to these smaller audiences will help grow you in those markets, inevitably growing your reach.
SUPPORT – show support to others who are doing the same thing; fans of other artists will see you supporting who they were interested in and will become interested in you seeing you show support for their success or upcoming track or latest tour date.
CONNECT – Stay engaged with your top fans and followers, throw meet and greets, do giveaways, etc. – your fans are your biggest promoters, get them to work for you for free by incentivizing them with experiences.
Q&As:
Q: Are Instagram ads and Facebook ads really effective?
A: Yes, they are when used correctly they can be extremely valuable in helping you reach your target audience.
Q: How important do you think blogs are, as part of a promo plan in 2020? Especially considering how much work it is to seek them out and pitch to them… Is that time and effort better spent elsewhere?
A: Are you consumers readers or are they watchers? Many artists are transitioning from traditional written blogs to Vlogs (of video blogs/diaries). In addition, the type of content you put into your blog heavily dictates how successful your blog will be as well. If you’re putting out How-Tos on underwater-basketweaving as a hip-hop artist you’re missing the mark with your audience; but How-Tos on mastering, or beat-making – or even creating a written diary to coincide with a tour vlog, are great suggestions. Blogs are also great for running contests and gathering feedback on thought-provoking topics.
Q: Do people still discover music through music writing blogs? I can’t remember the last time I discovered a track that wasn’t through Spotify/YouTube/word-of-mouth/social media/live shows. And I think most people are the same. YouTubers/podcasts/Twitch streamers and influencers like that seem very important indeed.
A: You mean like getting a press release for your new album in a major blog/publication? Those tend to be more for growing broad awareness then receiving actual results – ideally, clout building.
Q: I’ve heard arguments that FB messenger “email” lists are more effective than traditional email lists. When trying to get people to sign up for your list, would you recommend one over the other?
A: If you have a massive following on Facebook, it seems like a no-brainer to me to tap into that market and hit them while they’re on their phones scrolling through messages. I wouldn’t completely drop efforts on traditional emails though, especially if you’re already running them, as many people still consume information through email. The messages are little tidbits and clips of information you want your fans to know about, like new releases, content, events, etc. – and the email will wrap up everything you sent them.
Q: So in a promo campaign, do you think it’s a reasonable ask for people to sign up for both at the same time, once you get a click on an ad/etc? Or would you expect a lot of resistance to signing up to 2 things at once?
A: Keep it simple – one or the other; or run two separate ads – one for each. Society has become an instant gratification with the least amount of effort driven audience.
Q: What would you say is the best way to advertise your new project online?
A: This is a broad question – each project and each audience is different. I wouldn’t want to put something geared towards a younger demographic on Facebook or Twitter knowing that today’s younger demographics are solely on platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and I also wouldn’t put a project that’s geared towards a 35+ audience on TikTok or Instagram as they predominantly consume on Facebook. Could you elaborate more on the type of project so I can give you something a little more catered to it?
Q: I don’t have any videos at the moment, so I’m looking for other ways to advertise while I get a video done.
A: Awesome! You also can get away on the video front by putting your album art as a graphic overlay on your audio to get a ‘video’ out w/o having to produce a full-fledged music video. That being said – IG Story campaigns w/ a swipe up to your EP on Spotify or to your video can serve as a HUGE tool for you. Like I mentioned in a previous response on another thread here, today’s society is all about instant gratification – I want it now – audience. Swipe up taps into it, just make sure you deliver on their hunger and put them in the right place.
Want to engage in future AMAs with our team? Join the Facebook group now so you don’t miss out!
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