In a post-COVID 19 world, concert promoters may find themselves struggling not only to create safe and socially distanced events but also to market them effectively to people who love the live music experience. You may have known how to promote a concert in years past, but both the demand and supply have changed.
While offline methods like putting up flyers and posters all over town are still worth your time, today’s concerts need to be promoted online through digital materials. The many people staying safely at home aren’t going to bars and checking out upcoming acts while waiting in line for the bathroom.
Get the expert marketing advice and tools you need to increase visits and word of mouth.
You need to meet your audience where they are — on the internet — so you can sell tickets and make your event a success. In this guide, you’ll learn what you’ll need to implement as part of your marketing outreach plan:
- Update all websites
- Work with print and digital media outlets
- Keep your street team
- Engage in social media
- Pay for digital advertisements
Update all websites
Just as bands shouldn’t live online solely on SoundCloud, your promotion company shouldn’t only have a social media presence. To gain a strong reputation for organizing awesome concerts that are safe and fun, you should have your own website.
You don’t need to learn how to code or hire a web developer for this. Constant Contact’s intelligent Website Builder will get your site up and running in an evening. It’ll be mobile-responsive, too — making it easy to navigate even for people who want to check out what you have on your calendar while they’re on the go.
The website’s calendar should be well-structured so it’s easy and quick to read. Consider adding a spreadsheet-style format with the bands’ name and event venues — as well as door times, show costs, and a link where people can purchase tickets.
Along with updating your calendar and adding a digital flyer to your website, look for other websites that have event listings. Start your marketing initiative by sharing your event with a flyer that includes your business logo and information about your concert event.
Work with print and digital media outlets
When thinking of how to promote a concert, you must include reaching out to the media.
Fewer people read newspapers these days, but alternative publications and other printed materials still play an important role in letting people know what’s going on in their communities — especially regarding music and the arts. Start by creating a contact list of all the media outlets in your region so you can send press releases via email.
You should also look for music newsletters and local art blogs that include the live music scene in your community. You’re the one responsible for letting them know what’s in the works, so don’t be mad if they don’t mention your event before you reach out. Share the important details with them so they can write about your concert event.
Keep your street team
As previously mentioned, offline marketing methods — such as posting flyers and stickers around the area — can be effective. But your street team can now gather and volunteer via social media, too. Put out a call through your website or your email list for people willing to volunteer in exchange for a free ticket to the show.
Consider working with local influencers to branch out digitally. The “street” is now on social media, and people with loyal followers can help you sell tickets and expand your audience.
Engage in social media
You’ll also be able to do a lot with social media beyond working with influencers. Start by claiming profiles on all the platforms for your promotion business, if you haven’t already.
When first learning how to promote a concert, many will turn to platforms they already know intimately. For most of us, Facebook fits the bill.
A Facebook Business page should be the launchpad for your social marketing efforts, not your personal page or the bands’ pages. By using a Facebook Business Page, you’re working to create a brand for yourself, so that fans will pay attention next time you have an event to promote.
Next, you’ll want to create a Facebook Event Page for your concert through your Business page. Invite all your Facebook connections within the area to the show, whether they like the type of music featured or not. When one person clicks that they are “interested” or “going” to an event, it shows up on their timeline. Their friends see it and you’ll get free advertising as a result.
On the Event page, be sure to add the show venue with the correct address, ticket and price information, door time, set times of each band, and — if appropriate — age limits. You can create additional interest by posting video clips of the bands playing in the concert.
You’ll also want to have an Instagram profile that’s separate from your personal one. With the new Instagram Stories and IGTV features, you can share longer clips and live videos to get a buzz going.
Many people follow or search Instagram for hashtags, so make sure to include all the appropriate hashtags and band links with every post. Look for trending hashtags to use, rather than making up new ones, to get the most attention.
Giveaways
Raffles and giveaways are a great way to encourage people to share your event with their friends. For a chance to win a couple of tickets, your followers will happily like and follow your social media pages, share the event or flyer on their profile, and even give you their email addresses.
This is an excellent strategy because it allows fans of the bands you are promoting to do a lot of the heavy lifting for your social media marketing efforts.
Pay for digital advertisements
It takes money to make money in the music business, like any other — so you should also include a budget for paid digital advertisements.
Facebook Ads
Since you already have a Facebook Business Page, it’s easier than you may think to create Facebook ads. You’ll be able to target the audience of your ads to reach only people who live in the geographic regions surrounding the show venue.
You can also target people of a specific age, as well as by their hobbies. The latter works particularly well to weed out a lot of people who will never go to a live show, saving you a lot of money.
Google Ads
Another effective paid advertising channel is Google Ads. Instead of targeting your audience by demographics, you’ll be using what are known as keywords. Do some research to determine how people are searching for your events: it may be as simple as “punk music near me.”
These ads can be pay-per-click (PPC), which means you’ll only pay for each click on your ad link. That makes it worth the money — and explains why paid advertisements on Google are so popular and effective.
Learn more about how to promote a concert
Marketing is the key to a successful live event, so promoters will benefit from learning about the most up-to-date tips and best practices of the craft. Check out Constant Contact’s The Download — a free marketing guide that includes everything you need to know about how to get the word out for arts and cultural events.
source https://blogs.constantcontact.com/5-tips-on-how-to-promote-a-concert/
No comments:
Post a Comment