Didn’t we all grow up visualizing the mystical wanderer holding a magic pipe in his hand? We’ve heard stories on how he mesmerized every living being on the earth by playing a unique tune. The one who introduced himself as a rat trapper, was he actually a musician; or perhaps a magician; or simply a marketer?
From my perspective, the Pied Piper of Hamelin was a musician-marketer who could segment and target his audience; and also a musician-magician who could create engagements with his audience!
As I am consulting a few upcoming music directors, lyrics writers and singers, the mystical Pied Piper of Hamelin is once again over my mind. It’s a proven fact that promoting a good piece of music on Social Media does not really require deep pockets. We have several Indian and International success stories; then why all aspiring artists are unable to replicate the magic? Here are a few facts and tips for those who believe in do-it-yourself like the Pied Piper.
Designing a Pied Piper Website
In the era of social media, website is an obsolete concept! Well, really?
In the first place the current generation Pied Piper or to say the musician requires a basic website; yes, this does come from the old school of thought, but a few things are going to be around for a while. To access all information in a single location, an official website or landing page is the most authentic web presence that your business agents, producers, music bloggers and fans may like to visit to; moreover, to confirm your identity, social sites can refer to the same.
Content could include your bio, pictures, audios & videos, album information, media coverage, contact form & links to social sites of the Pied Piper and perhaps newsletter sign-up. Live feeds from your social sites are recommended; this is an easy way to provide recent updates to visitors. Designing a CMS scores over a basic HTML site, simply because you can update news and album information as and when released.
Selecting the Social Platforms for Pied Piper
We have it all! Well, it’s not about ticks; it’s all about being able to do justice wherever you are present!
As musician,you may like to select platforms carefully; selection could be based on parameters such as your music genre and style, your audience engagement pattern and your familiarity (comfort) & existing community build on any particular platform.
As you get started, you may wish to take baby steps; you may conveniently ignore LinkedIn, Pinterest and other sites that may not be too relevant, sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter should suffice.
I am not particularly anti-LinkedIn, so I do recommend creation of basic profile, the point that I am trying to make is that of creating active engagements. Wikipedia is one place where you should be present; however it is advisable to get a well referenced article written by an experienced writer.
Creating a Content Plan for the Pied Piper
The last I followed a Time Table was that in my school days!
Social media strategy is important and being disciplined is the key to success. Think of your short-term and long-term objectives. Promotion of any piece of music is a requirement of the day, but eventually you need to create the Pied Piper brand.
Rather than short-term publicity, like Pied Piper focus on building an online community that revolves around your world and the world of music. You may like to devote 30 to 60 minutes everyday to engage with your community and over the weekend you may like to make use of online tools to schedule your weekly posts (perhaps 3 – 4 posts per day).
Plan a good mix of content – your views on music, promoting your work, your sources of inspiration, interesting music facts and what’s latest in your life! You can even upload teasers of all your music on YouTube; it could be an old piece of work (perhaps from your school days).
Remember every piece of music finds its audience and there is no standard success formula for a viral video! Monitor performance of each post on different platforms; you will get an idea on what type of content works; which platform provides most mileage and at what time of the day your audience is most active.
However before you get started with all these, make sure your bio is well written on each social platform. The best practice is to maintain a humble pitch yet share your credentials with your audience.
Engaging with Audience like the Pied Piper
Unlike the Pied Piper, you are not a celebrity and the audience may not be able to find you!
Well, don’t wait for your audience to find; proactively search for prospective audience from accounts (Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook) of similar musicians.
Start conversations by telling a story and asking a question. Show support and respect for music and other musicians; let your fans and followers know that music is as important as oxygen.
Find social media influencers and music bloggers who may support you. Feel free to connect with fans in the comment sections of online music blogs, news and magazines.
List your profile in leading websites where your prospective audience is likely to visit.
Outsource or Do-it-Yourself like Pied Piper
This is a strategic decision and only you can decide what would work best in your case!
If your time permits, you could go the do-it-yourself route; trust me, no other ADMIN can do a better job of managing your brand online! A word of caution; if you take this route, don’t cheat!
Adhere to the time table and don’t ever outsource to an intern or fresher! In case you are time starved and your budget permits, outsource to a digital agency. The key to success is working together; organize fortnightly meets to discuss content plan and stay in touch with your Account Manager by sending timely and relevant information.
So get started today; make social media your Hamelin and let your pipe lure your followers!
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This is a Guest Post by Ami Shah.
Ami Shah – Co-founder and Creative Director, IntelliAssist.
For over a decade, Ami Shah has been involved in the profession of creating brands, managing customer expectations and creating demand for complex solutions. An engineer by qualification and a marketer by choice, Shah has worked with multinational B2B and B2C companies. She specializes in identifying appropriate value proposition, developing persuasive key messages and creating a mindshare with the target audiences by running integrated campaigns. She has worked with diverse organizations across industry sectors and geographies; this includes global multinationals, Indian businesses and start-up ventures. Her Twitter handle is @amishah0505 and her LinkedIn is http://lnkd.in/JkfMKf
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