So youʼve been doing the local open-mic night circuit for a while now, youʼve just recorded
your first EP or album and are ready to start getting the word out about your brand. Hereʼs
a quick music marketing check-list to help you get on your way:
_
1. Define your brand – Ensure you branding is clear, consistent and professional across all
your online and offline platforms. Define your identity who/where you target
audience are. Go to your fans, donʼt expect them to come to you.
2. Collect “currency” – Email addresses, mobile numbers and zip codes are the new
currency of the music industry. Email is one the most effective direct marketing
channels to fans. Make sure you are collecting fan data wherever you are both online
and offline. Two great newsletter services are mailchimp.com or fanbridge.com
3. Create a website – having your own website instantly create a professional brand. It
also acts as a uniting hub for all your other social networking sites. Remember, if
Myspace or Facebook died tomorrow, all your fan data would be lost. Having a website
ensure you are in total control of your brand and fan data. If you canʼt afford a website
yet, then just get a holding page with a newsletter sign-up on it and links to your social
networking sites.
4. Prioritize quality over quantity – Prioritize connecting with fans one by one over
applications that “autobot” fans onto your social networking sites. This will inspire
loyalty in your fan base and will ultimately be the most effective way in turning potential
fans into super fans.
The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people
Our company is the leader in corporate, web, and online video production services to Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC!
5. Be media ready – Ensure you have both physical and digital copies of your music
available, and a biography and/or press release too. Many journalists still want to
receive physical product in order to judge the professionalism of an artist. However
make sure you also have your full album available for download via a hidden website. I
recommend Soundcloud for this.
6. Donʼt forget about offline marketing – Online marketing has made connecting with fans
on a global level so much easier. We can now communicate with people in real time all
over the world. However, donʼt forget about your offline marketing. Your live
performance, fan interaction at gigs, and face to face networking are still fundamental.
Be aggressive (but nice!) in BOTH your offline and online marketing.
7. Know your rights – Ensure you aware of the different ways of earning money online and
offline. Make sure you sign up to SoundExchange (itʼs free!) in order to collect your
digital royalties and keep up to date with issues affecting musicians by checking in with
The Future of Music Coalition.
8. Be creative, be personal - Donʼt be afraid to ask your fans for input into your creative
process. If they see you are listening to them, it will incentivize their loyalty and you will
create word-of-mouth buzz.
_
Jem Bahaijoub is the founder of imaginePR, a music PR and marketing company based in
Washington, DC. You can connect with her on twitter @jembahaijoub or Facebook
www.facebook.com/imaginePR
“Green Buzz Agency has been very easy to work with throughout the entire production process, from developing creative concepts to the receipt of deliverables. Open and clear communication can be difficult to find with out-sourced help, but it is definitely something that Green Buzz values and works hard to maintain. Their diligent work and quick turn-around makes them stand out from other agencies.”
Crystal Hudson, Game Operations & New Media Manager: Washington Mystics
If you’re a business owner, chances are you know three letters very well: R.O.I. (Return on Investment.) It can be tough to put PR into numbers, which is why most of us work in the field. We checked out of math class when the algebra teacher started putting letters next to numbers on the chalkboard.
Online Media
We want to impress you, so we value impressions. There are many different ways to show these and many different web sites you’ll hear PR people reference. For online coverage, we’ll use Google Analytics, Quantcast, Compete and TrafficEstimate, just to name a few.
Oftentimes, these figures are compiled monthly, as in “unique monthly visitors.” If you’d like to know weekly or daily figures, those can be determined quite easily.
Now, because we are looking at a media web site, such as Forbes.com, it is tough to know if visitors actually clicked through to the article about your company’s news. That said, nothing’s guaranteed in media impressions; Forbes could have 2 million subscribers, but 1 million of them could have left town the month you were in the magazine; The Today Show could have 4 million average viewers every day, but they could have gone to work early the day that your CEO lands on a segment.
The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people
Online reporting is a bit easier to read, as your site can trackback click-throughs. Additionally, online coverage can get re-posted via social media networks and through wires.
Print Media
Print media is still alive and kicking and its tough to judge its effect on the public. Sure, we can look at circulations, but many conversations around the world start with, “I was reading an article in/by/about…”
In print, circulations are often multiplied as a sort of “pass on” factor. For example, BusinessWeek’s circulation is 926,785, but there is a “pass on” factor to consider, as families, offices and other places of business pass magazines around. So, an agency may report it as 926,785 x 4, or 3,707,140.
Newspapers are often sent to families or offices, as well, but since they are daily and not weekly or monthly, they are often multiplied by 2.6. Each issue is thought to have a shorter shelf life. Thereby, it likely gets “passed on” less. So, the Financial Times’ circulation of 500,000 is often reported as 1,300,000.
Ad Value Equivalencies (AVE) is also not an exact science. AVEs are determined by multiplying a medium’s ad rate by the size of the placement. In print and online, this is measured in inches or quarter inches. In broadcast, this is measured by seconds or half minutes. Many people value content more than size though. For that reason, we have developed a Publicity Value Analysis, which will be discussed soon here on the Green Buzz Agency Blog.
Alison Walsh is an Experienced Public Relations and Marketing Professional. You can reach her at alisonhope.walsh@gmail.com
Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!
The GBA Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people
by Alison Walsh
Linkedin to Facebook via Twitter . Oh my! If you have to hear another one of your junior staff talk about being “poked,” you’re going to have to call HR and schedule a workshop.
Slow down, Michael Scott. Poking is basically a Facebook alert, Dunder Mifflin can still be held in high regard among the paper industry. In fact, you may want to start awarding Social Media Dundies.
Your PR team can assist you in building a web site that is savvy, eye-appealing and keeps the look and feel of your company. Almost as important as building the the web site though, is maintaining the site, which is where all of these Social Media Sites come into play. One way to keep these sites fresh is by re-publishing editorial coverage you garner.
Basically, there is a world of fans and potential fans of your business out there. You want to reach as many of them as possible. The internet has evolved business models. The word “global” no longer attaches a negative connotation because you easily can be a “global business” while still holding the position of “locally owned and operated.”
That said, online communities are just as important as the one in your backyard. Your PR team can generate conversation and buzz throughout online communities, so you have time to chat with your neighbors over the fence.
Tweet us (”That’s what she said!” – Michael Scott) at @greenbuzzagency today!
The PR Specialist behind this post is Alison Walsh. Email Alison: alisonhope.walsh@gmail.com
Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!
Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!
The GBA Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people
by Alison Walsh
In an effort to start the week off right, Green Buzz Agency is offering a little bit of education – call it a piece of “flair” – each Monday. We’ll tackle a different part of PR each week. Think we’ve missed one? Let us know and we’ll write one or post yours as a guest blog!
Since you only get what you give, we’ll start with Corporate Social Responsibility and the 8 questions you should ask when selecting a partner charity.
Muhammad Ali once wrote, “Community service is the rent we pay for our room here on earth.” In the spirit of “every little bit helps,” Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is important, regardless of the size of your business. You may have a charity in mind, but your PR team can help you get the most out of what you give through presence and alignment. Furthermore, they may have worked with these charities in the past or know their past work well from a media audit or similar connection.
Sure, every charity is a worthy cause, but there are questions you should answer before choosing one (or more) charity. We also recommend using Charity Navigator, as you vet out your options.
To start:
- Do I want to spread my donations to many different charities throughout the year or focus on a sole partner?
- Is their cause something around which my company and employees can rally?
- Does this charity’s donor base match my target customer base?
- Is this charity like my company: a well-oiled machine?
- Do they keep their web site fresh?
- Are they willing to include links and logos for my company in charity promotional materials online and in print?
- Do they hold events and fundraisers in which my company can get involved?
- Are they fairly well-known or on a growth spurt?
Here’s hoping your Monday’s productive and you don’t have to take a bat to your printer anytime soon, a la Office Space (the movie we’ve been referencing throughout this post).
The PR Specialist behind this post is Alison Walsh. Email Alison: alisonhope.walsh@gmail.com
Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!
Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!
by Margie Maddux Newman
Not all public relations practitioners (a.k.a. “flacks”) are created equal. I can say that because I am one. Day after day, I see folks out there giving my craft a bad name. Fortunately, there are many great PR pros who will ethically and strategically work to advance your goals. The good flacks serve as knowledgeable, curious and creative partners. Here are three signs you’ve found one:
Effective flacks listen: if your new firm or in-house communications director shows up on the first day with a plan already drawn up and ready to implement – you’ve got a problem. How can someone craft your communications strategy when they’ve never asked you about your vision, strengths, opportunities, threats, audiences, and goals? If your firm/comm. director does more talking than you do, tell them to hush; or go find a new one.
Effective flacks teach: I believe online reputation management will be the cornerstone of your successful PR campaign, but the mainstreaming of social media has ushered in a lot of self-declared “gurus.” It drives me nuts. Your business plan doesn’t call for a spiritual leader; you’re seeking the support of a tech-savvy person who will make your message more effective among people, on paper, and in pixels. Your PR pro should be transparent and coach you through the process. At the end of the day, you should be a better communicator because you’ve met this person, not rendered speechless by some secret sauce.
Effective flacks want you to win: one sign your PR pro has her eye on your prize is her willingness to do whatever it takes to get you there. To be clear, I’m not talking about unethical practices; I’m talking about playing well with others. There may come a time when you need more than just that firm/individual’s hands on deck. You may need support from both sides of the aisle; maybe you need to hire a digital marketing specialist or Web designer – whatever it takes. If your firm is hesitant to assemble an arsenal of creative/political/technical folks to advance your cause – you can bet they’re more interested in their invoice than your victory.
Whether you use an in-house communications director or an outside consultant, take your time and invest in high-performing, ethical, goal-driven public relations professionals. Your reputation – and bottom line – will be ever-so-grateful.
Margie Maddux Newman is an award-winning pr flack, technology columnist and social media guinea pig. A Nashville native, she currently lives, works, blogs and talks to strangers in Washington D.C.
Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!
