So your brand has a gig, it’s Saturday night and you’re going on stage in a few short minutes. You walk to the back of the stage and peek out into the crowd and notice the room is pretty… empty? Maybe it’s just early still, and more people and friends will start showing up anytime now… or will they?
Digital marketing helps your fans realize where and what time you are playing.
You make your money off of door sales most likely and you relied on the house to advertise the show, you hoped that would be enough to pack it in, but sadly that is not how it works in the real world. In reality you should also make effort to ask people to attend. So why would you not deploy smart Digital Marketing plan to attract your friends, attract friends of your friends more? Delivering an effective digital marketing campaign is easier than you think and the results of such can make a profound difference – shifting a low show into a “hey let’s go bro!”
You should continually be building email lists of people who come to your shows. Having a solid marketing list allows you to send loyal fans an email newsletter (using services like MailChimp). Email communications lets them know when and where you are playing. Always give them as much lead time as possible, or at minimum, a week in advance (people need to make plans). It would also be good for you to send out a reminder notice, perhaps 5-6 hours prior to the show on that day your are playing.
Of course you should also be social marketing and have a Facebook fan page, twitter, pinterest or other social networks that they all can follow. Be sure to keep the pages interesting by incorporating random give-a-ways like stickers, drinks or even free admission in exchange for likes, shares and follows.
Can my band afford digital marketing?
Considering the cost to run a traditional print ad, billboard or radio spot, you might actually might find digital marketing to be relatively cheap. The ability to send out quick bursts of advertising to rally for guests to attend where you have complete control in the cost of investment is powerful. Heck you could even ramp up a paid Digital Marketing campaign (assuming you have content ready to blast out) the moment you peeked around the curtain and noticed a less than stellar crowd. A quick eblast or one hour paid ad campaign could reach thousands of people immediately and drive people to the venue in real time.
And don’t let up, digital marketing for bands and entertainers is an ongoing effort to grow your followers and contacts that all band mates should be actively gathering.
So next time, don’t throw complete blame the venue if attendance is slow. Make effort to also drive traffic to the venue. Your reputation will grow, and revenue streams will increase in time. With even a minimal amount of effective digital marketing strategy in place, your gigs can grow giant in time.
Note about the author: Tim Davis has over 20 years experience building websites ranging from large .coms to small business and nonprofits. For the last 4 years he has devoted his craft to building responsive websites in an agency setting working with small to large enterprise level clients. Currently Tim hangs his hat at Trademark Creative – where a close nit, world class team of creatives work in tandem everyday, striving to deliver extraordinary responsive website solutions designed to propel business sales and marketing goals.
