This year, for New Year’s, I decided to do something that I have
never done before. I was going to make a resolution that I could actually
follow.
My New Year’s Resolution was to be braver, and put myself
out there more.
But I had a problem. I don’t have a marketing consultant,
nor do I have money to spend on ad campaigns and general advertising merriment.
If you think the simple solution is social media, there’s
one major problem with that: While you are thinking about this solution, millions of other people are trying to promote their stuff too.
This past week, I was fortunate enough to create something
that got a fair amount of attention, and was even re-tweeted by members of
Pentatonix.
But before that happened, I had to make sure they would see
it. So here is how I turned my little ditty into something that was seen by
more than just my circle of friends.
1) Stand Out
Okay. First and foremost, let’s lay some truth bombs. If you
want thousands of people to love and appreciate your cover of [insert pop song
on radio now], you’ve got a problem. While you’re covering that song and
putting out music videos and other stuff, so are hundreds of other groups.
The same goes for concerts. What separates your a cappella
concert from the thousands of other a cappella concerts happening within the
same month?
You need to stand out. You need to create something that NO
ONE can replicate. You need to make something that will draw the attention of
people who crave new and interesting things. As cool as your new Fall Out Boy cover
is, it's not enough to attract the attention of strangers.
However, there is a double-edged sword to this: When you
create something new, that no one has ever heard of, how do you promote it? This, I believe (I may be wrong) is the
reason most groups hesitate from writing and recording original music. Original
songs are awesome, but they don’t have the political and social clout that
[insert pop song on radio now] has.
You need to find a balance between the familiar and the
unfamiliar. Can you write an original song in the STYLE of Adele? Is there
someone in your group whose voice is a dead ringer for Michael Buble? Can you
cover a song that NO ONE has ever covered before?
2) Facebook Hacking
Posting on Facebook is pointless. Within 5-10 seconds, your
Facebook post is buried under hundreds of others. Plus, the only people who can
see that post are your friends.
Instead, I recommend finding smaller, more concentrated
niches to focus your marketing. Facebook groups work well for this. Join a
bunch of groups, and then post in every one of them. Don’t do this often. Save
these guerilla posts for something really special, otherwise people will get
annoyed.
Tag people in your posts. This will make your post show up
in notifications about that person, and every person that person knows.
3) No Money, Less Problems
If you want people to pay for your work, especially if you
are an unknown artist, you will significantly lessen your audience.
You need to think like a…forgive me…drug dealer. Give the
people a free taste of what you offer, and get them hooked for more.
I gave my song away for free. People love free things, and
it boosted the number of hits dramatically.
Don’t post your song on Spotify and expect people to go
“Wow! I love that song! Now I’m going to buy it!”
No they won’t. At least I know I won’t. And I’m probably not
alone on this.
The reason Spotify/Soundcloud/etc. doesn’t work is because
people want to hear your song when it is convenient for them. The most
convenient way to listen to something whenever, is to download it and add it to
their portable device. If you give them the opportunity to listen in any way
they choose, they will be more likely to give your music a try.
I’m not saying give every song away. I’m saying give them a
chance to hear your work in a method that is convenient for them.
4) Excite The Senses
Listening is great. Listening AND watching is better.
Even if it’s just a lyric video (which is what I created),
people love to be overwhelmed by as many senses as possible. You MUST create a
video for your song. That is non-negotiable.
Don’t know how? Neither did I. It took me an hour to learn
how to make a lyric video on Imovie.
Also, the easiest way to share anything is to copy and paste
a link on Youtube. In my opinion anyway…
5) One Is Not Enough
Facebook alone isn’t enough. You need Twitter, Tubmlr,
Instagram, Reddit, etc. The more sites you post on, the greater your chances of
being noticed.
For those of you wondering what I created, here is the
Youtube video. A free download link is included in the description:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwKlCKEBwfg
Marc Silverberg
Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:
Twitter.com/docacappella
Acappellaquest.blogspot.com
Docacappella.tumblr.com
No comments:
Post a Comment