The music industry has always marched to its own beat. Music has been at the forefront of all technological developments, from the radio to the iPod. Music professionals constantly need to adapt to the industry’s evolution, and part of this is revitalizing our marketing efforts.
As a venue, you can’t rely on an artist’s promotion team to find people to buy tickets. You have to do your part to market the events hitting your stage and generate as much buzz as possible so artists will want to perform in your space.
However, live music marketing isn’t the same as it used to be. Once upon a time, you could post a few flyers or take an ad out in a newspaper or magazine to spread the word. As a venue owner, you could have even sent a newsletter or similar booklet to patrons to tell them about your upcoming event. And who doesn’t love a good advertisement on a billboard?
We’re not saying that all of those things are obsolete. But there’s a new sheriff in the live music event marketing town: digital marketing.
Digital Marketing for Live Music Events
Digital marketing completely disrupted advertising for every single industry. As more people migrated online, printed sources of information started to lose popularity, like CDs when mp3s became a thing.
When it comes to your marketing strategy, digital marketing needs to be your priority.
A whopping 85% of US concertgoers discover events online. So if you’re still sticking to the outdated marketing methods, you’re missing most of your target audience. (Unless someone like Tony Bennett is making an appearance at your venue. In that case, printed advertisements might be a good way to go.)
Your marketing efforts matter more than ever, especially now that we’re emerging from the pandemic. 96% of people between the ages of 18 and 54 have stated that they wanted to attend a live event as soon as it’s safe to do so, and the many well-attended major events have demonstrated that. The demand is there; you just have to make sure that people know your venue is open for business again.
Let’s look at some of the key components of modern digital marketing.
Related: 6 Tips to Build a Solid Business Plan for Your Live Music Venue
Make Your Website Mobile Friendly
You might think of your website as informational and not exactly as a marketing tool, but it has the potential to be one of the best tools in your arsenal. Your website should be the hub for all your online activity because, ideally, customers will head to your site to buy tickets for an event.
Since you’re driving people to your site, you want your venue’s website to reflect the aesthetic of your space. It should be visually compelling, easy to navigate, and quick to load. But most importantly: it needs to be mobile-friendly.
Nearly every single American owns a smartphone, and 15% of American adults don’t even have broadband service in their homes– they only use their smartphone’s Internet. Americans spend nearly three hours on their phones each day, so your venue’s website needs to look just as good on their phone screen as it does on a desktop.
Especially with mobile ticketing on the rise, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly guarantees that people who want to check out your venue’s lineup can browse and buy tickets easily.
Once your website is ready to go, you can start driving online traffic to your site. There are two primary ways to attract people to your site: Google and social media.
Related: Signs You Need a Venue Management System
Google Marketing
If you need to find something, who do you turn to? That’s right: your best friend, Google.
As you update your website, you want to ensure that you prioritize search engine optimization (SEO) so that when people Google “live music near me” or “upcoming concerts,” your venue is one of the first things to pop up.
If you’re strategic about your SEO efforts, people will discover your venue organically through their searches. But if you’re looking for a way to get your website to the top of the search engine results page (SERP), you can bid for one of the coveted pay-per-click (PPC) ad spots.
As you can see, there’s a lot of lingo involved with SEO, but it boils down to highlighting specific keywords that members of your target audience will type into the search bar. You may feel more comfortable hiring someone who has experience with SEO marketing to ensure that you’re choosing effective keywords.
One thing you should absolutely do to boost your Google rankings is register your venue through Google My Business. Once you verify your business’ existence, you’ll have an official business page on Google where you can have all of your essential contact information only a few clicks away.
Social Media Marketing
Establishing a social media presence has become critical for businesses in all industries, and live music venues are no exception. Social media channels are a powerful marketing tool because they help you foster direct connections with your target audience.
The shift to the dominance of social media in digital marketing is astonishing. With the help of hashtags for organic discovery and promoted posts for paid discovery, you can reach new fans while maintaining a relationship with people who have visited your venue in the past.
Different social media channels come with different ways to build hype about your upcoming concerts. For instance, on Facebook, you can create event pages for each show and encourage people to share them with their friends. On Instagram Stories, you can use the countdown sticker to have people sign up for reminders for when tickets go on sale. You can host a contest on just about any of the platforms to get people to share your content with their friends. The possibilities are truly endless.
Marketing Begins with Elite Organization
The only way to run a successful modern marketing campaign is to ensure that all of your behind-the-scenes information is well-organized. If your files and calendar are a mess, it will be extremely difficult to craft a marketing strategy for your venue.
Prism Management Software for Venues helps you get all your bookings and financial details organized efficiently, allowing you to effectively plan that killer digital marketing campaign without missing a beat. Schedule a demo today.
