The Music Industry’s Guide To Content Marketing

Many marketers are calling 2016 the year of Content Marketing. It’s the hottest conversation starter amongst media folks. But is the music industry plugged into this chatter? With the Content Marketing industry expected to balloon to over $5 Billion in 2016, the answer should be definitively ‘yes’. Unfortunately, the Music industry tends to fall behind the curve of innovative digital trends. Don’t know where to begin? Check out these tips below to jumpstart your content strategy and stay ahead of the game.

1. Don’t silo your blog, contribute to a larger conversation.

These days, everybody has a blog— but few exploit its potential value. Blogs often become a dumping ground for regurgitated content and long-form personal opinions. Those who see success in blogging actually engage in a two-way conversation. Entice readers to reach out, like, share, and comment. Does your content ask questions? Do you challenge readers to forge new perspectives and viewpoints? If the answer is no, then it’s time to regroup. Keep content short, concise and enticing. If writing isn’t your strong-suit, consider seeking outside help. There are plenty of content platforms, companies and freelancers that are eager to help build an online voice for musicians and industry folks.

2. Collaborate with Thought Leaders.

You know that writer you religiously follow on Pitchfork? Reach out to them. Respond to their articles by leaving comments, and quoting them in your own blog posts. You’ll be surprised how much more open writers are to working with artists when the opportunity is symbiotic. While it takes work to curate relationships with writers and bloggers, it’s a powerful and effective PR resource that can yield a massive ROI.

3. Work with your label, management and PR team to plan larger promotional opportunities.

You pay your manager, publicist and label to help promote your craft. Express your desire to create bigger content projects. Many artists have already committed to incorporating content marketing as a pillar of their promotional strategy. Buzzfeed has done a great job of extending their content offering to musicians, working frequently with artists like Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. Don’t pass up great opportunities to collaborate with innovative publications.

4. Set your goals and expectations, first.

The biggest mistake I see my clients run into is failing to establish goals from the beginning. It is imperative that a well-crafted content strategy reflect an overarching set of goals and expectations. Why are you creating content? Are you promoting an album, a tour, or maybe a specific show? Are you promoting yourself as an artist, or your voice in the industry? These are questions you should be asking BEFORE executing a solid content plan. If you’re just writing for the sake of writing, that’s fine. But don’t expect it to yield any marketing or promotional value. Setting expectations and goals is like following a prompt in your high school English class— it may seem annoying and confining at times, but it keeps your writing on track, and your opinions clearly articulated.

Following these steps above can be a great start to a successful and fruitful content strategy. Creativity is what drives our community. So let’s extend this idea to the way we promote and market our music.

Dillon Roulet is a writer, musician and entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Duplici Media, a Brand Building Agency that helps build effective and creative content strategy for musicians and music industry executives. Follow Dillon on Twitter, Linkedin, and the Duplici Blog.

The Music Industry’s Guide To Content Marketing