Bobby Borg is a beast! This guy has written some great books on marketing and business for musicians. This article with accompanying video (tell my Bobby’s high energy delivery doesn’t remind you of a Monster Truck Rally or Guitar Center Commercial – “Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! You’ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge!”) do a great job of reminding musicians that there is more to consider with marketing and promotion than just social media.
Bobby Berg is intense! But he defines the following terms and tactics and provides some examples of how to use each:
- Publicity or earned media is when people are talking about you without being paid or controlled by you.
- Paid advertising is when you pay to get your message out.
- Internet promotion is strategically harnessing all aspects of the web (including social media) to garner more impressions.
- Guerilla marketing is done on the cheap and usually includes something potentially risky or almost illegal like a public stunt or stenciling.
- Word-of-mouth marketing is getting people to talk about you, plain and simple. Often this is accomplished by creating interesting, mysterious, or offbeat content, running contests or promotions, or creating engaging live experiences.
- Radio promotion is simply getting radio stations to play or promote your music (yes, this is still a thing).
- Sponsorships are symbiotic relationships where you promote a product or company and the company, in turn, promotes you.
- Direct marketing is communicating directly and individually with your fans through email, text, phone, video call, mail, etc.
- Fact-to-face sales are what my dad would call pounding the pavement. This is where you go out of your way to build relationships with decision-makers in positions to help you and encouraging them to do just that. Generally, this is going to include cold calls, emails, coffees, lunches, dinners and lots and lots of networking.
- Sales promotions are discounts or opportunities limited by time or quantity that generate excitement around a purchase.
Told you that would be intense! Keep this list handy and consult when considering your next release or campaign. Some of it may feel old school, but it works. Try putting your own spin on some of these tactics and you may find some of them work for you too.
Please visit DiscMakers to view the full article by Bobby Borg.
