What is the difference between music marketing and music promotion?
Marketing and promotion are often confused among indie musicians. There is a difference between music marketing and music promotion. Let’s first look at marketing.
Marketing
Marketing is about getting your target market to know who you are, what you have to offer, why you are offering it, and why what you are offering is something they want. Marketing is about getting your target market to know, like, and trust you.
Does your target audience know you? In order to get your target market to know you, they have to know that you exist. Your target market need to know about you and your music. How do you do that? You show up where they are. You should know where they hang out, what they read, where they shop, and what events they attend. You or your street team need to have a presence in front of them. You can do this by performing where your target market hangs out, posting flyers where they are at, or by having an online presence through your website and social media sites. Basically, find out where your target market hangs out and show up there!
Does your target audience like you? Once you are in front of your target market, now you have to connect with them! Engage with them! Care about them! Have a message and a purpose that resonates with them. What does that mean? On a personal level, tell your market why you do music. What inspires your music? What’s the mission behind your music? On an artistic level, create music that they will like. Marketing is about engaging and connecting.
Does your target audience trust you? Sometimes you will find that once your target market knows you and likes you, they will probably trust you, but that is not always the case. During this phase of marketing, your target market is thinking: “Ok, I know who you are and I like you and I like your music, but can I trust that your album or your live show is going to be as good as you say it is?” Marketing is about building trust.
Music Promotion: Getting them to act.
Promotion is about behavior modification. It’s about influencing and persuading others to act. If you have done a successful job in your marketing, your market will say: “I know who musician X is, I like his/her music, I think the album will be amazing.” But promotion is about getting them to take the next step, getting your market to say “I am going to buy the album now.” If you are marketing a live show, you want them to say “I want to buy tickets now”. How do you get your target market to say this? Create compelling offers! Offer limited time only discounts/special prices, special limited edition albums, music packages and bundles.
