In the art of war, one does not go into action without a strategy or a clear objective of what they want to achieve. For centuries, wars and battles have been won on the basic principle of getting detailed data, information and developing a strategy based on that.
The music industry is no exception to utilizing information to leverage a war against each other to see which artists prevail in the battle of streams and listeners. And in most cases, the artist with the best strategy wins, even though they might not have the best song, production or lyrics. Let’s face it… every artist in every category including mainstream, Grammy award winners and Platinum recording artists feel the pressure of making a #1 hit every time they release a new record.
Read about the best Music Marketing Strategies That Are Still Relevant in 2020 to understand the idea and importance of having a strategy before jumping into data collection and using information.
In the music marketing business, having a team of marketeers crunching data is crucial for a better understanding of the many steps required to promote a song or an artist. The biggest pitfall most music marketeers fall into is the idea that the more data they have, the better they can predict outcomes. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
Not all data is useful
With data being the most valuable commodity in the 21st century, we might sometimes fall in the trap that all data is valuable. The truth is that not all data is relevant. There are points of information that are either completely useless and even counterproductive.
Research found that nearly a third (31%) of marketers say they face the challenge of “too much data to analyze” when optimizing ad performance.
Marketers and musicians should have the notion that only necessary data is required to utilize in their arsenal of weaponry to target music consumers and ease the pressure on marketers. Start with the most specific dataset needed to make an informed business decision.
It’s like working so hard on gathering sugar only to find out you have no need for it in your recipe. That’s the same phenomenon when it comes to unnecessary data.
Timing is everything
Like most things in life, the expression ‘right place at the right time’ is crucial for success. In 2011, Google announced the term Zero Moment of Truth, a necessary first step in research. Countless micro-moments are involved in the digital path to drive a music listener to engage with your songs.
Let’s take the example of a smart speaker company that sells different products online. A customer might search for a “home theater system” and click through to a bathroom speaker’s landing page, then navigate around the site and end up buying a portable speaker. The key moment is the landing page for a different product; it shapes the customer’s impression of the brand, and encourages them to take action.
As a result, you have to feed your fanbase and potential fanbase with data-driven content across the web to position your art at the forefront of potential fans that will, in turn, drive you to the peaks of the music industry through calculated triggers.
Connect your analytics for better decision making
While It may be easier to measure and optimize both email open rates and website visits, an artist needs to cross-reference and create their own bundle of analytics to understand the gathered data better.
Let’s review the case of an artist selling merchandise on Instagram DMs or Instagram Shopping, generating a significant portion of the entire merch sales revenue. The artist in question should then connect the whole sales data, including online data and data gathered from the website, such as abandoned carts, purchases, etc. to create triggers redirecting fans to Instagram for further conversions like a ‘like’ or ‘follow’ to their post or page. This will help the artist understand which audiences are converting well, which group is loyal, devoted or the ‘die-hard’ fan.
Analyzing data creates a more transparent and bigger picture of what is going on. You have to utilize Facebook and other advertising tools to cross-examine how your ads deliver across different channels towards streaming platforms. The process will help you detect the most practical ads and channels that work best for your business. Check out how to hack the Spotify algorithm using Facebook.
To sum this all up
Being adaptable and ahead of the game requires relevant data and an understanding of the music and marketing market itself. Having a clear strategy with critical metrics and data identifiers to maximize output is crucial for driving listeners. This will also help to create a solid fanbase.
Music in the modern age requires analytics and quantitative decision making. We at MusicPromoToday, have spent over a decade specializing in data and music marketing, assisting hundreds of artists in reaching the forefront of the industry. Here’s a scan of a few important metrics we derive from YouTube music video campaigns. Basic metrics to help you optimize your music video promo campaign
YouTube Under Your Radar
We always find a significant drop-off in viewer retention around the half-way point of the music video. We find this interesting because this occurs to artist channels, label channels and channels varying in content types and average video length, ranging from pure entertainment to educational and 1 min average videos to 8 min average videos. Each YouTube average view duration is most of the time somewhere around 50-60% of the total video length.
The 70/50 Rule For YouTube & The 1st Minute
Keep your videos short and include your call-to-actions or ‘the in-your-face’ content before the half-way mark. Many Youtube influencers do a great job making sure at least 70% of their viewers watch their video at least over a minute and firmly believe if a user watches their video for a minute, they will watch the full thing. Some maintain the 50% mark and believe that the 50% is a great conversion for them. Ask yourself. What happens in your video? Whether you release a lyric video or a full blown music video. Try to keep your viewers very engaged for the first minute to keep a healthy watchtime.
Under Your Radar
YouTube’s view rate is also crucial to monitor when promoting your music video. This metric counts the # of people who viewed your video ad after seeing it on YouTube or the Display Network. This allows you to keep optimizing your ad to increase your number of clicks vs. number of ad impressions. Remember…the average view duration equally matters. It’s pointless to get a million viewers if each viewer is viewing your music video for 10 seconds. Pick your targets well and keep optimizing.
To learn more about Spotify, Instagram, music marketing insiders or get a deep-dive in Youtube optimization… to get your videos in the top search results for specific searches or converting viewers to subscribers, follow us on our Instagram page. We are planning on launching our own IGTV live educational videos soon!
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