How to develop, share your story as an anchor to your music marketing

Expressing what makes you unique, what you’ve experienced, and what your goals are is a great marketing strategy to help connect you with your fans. Keep reading to figure out how to lock down your story.

by Randi Zimmerman of Symphonic Blog

Being able to tell your story in a way that people can easily connect with online is a skill that takes practice. It takes time to learn how to express yourself clearly and consistently. It also means learning to put even some of the most vulnerable parts of your history out there, whether the response is good or bad, and owning your truth. Here’s how it can help you connect with your fans, sell more music, and grow your following…

Let’s break it down…

The story behind you as an artist and the songs you release is the most important part of your marketing journey. Making sure these are clear and well-executed will propel you forward as an artist and help you excel among thousands of indies looking to make their mark.

When we talk about your “story”, we aren’t talking about your biography. What we’re referring to is what specifically makes your fans emotionally attached to you as an artist. What parts of your history do people connect to? Think about what it took to get to where you are now, your struggles as an artist, what inspires you to keep going, the people who inspired you to start your journey back in the day, etc… These are all a part of your story.

Take Note

To start this process, you’ll need to sit down and take note (yes, physical notes) of a couple things about your release. What is it about? What emotion does it bring out of you? What specific event or feeling inspired you to create it? How does it relate to your personal journey?

These all play a part in setting the tone of you and your creative history’s overall storyline, and this is what really helps your fans form a real, lasting attachment to it.

What Makes You Unique?

What makes your music unique can range from the style of music it is, the lyrics you write, the instruments used, or even the feeling in the studio while you wrote it. All these things make your songs uniquely yours. Use this to your advantage! This is what sets you apart.

Each song you release adds to your overall story as an artist. They may all be different and each encompass different parts of you, but they all play a part in supporting who you are and how you want to be perceived.

Building the Narrative

There’s only one way to build the narrative that is your story, and that’s through content. View consistently posting content on social media as fueling the metaphorical fire that is your story. If you stop posting, the fire goes out.

As an artist, a major part of your impressions and sales come from social media. That’s just the way of the world we live in. What day of the week and time of day you post certain content can directly impact engagement, lead generation, and reach for that platform. This is where a killer content calendar comes into play. Even if you don’t follow your content schedule to a T, it’ll save you a lot of time and give you a good outline to keep you organized and on track.

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Balancing Your Content

The content you post should ideally follow the 80/20 rule. (80% entertainment/engaging, 20% promotional) The key here is maintaining a balance. Your feed shouldn’t solely consist of you pushing an agenda or begging for sales. It should express your life right now, what you’re working on, the things that interest you personally, etc. These are the things your fans engage with the most. It’s how they relate to you as another human.

Once you’ve made this connection, your fans will have no problem supporting you when you need them. (Nobody likes to feel like they’re being forced to do something, especially when it involves taking out their wallet.)

The bond you form with your audience is your number one priority. The sales come after.

(Check out, “5 Ways To Write Social Media Posts To Promote Your Music” for some ideas here.)

Let’s Talk Marketing Drivers…

A level beyond your story lies the equally as important marketing drivers. These are the underlying forces that compel consumers to buy or pay for certain products and services. As an artist, these are the key details you want to be shared with DSP’s like Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, YouTube, Soundcloud, Pandora, etc. to help you stand out.

With these unique details, our team can help your music catch the attention of the tastemakers in the industry on a technical level. The more details that you can provide, the better chance you’ve got for catching the eyes and ears of the people who can get you playlisted, featured, and more.

Some examples of marketing drivers are things like:

• Music videos you’ve done
• Social media followers and engagement
• Third-party Spotify playlists
• Previous DSP playlist placements and features
• Press pick-ups
• Radio campaigns or plays from direct DJ relationships and other DJ support
• Tour dates

… and so much more.

That being said, you can submit all these through Symphonic whenever you’re ready to submit a release with us. (As a Symphonic client, all you need to do is fill out our Marketing Drivers Submissions form.)

Before you do that, however, we encourage you to check out our “What Are Marketing Drivers And Why Do I Need Them?” post. It has everything you need to know from other kinds of marketing drivers you may need, to how to fill out the form, and more.

The Importance of Authenticity

You can’t force authenticity. People can tell whether or not you’re writing from a place of experience or just faking a vibe for the sake of views. A compelling story that actually means something to you should come naturally. It should stem from a place of vulnerability. And yes, it may be difficult and we don’t expect you to force out your deepest traumas here, but be as honest as you feel comfortable being, and people will appreciate and admire you for it.

A big part of being an artist is the ability to form a connection with people all over the world through your music. Through letting some walls down, you open the door for fans to truly connect with you as a person, not just as their favorite artist. And just like in any good relationship, honesty is the foundation of trust.

In Conclusion…

Everyone has a different reason for why they decided to pursue a career in music, but the most common reason I hear time and time again is to connect and inspire others through art. Being able to touch the heart of another person, whether that be through the lyrics in your songs or your presence as an artist with a similar background, this connection drives everything you do.

It’s what sells tickets, merch, fuels engagement, and supports your journey as you progress through your career. It all comes down to the ability to share information in a digestible format. One that isn’t overwhelming, but welcoming and authentic. Hopefully this post shed some light on how to find your story and make it work for you.

In the meantime, good luck!