Over the last 10 years, we’ve worked with so many of our students on music marketing. It’s an area that so many music producers have a weak spot on. And we are there to help them step it up!
Over the years, we’ve identified 6 very common mistakes we see most musicians (and the students who we work with in our Cosmic Academy bootcamp) make.
Today, let’s clear some of them up!
1. Overthinking It
Chances are, you’re overthinking it. We see this every day.
Before you roll your eyes after hearing this phrase dozens of times, here’s a stat:
The average person scrolls the length of the Empire State Building when they go on Instagram.
Think about that for a second. No one is going to overthink the post you made. And neither should you! The data is very convincing on this point. People don’t spend as much time on your content as you may think. They’re not going to over-analyze your picture of a piece of pizza. Get your content out there, it honestly won’t matter too much, you just need to post. Don’t overthink it, because your fans won’t either.
2. Trying to “People Please”
Trying to think, “What would the AUDIENCE want me to post?” is completely backwards.
Authenticity is EVERYTHING on social media. And if you’re just posting what you “think they’d like,” it’s going to be obvious it’s not YOU.
Put out marketing content that YOU like. “But if puppies are marketable, shouldn’t I post about puppies?!” Only if you’re absolutely authentically interested in puppies!! The internet is undefeated in calling out bullsh*t. They’ll see your puppy posts as a marketing ploy, and it will have the reverse effect.
3. Failure to Realize How Big the Internet is
You might think that your niche is too small, and no one is going to care. But there are literally:
+1billion users on TikTok
+1billion users on Instagram
+2billion users on Youtube
+2.5billion users on Facebook
There’s more than enough people that want to consume your content about your niche interests. (We’re literally a school that makes niche content about Electronic Music Production and we get 500-1000 followers a week!) I promise you, there’s plenty of people out there who like Techno, and also like Star Wars and your interest in drinking beer. You just have to put it out there to collect your like-minded audience; they’ll find you.
4. Waiting for The “Perfect Time”
Students always tell me they’re waiting to “launch” their brand. They’re “waiting for the perfect time.” There’s never going to be a perfect time. It’s better to just get started. Every day that goes by: there’s literally more and more content on these platforms. Truthfully, the best time to start was yesterday (or years ago when these platforms started). But you can’t go back in time. It’s only going to get harder and harder, with more competition for attention, the more you wait.
There is no perfect time. Launch the brand now. Start posting now.
“Done is better than perfect.”
You can always adjust as time goes on.
5. Comparing your Step 1 to Someone’s Step 10
Stop trying to copy what Diplo’s doing on Social Media. He can just show pics of his life and it’s interesting – because he’s a millionaire on private jets and it’s like a reality show.
But then you’d say “well what did he do at the beginning?” That’s not going to help you either. At the beginning, 15 years ago, there was no Instagram or tiktok, or any of this stuff.
Also—in general—DJs / producers / musicians are pretty terrible at branding. If you want to follow someone who knows marketing, follow an expert like Gary Vee, or big brands like Nike.
For these exact points, comparing yourself to other DJs is completely useless. Follow your path, and keep it consistent.
6. Lack of Consistency
This is the most underrated marketing concept. You have to be consistent with social media.
Just because you made one TikTok, and it didn’t go viral, you’re going to quit?
We’ve made thousands of posts! It takes a while to see results. You must be consistent and give your audience time to understand what you’re doing.
“Storytelling” is the foundation of branding. And on social media—storytelling is not as easy as a chronological / episodic TV series. People don’t tune in and check in nearly the same. So, you must be consistent and specific with the things you post. You must keep hammering them so that these diminished attention spans will understand your story…. over a long period of time.
We hope these help!