Digital Marketing Guide For Music Events

Music events are a great way to bring people together, celebrate music, and create unforgettable experiences. However, promoting music events has become challenging, with the music industry becoming increasingly competitive. That’s where digital marketing comes in.

Why Is Digital Marketing Important For Music Events?

In today’s digital world, where people are spending more and more time online, digital marketing has become an essential tool for promoting events. As we know, it offers several advantages over traditional marketing methods, such as TV or radio ads.

• Firstly, it is more cost-effective, making it accessible to even small music events.
• Secondly, digital marketing allows you to reach a vast audience, engage with potential attendees, and build hype for your event.
• Thirdly, digital marketing provides measurable results, allowing you to track the success of your marketing campaigns and make adjustments to improve them.

All-in-all, Digital Marketing is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies that can help you reach a highly targeted audience to market your event, improving your marketing strategies’ ROI and conversion rate.

Here are some numbers to help you get a better insight into the effectiveness of Digital Marketing:

• Digital ads can increase brand awareness by 80%.
• Consumers are 155% more likely to look up your brand-specific terms after they’ve been exposed to display ads.
• Customers are 70% more likely to make a purchase from a retargeting ad.

How To Formulate A Successful Digital Marketing Strategy For Music Events

There are many useful digital marketing strategies that can be employed for effectively promoting music events. However, one of the most important things to keep in mind while developing your event’s digital marketing strategy is the idea of a multi-channel approach.

While each strategy can work independently, a highly effective digital marketing strategy uses various channels together to create a synergized approach that leads to highly effective results.

In simple terms, your digital marketing strategy should include using multiple channels (like social media, paid advertising, and content marketing) simultaneously to improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. 

Here is an example of how our team used a multi-channel approach to create a successful digital marketing strategy for an upcoming Arabic music event.

Ticket Sales Launch Period (initial 1-2 weeks of event launch)

During the initial launch period, our team used a mix of digital marketing channels, including target ads to Arabic-speaking audiences, social media posts, and digital feature banners on our website. At this stage, our team tested the relevant channels to analyze and understand which channels would perform best for this event.

General Sales Period (timeline between ticket sales launch and final sales stage)

After analyzing the performances, our team recognized that Snapchat ads were performing 2-3x better than Facebook ads, which is why they decided to scale the Snapchat campaign and reduce efforts from the Facebook ad campaigns in the second stage. 

Final Sales Period (1-2 weeks before the event)

By continuously tailoring and personalizing the marketing strategy, our team managed to sell out the first date for the event. Following this, our team initiated email marketing and remarketing ad campaigns to reach the target audience who had not purchased tickets one more time to improve the probability of conversion. 

Things To Consider When Creating a Digital Marketing Strategy

Distribute efforts effectively

To maximize the impact of a marketing campaign, it is essential to distribute marketing efforts throughout the campaign strategically. This means avoiding the temptation to spend all the marketing budget in a short period and instead concentrating efforts throughout the campaign.

The main reason is to ensure that the campaign effectively reaches the target audience. By concentrating marketing efforts during the first and last wave of the campaign, a business can ensure that the audience is engaged from the start and kept engaged until the end. This can be achieved by using a variety of marketing channels and tactics, such as social media, email marketing, and content marketing.

Use a multichannel approach based on the region and artist

Each musician has a unique fan base and audience, which is why tailoring the marketing approach is essential. Some channels may be more effective than others depending on the musician, their fan base, and the location of the venue.

For instance, our data shows that the Egyptian audience primarily uses Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok. Promoting Egyptian singers on those channels usually gets the best conversion rate. However, when the target audience is older (over 45), Twitter works well, too. In some cases where the average ticket price is high, we found that Snapchat gets the highest conversion rate.

Similarly, you can look at the demographics of the artist’s fan page. Are they more popular with the younger or older generation? You can then make an informed decision about which platform to dedicate your marketing efforts towards based on the age range of the artist’s fan base.

Every event is unique in its own way; that’s why it’s important to have a proper strategy in place before starting the campaign, not to allocate all the budget to only one or two channels, and allocate at least 15% of the budget for testing.

In simple terms, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, i.e., diversify your efforts towards multiple channels to create a more cohesive and effective marketing strategy so that you are able to reach diverse audiences. 

Adapt your strategy based on buying behavior

The best marketing strategy is one that is flexible and performance-based in order to achieve the desired results. This means that monitoring ticket sales from different channels is critical to understanding which channels are performing well and which are not.

This means that your strategy must adapt and evolve based on different channels’ purchasing behavior and performance. It is essential to monitor ticket sales and track which channels are performing well and which are not so you can shift your efforts accordingly. 

By regularly analyzing ticket sales data from different channels like social media, email marketing, and paid advertising, you can gain insights into which channels are driving the most sales and which need to be adjusted or shut down for maximum effectiveness.

Conduct Tests

While following the above-mentioned steps will help you create an effective marketing strategy, the only way to know whether your strategy will actually be effective is to conduct multiple tests. 

To test your strategies, create a basic assumption of the results. For example, Facebook ads will result in a 5% ROI. Test out your strategies by rolling them out on different platforms and recording the results. Track those results and measure them against your initial assumption to get an insight into how the strategy is performing compared to your expected results. 

This is also a good opportunity to try out any unique or out-of-the-box ideas that you may have and see if they will provide good results without messing up your entire strategy. 

Digital Marketing Channels To Use For Your Music Events

As we discussed earlier, an effective digital marketing strategy uses various channels to reach diverse audiences. Here are a few channels that can be employed to promote your music events through your digital marketing strategy.

Social Media Marketing 

Unsurprisingly, social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote concerts and events. With an estimated 4.9 billion active users on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, you have an excellent opportunity to reach your target audience in a cost-effective way by using the right social media marketing strategies. 

The main aim of social media marketing is to engage and reach the right audience with different types of interests and increase visibility regarding upcoming events via different social media channels. It also provides an opportunity for organizers to build relationships with and listen to their target audience.

Here are some social media marketing strategies to use for your music events:

• Prepare artist-related teasers to engage the audience and build high anticipation for event announcements.
• Launch the event on social media the moment it goes on sale and explore different content types like short-form videos, informational videos about the artists, carousels (which work great in terms of engagement: shares and saves), static posts, stories, trivia, and quizzes.
• Post regular updates about the event, including the lineup, ticket sales, special offers, and countdowns.
• Use social media ads to target your ideal audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Share videos of the artist’s past performances to intrigue and excite your audience. 
• Collaborate with social media influencers and your vendors to reach a broader audience and build excitement for your event.
• Run social media giveaways to engage with your followers and encourage them to share your event with their friends while at the same time boosting your social media presence.

Paid Advertising

Paid advertising involves paying for ads on various digital platforms like Google and Facebook to promote your event. Paid advertising can quickly reach a vast yet targeted audience and drive ticket sales. 

This highly-targeted approach results in a high ROI with an estimated earning of $2 per $1 spent,

Here are some paid advertising strategies to use for your music events:

• Use Google Ads to people searching for music events in your area, for an artist, for similar events/venues, etc. 
• Use Facebook Ads to target your ideal audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors, and run remarketing ads to try and reach them more than a few times.
• Use YouTube Ads to show your event ads to people who may be looking for similar events.
• Use display ads on relevant websites to reach people who are interested in music events.

Influencers  

Influencer marketing has become one of the most popular digital marketing channels, with 92% of marketers marking it as a highly-effective marketing tool. 

Using influencers for marketing music events can benefit organizers in many ways, as they can help promote the event to a highly targeted audience, create unique content, share timely updates with their audience, and drive traffic to your website. 

Their wide reach and loyal audience often result in a high conversion rate, eventually leading to a high ROI for your marketing efforts.

Here are some influencer marketing strategies to use for your music events

1. Find influencers that fit with your marketing goals and have the right target audience and geographical influence for your event. You can analyze influencer audiences from systems like Viral Mango.
2. Consider micro-influencers with a smaller audience, as they are proven to have high engagement rates. They are also likely to cost yet, which reduces the risk of investment. 
3. Try to help them engage the audience by providing them with the right content. You can also provide free tickets to them to hold a giveaway for their followers. 
4. Give them a special promo code for their followers with a short validity so that they can attract their audience to purchase the tickets quickly.
5. Track their performance to understand better which influencers are able to give the best results and others who may need some support and an extra push from your side. This data will also help you decide which influencers you should pick for your next event.  Through Platinumlist’s digital marketing platform, you can easily create unique promotional links for each influencer and track their performance through our simple dashboard. 

PR or Content Marketing

PR is an important and cost-effective channel that allows you to reach a wide audience through free publications across the internet, social media, and offline mass media like newspapers. 

This strategy involves creating valuable content that attracts and engages potential attendees. By providing valuable information and entertainment, you can build a relationship with your target audience and increase the chances of them attending your event. 

As per CMI’s research, this value-based approach results in three times as many leads compared to traditional outbound marketing while costing around 60% less.

Here are some PR and content marketing strategies to use for your music events:

• Develop a Press Release: Create a press release that includes all the relevant details about the concert, such as the date, time, location, performers, and ticket information. The press release should be engaging and include quotes from the organizers or performers. 
• Create engaging videos that showcase your event, including highlights from past events, artist performances, and interviews with attendees.
• Create a list of media where you want to publish information about your event. It should include both wide platforms like social media and niche platforms like your website. 
• Pitch the story of the concert to the media outlets and journalists on your media list. Make sure to tailor your pitch to each outlet and highlight the unique aspects of the concert that would appeal to their audience. 
• Use social media to amplify your PR efforts and engage with your audience. Share your press release on social media platforms and tag relevant media outlets and influencers to increase your reach.
• Monitor media coverage of the concert and promptly respond to any inquiries or feedback. This can help build relationships with journalists and keep the conversation going around the event. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy that involves optimizing your website and content to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). You can attract more people to your event by ranking higher on search engines because the higher you rank, the more your event page will be exposed to people searching for similar content. 

While building an optimized event webpage is crucial for success, it can be challenging. Instead, you can choose to list your event with a top event ticketing platform like Platinumlist, which will enable your event to have a highly-optimized webpage that is likely to rank high on search engines and be exposed to a lot of traffic without having to create your own.

Here are some SEO strategies to use for your music events:

• Conduct keyword research to identify the keywords your target audience is searching for and include them in your website content and meta tags.
• Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, as more and more people are using mobile devices to search for events.
• Optimize your website speed and user experience to improve your search engine ranking and attract more visitors.
• Build high-quality backlinks to your website from other relevant websites in the music industry.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to create awareness about your event within your target audience. It enables you to send personalized messages directly to your target audience in your database, keeping them up-to-date with the latest event details. 

This highly-targeted approach has made email marketing one of the most successful digital marketing strategies, with an estimated ROI of $40 per dollar spent.

Here are some email marketing strategies to use for your music events:

• Create an email list of potential attendees and send regular updates about your event, including the lineup, ticket sales, and special offers.
• Segment your email list based on demographics and interests to send targeted messages that resonate with your audience.
• Use email marketing automation to send timely messages that are triggered by specific actions, such as a ticket purchase or registration.
• Include a clear call-to-action in your emails, such as a link to your event website or social media profiles.

Data Tracking and Analysis

Data collection and analysis play a crucial role in the success of any digital marketing campaign. By collecting and analyzing data, you can understand your target audience, measure the success of your marketing campaigns, and make data-driven decisions to improve your marketing strategies.

Collecting, analyzing, and reporting the data derived from each digital marketing strategy that is employed for your event is crucial to identify any room for improvement and cost-effectiveness. Also, it allows you to make more informed decisions for future events.

How Platinumlist Can Help With Digital Marketing For Music Events

As an event organizer, you are already wearing too many hats. If you want to unload the marketing hat to a team of experts, Platinumlist can help you with our extensive suite of digital marketing solutions.

With years of experience in the event industry, our team can help create highly-targeted and optimized marketing campaigns for your event with the aim of selling more tickets and increasing revenue.

Interested to know more? Here are some of the things Platinumlist can help you with.

• Paid Advertising: Our certified team of paid marketing experts will help you create and manage paid advertising campaigns on various platforms, such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads, to target your desired audience and drive ticket sales.
  
• Social Media Marketing: With expert social media managers and content creators at work, we can help you create and execute social media marketing campaigns to increase awareness about your music event and engage with potential attendees using high-quality images, videos, and giveaways.

• Affiliate Marketing: Through our large affiliate network with 500+ high-quality affiliate partners, your event will be promoted to relevant target audiences through the affiliates’ highly engaged platforms on different social media channels, allowing you to reach highly targeted audiences and improve conversion for ticket sales.
• Email Marketing: Forget boring, non-engaging emails. Our team will help curate bespoke email campaigns for your next event with an engaging design and clear CTAs to our highly targeted database. The campaigns are also targeted based on specific demographics optimized for your event.
  
• Reporting and Analytics: Our team will provide comprehensive reporting and analytics on your digital marketing campaigns, including ticket sales, website traffic, and conversion rates, to help you measure the success of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

Turn your event into a success and enroll with our digital marketing solutions now!