With the average music video costing £1,500 – £5,000 for independent artists to shoot, unless you have some very benevolent and talented videographer connections, music videos are one of the hardest investments for independent artists to rake back their investments from.
By learning how to utilise the marketing opportunities offered by YouTube, you will have the best shot at investing wisely in your music videos. In this article, we will cover the top seven ways to maximise your YouTube promotion campaigns and touch upon the new music promotion trend, which is putting more momentum behind megastars, such as Miley Cyrus, and helping independent artists to make an impression in an oversaturated scene.
Contrary to popular belief, it takes a fair amount of work to stand out on YouTube. The streaming service may have 2.1 billion active users, and over 1 billion videos are watched every day, but as there are approximately 800 million videos and 37 million channels to compete with, grabbing attention is easier said than done. The rate of uploads to YouTube is only speeding up too – 3.7 million videos are uploaded every day – that is sixty hours of video uploaded every minute of the day!
How to Make the Most of YouTube Promotion Campaigns
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Verify Your YouTube Account
Just like getting a blue tick on Facebook and Twitter helps to build your credibility on the platform, verifying your YouTube account and obtaining the valuable blue tick on YouTube will help to improve your standing. Unlike with some social media platforms, you don’t need to be a popular public figure to gain your blue tick; you just need to verify your account.
The verification process will entail ensuring you have provided all of the information required to complete your profile; for additional algorithmic brownie points, include links to all relevant social media pages and websites. To make it easier for people to contact you, provide your contact information too.
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Get Short
Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you will have noticed the TikTokification of other apps, such as Facebook and Instagram; Spotify and YouTube are now jumping on the same short video clip bandwagon.
It is no longer enough to upload your official music videos and lyric videos; the diminishing attention spans of music fans may be cause for concern, but there is no reason why independent artists can’t use the new YouTube Shorts trend to their advantage.
Whether you’re launching a new single, EP, album, or music video, whet the appetite of your audience by showcasing a snippet (or multiple!) of your music to garner traction with music fans who may not have felt inclined to sit through the entire track, video, or LP!
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Invest in Ads for Your YouTube Promotion Campaigns
Targeted YouTube ads are a great way to find large niche communities on a relatively small budget. YouTube ads can also help you target users with specific behaviours and intentions, making it far more intuitive than using Facebook and Instagram-sponsored ads.
To maximise Your YouTube Ads campaign, do plenty of research first; getting trigger-happy with your ad campaigns is as futile as throwing money down the drain. Platforms such as soundcharts can help you gather all the necessary data points you need to build an effective campaign. Once you know who you want your music, music videos and shorts in front of, ensure your ads are engaging and attention-grabbing.
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Create an Interesting Thumbnail
Thumbnails should never be an afterthought when uploading new content to YouTube. Don’t be tempted to use a grainy screengrab from a music video; always use a high-resolution thumbnail paired with a compelling caption so your audience knows what they are clicking on before they delve into the video.
Contrasting colours are great for capturing attention, as are whitespace and negative space. For more tips, read this guide on how to create the perfect YouTube thumbnail.
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Stop, Collaborate, and Listen
Many marketing tips and trends come and go; one of the only ones that stand the test of time is that collaboration is key to success when expanding your reach and your audience. In addition to sharing fan bases, it can also put you in touch with other valuable people within the music industry.
Whether you’re collaborating with fashion designers, visual artists, other artists, producers, influencers or videographers, collaboration is one surefire way to boost your streaming numbers if you work with the right people!
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Share Your YouTube Videos and Shorts
Social media platforms such as Facebook may not be the best for sharing YouTube video links as anything that will pull social media users away from the platform is considered algorithmic bad cake, but promoting your videos is still a necessary evil!
Before your new music video debuts, share a link so your audience can watch the premier as it happens, make another post when the video goes live, and don’t be shy about sharing your streaming milestones; this will give your fans who may have missed your original post another chance to view the video. If you get your ducks in a row before your hotly-anticipated music video debut, you can also reach out to music journalists and blogs to see if they want to exclusively premiere your music video. This kind of arrangement is beneficial for both parties; you can put even more traction behind your new release, while the blog or online music mag will get some exclusive content to share with their readers.
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Don’t Neglect the Comment Section
You wouldn’t get far without your music fans; never think you’re above expressing your gratitude for their time and comments! Always find the time to connect with your audience, whether they are commenting on the YouTube video itself or a social media post. To drive up engagement, you can be direct in asking for feedback or find other ways to encourage others to get involved with your music.
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For more help and advice on YouTube Promotion Campaigns, contact A&R Factory to find out more about our artist & development services, or you can contact us about your music video premiere today by using our artist submission page.
Article by Amelia Vandergast