Developing a music video release strategy is an important process for artists to stand out in the music industry right from release day. Nowadays, having strong visuals and a unique identity can make all the difference in promoting your project. This can be achieved through an effective music video that enhances your song and artistic universe! Want to get ideas about how to make a music video on a budget? Check out our article devoted to the topic here. If you’ve filmed a music video and are ready to go, here is everything you need to know about how to develop a music video release strategy and promote your music effectively.
So your music video is finished and now it’s time to create additional content from the final product. After all, the key to any successful marketing campaign is to build hype and interest before the final product is released! In the case of music videos, this means creating high-quality derivative content like teasers, behind-the-scenes footage, and still images.
Teasers should be short, anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds, and capture the attention of your audience while leaving them wanting more. Decide which part of your clip is the most visually pleasing or the moment in the song that will grab peoples attention. This can sometimes be the intro or a preview of the chorus. You can add text to your teaser to include the song name, artist name, and release date. Once you’ve found the perfect excerpt, it’s important to create different video formats depending on the platform you will share the teaser on. Lots of social networks are now favoring the vertical viewing format to fit with a phone screen. Here is a quick rundown of the video formats and specs you should use depending on the social media platform:
- Instagram reel and story: .MP4 or .MOV, 4GB max, 9:16 aspect ratio, 1080 x 608 pixels minimum, 1080 x 1920 pixels maximum
- TikTok video: .MP4 or .MOV, 287.6MB max, 9:16 aspect ratio,
- Instagram post: 1:1 aspect ratio
After you’ve created some good teasers, try to gather some behind-the-scenes footage and still images. We recommend keeping the behind-the-scenes footage for after the release as a creative way to promote your content once it is already out there. Behind-the-scenes footage can be a fun way for independent artists to show the making of the clip and remind people to listen to the track if they haven’t already. You can use still images that stand-out from the clip to promote your content both before and after release.
2. Keep your content organized
With all of this digital content to support your music video release strategy, it’s important to stay organized. We recommend using a platform like Google Drive or Dropbox to keep everything in one place and easily be able to share your video content with others. Make separate folders for the different content types and varying formats if relevant: teasers, behind-the-scenes footage, and still images. You can make the files downloadable so that your collaborators, musicians, and producers can share the content on their own social media channels. This will be much easier than sending various files over email or by message; you can improve your communication by keeping everything in one place!
For both small businesses and independent musicians, it is important to use social media marketing effectively by creating a content calendar. By staying organized with a social media calendar, you can optimize your content strategy to keep your fans engaged. You can use sites like Hootsuite (paid subscription) or Hubspot (a free option) to create your content calendar and optimize your posts. First and foremost, you should decide on the release date for the music video. Do you want to release the video on the same day the song is released? Or first release your track on streaming platforms and then follow up with the clip a week later? Most artists choose to release their track and music video on the same day, encouraging subscribers to listen and inciting clicks by providing striking visuals.
Once you’ve decided on a release day (and we recommend planning at least one month in advance), you can schedule your teaser posts accordingly. You can announce the release and start sharing teasers and images up to 2-3 weeks in advance. Some artists announce their music video release a week or a couple days before it comes out, which can work for some- especially those who already have an established fanbase. Indie artists can benefit from having enough time to spread the word and build hype so you can get your music heard as soon as it comes out!
In your social media calendar, for each post you plan you should include:
- The type of content: video, picture, live session, story (if you have a Google Drive with all your media organized, you can even link the file directly into your calendar!)
- The chosen social media you will share it on
- The date and time you plan to post
- Relevant information such as a caption, hashtags, links to include, etc
- If you plan to crosspost the content with another collaborator (the director of your clip, for example)
4. Track your performance and engagement and adapt!
To ensure that your marketing efforts are effective, it is important to track the performance and engagement of your posts using analytics. Mostly all social media platforms now give creators access to their statistics and demographics: what posts got the most engagement and who your audience is. If you find that sharing still images doesn’t garner as much interest as sharing video teasers, then adapt! Of course, it is good to have varied and diverse content to build the storytelling of your universe, but if something isn’t working, try to favor what does.
5. Reach out to media on Groover to feature your music video
Besides developing a solid social media plan for your music video release strategy, it’s important to reach out to music business professionals as well! The best chances you have of getting new fans is to have your music video featured in a music blog or other media with a strong following. You may be asking yourself- are music blog posts still relevant in today’s music industry? Yes they are! Independent music often thrives on music blogs and some record labels find up and coming artists to sign to their roster this way. How do you get your music video featured in an article or music blog? Some artists and indie labels choose to work with a publicist who has direct contact with different media platforms, while others do it themselves. This could consist of launching a mass email marketing campaign, but as industry professionals are highly solicited, often artists are left with an empty inbox.
The best way to get your music heard and get guaranteed feedback is by using Groover. For 2 Grooviz, or 2 euros, you can send your track and music video with a pitch to an influencer of your choosing. This could be anyone from a journalist or music blog to a label, publisher, or manager. You’ll get guaranteed feedback within 7 days, and if not, you get your Grooviz back to send to someone else! The platform is also very practical when it comes to targeting the right people to send your music to. You can filter by type of music professional, their location, the genres of music they are interested in, and the statistics of how they responded to other artists propositions. You can also see what they can offer you concretely if they like your track: a playlist addition, an article write-up, radio play, an opportunity to play live, and more. Groover is definitely the simplest, most cost-efficient, and most transparent way that artists can get real opportunities and promote their music!
6. Types of music industry professionals on Groover who can promote your music video
What are the types of music industry professionals on Groover who can give your music video a boost on release day? Here are the best types of influencers using the platform that can help artists in their music video release strategy:
YouTube Channels
You can find different YouTube channels that fit your genre and style of music who could include your track in one of their compilations or playlists. The good thing about promoting your music video with a YouTube channel is that you can do so on the same platform: potential new fans will be more likely to go to your YouTube channel and subscribe if they are already using the platform!
Music Blogs & Media
As stated above, getting media coverage from a music blog can be a big boost to your promotion strategy! Lots of music blogs and media outlets often have a weekly round-up of new releases or fresh finds. Try sending your music video to a media specialized in your genre to land in their write-up as soon as your track is released. Not only will you get exposure from this, but you could also get potential streams on Spotify or other streaming platforms if the music blog has a corresponding playlist for their subscribers.
Journalists
Similar to getting exposure from music blogs and media, journalists can be super helpful in your music video release strategy. If you send your music video to a journalist and they are interested in your universe, this could be a great occasion to do a full interview or article on your project!
Playlists
While you may think that playlists don’t have much to do with a music video release strategy, think again! By getting your track into playlists on streaming platforms, especially Spotify, you can boost your exposure, streams, and potential traffic to the rest of your work- your music video, for example. If someone discovers your track on a playlist and is intrigued, they will often look you up and head straight to your YouTube channel or Instagram profile!
7. Music video release strategy: plan ahead and follow up
In conclusion, developing a music video release strategy can be a lot of planning, but with the right tactics and marketing strategies, it can be a lucrative way to promote your music and reach a wider audience. Make sure to give yourself enough time to plan ahead and don’t be afraid to follow-up and keep the ball rolling once your clip has been released. If you’re organized and persistent, you can create an effective music video release strategy that will help you to promote your music and overall build your brand.
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Promote your music on Groover 🌟