Communication

 

When the first steps of the promotion are to be presented, the website cannot be ignored. In fact, the website provides a fertile ground when we talk about the road map, plan realization or just reacting accordingly. As it is with income types, also promotion can be divided in active and passive sections. Modern promotion has many different tasks, but also meanings. You should read The Art of Music Business Management – For Artists & Managers to get an updated info.

With a new artist, the audience rarely has enough knowledge of them. Therefore all the plug-ins that increase that awareness is extremely important. When people begin to know their name, the two-way role of the website will be established. For the followers who already know the artist and their story, the main focus is on the artist’s up-to-date affiliations and future plans. This part of promotion is the active part. For others, the people who are not yet aware of the artist, or who visit the site for the first time – the attention is paid to other things. They are generally interested in what it’s all about. This side of the story could be considered the passive part of promotion. Unlike with the already existing fans, a new encounter need a background information. They are usually in a need to know more about the artist, and what a better way to do it than search engines. If everything is in order, search engine provides the artist’s own homepage first. The homepage is also a source of information where an artist can best influence the content of stories.

When considering the promotional content, one must take into account the different levels of needs. TV series must have parts that attract new viewers even if they haven’t followed the show from the beginning. In addition, it must also be able to retain older fans interest with new episodes. The artist’s future and the ability to follow their progress is for the existing followers. Giving the opportunity to find out the artist’s history and origin is for the new followers. Thus, it is a good idea to have metadata information such as biographies and discography, as well as photos and videos along the way.  All the new material instead, plays an important role for the fans as it shows the artist being active.

All the artist’s products should be easy to find – also the related information. Information acts like a product description. Unlike the products that can be bought with one click, information works differently. It always requires an effort from the recipient. This in turn requires clarity on the artist’s side, with the content and layout. The artist cannot confide that a new visitor will be patient or want to find information behind a thousand links. This may cause a counter reaction – it can be a good idea to keep your homepage simple, but also thoughtful and spectacular – pleasing to the eye. The career information should be initially guided by the artist’s action plan, not so much a massive awareness of the artist’s existence. On the tactical side, it is important that the artist reacts to the call, if the reception requires. If the artist is unable to answer this call, it is not worth acting the opposite.

What most artists want is to the contacts – for this reason contact info must be very easy to find. The same applies to other things that the artist wants to emphasize. The products should also be accessible and the links should be avoided if the products are difficult to obtain. This of course requires on-call time. If this situation changes in the future, availability placement can be made to match the prevailing situation. This is one example of why homepage matching reality is more important than impressive appearance. If a potential buyer cannot get the product they want, or worse, not even find a link, the visit will surely leave a sour taste.

This will be the next thing – the links and their use. It is perfectly normal and even advisable to use links to the services and improve availability. However, they should not hinder the acquisition of information or mislead people which may happen by accident. Ensure that links actually lead where you want to steer people. It is not uncommon for something to go wrong when setting up links. The artist is therefore not linking their homepages to mere sales aspirations. Links also have other uses. They can lead people to interviews or other relevant forums. It is good to note links may change its content. They may, and often change – as well as their locations. Someone else’s interview may be found behind some particular link. It is good to be aware that not all the content behind these links is not solid.

If you’ve shared that one of your songs or albums is #6 on some chart and half a week later someone clicks that link and you’re in position 28, the positive message you’re trying to convey may have the opposite effect. A 22 position drop does not necessarily support the other positive messages on your homepage. Fast-changing information is better placed elsewhere on the social media environment – not on the homepage unless placed on its News Section.

Restrictions can also be present with copyrights. Some distribution networks have divided their offering so that there are regional distribution points around the world. Many times this is due to local legislation. Even if some umbrella organization has obtained the right to sell your copyrighted products throughout the world, the content of the license does not necessarily apply to all of its distribution outlets. Therefore, it is not necessarily wise to advertise products through German link despite the product would be topical in Germany. This choice may exclude all the other countries if you are not careful. It can be that the umbrella organization’s French unit is responsible for France’s distribution and Italian unit for Italian needs. If there is a globally eligible link available somehow, you should use it. Alternatively, if the artist has a fan site in Germany, then it is completely natural to use German links there.

In many cases – the less information, the better. Browsing pages may become a challenge if the artist’s homepage is a salad, filled with all kinds of information from here and there. Different sections of that site hold a different weight and it is always better if the most delicious points of one’s career are presented first. In doing this, the visitor gets a better idea of what the artist really entails.

Particular attention should be paid to the site’s sections that do not change very often, but are of great focus. It is a good idea to strongly invest in the content, structure and layout – to meet the artist’s image. It is also good to post artist-related communications elsewhere in social media, rather than just on the artist’s home page. Some news are just better to place on artist’s Facebook page, where it disappears with the news stream. Visitors usually tend to pay attention to the issues that the artist raises. If the artist’s current plan calls for more sales, it isn’t wise to talk about the new album and associated pre-production – as this topic is premature. It only takes the focus away from the current agenda.

It is time to remind the concept of footwork. The active stage favors regularity. It is highly recommended to build a communication plan, the protocol. To map out all the things the artist wants to share and/or how to react to the echoes. Fans who regularly visit the artist’s ‘premises’ are surprisingly aware of the truths behind the scenes. All the lightweight news is better placed in faster forums such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, if the artist feels it necessary. This allows the artist to react quickly in a situations where the artist is expected to respond. The bigger news and more time-tolerant stories are worth to put on the homepage.

All in all, communication on the homepage and its relation to the artist’s other information channels is a matter of choice. No single truth exists. It is about the artist’s career stage that usually determines the contents of the artist’s homepage. In any case, it is always wise to plan in advance how to meet the different situations – and through which media different things will happen. At the beginning of one’s career when knowledge of an artist is limited, it is important to be clear and honest. Everything leaves a mark on the search engines.