When a person of influence talks about a certain artist or track, their followers will trust their opinions and then share that track or artist with their own friends and family. Some artists have been able to make it on the charts and blow up online because of influencer marketing. Now, within the music industry, there have been some “growing pains” that have come along with the growth of influencer marketing. Because it has been done so many times, it can now be seen as a strategy that is competitive within the music industry. So, marketers need to find ways to use influencers to collaborate alongside them on content to avoid issues such as non-lucrative campaigns, poor planning, financial troubles and deception. 

‍

One of the main things a music marketer can do is create authentic content with the influencers. Now that influencer marketing is a buzzword, everyone wants to be using influencers to gain some leverage with their marketing campaigns. The main takeaway from this is to make sure the promotional ad you collaborate on is unique and authentic. It helps to discuss the overall vision with the influencer beforehand and hear their ideas on how they would like to produce the campaign. But when businesses send over a set plan telling the influencers exactly what to do (including shots, scripts, actions, etc), this is when the promo ad will come across as inauthentic and salesy. It can make it more difficult for you to get more streams and avid listeners when the content you put out isn’t genuine because audiences will notice this right away, skip through it and move on.

It’s also important to choose the right influencers to collaborate with because what tends to happen is record labels or artists sometimes work with influencers who are the wrong fit for their specific message. For example, if you are getting a rap influencer to shout out a punk rock band, that is just not going to work. When doing influencer marketing, you need to take note of both the artist’s fan base and the influencers audience to see if it’ll make the prefect fit or not. Also, what kind of music does the influencer do shout outs for on a weekly basis? If you notice that it’s a completely different genre from you own, you shouldn’t be collaborating with that particular influencer. 

The best kind of influencer to work with is one that is already a fan of your music or of the genre that you are in. At that point, you know the influencer will put a lot of effort into the ad campaign and will feel passionate about producing engaging content to their followers. When you know that you have a perfect fit, you know you will get more for your money and a more effective campaign. In order to have a successful influencer marketing campaign, you should avoid the pay-for-post method. These posts cost a lot of money and there are better ways to market your music. So, how can you avoid this?

. Pay the influencer to be an actor in your music video or ad campaign. Include the influencer’s name in the title and description of the video so people can discover and watch it.

. Invite influencers down to shows because the influencer will be able to create more content for their channels. It’s a great way to show the behind-the-scenes of an artist’s show and for influencer’s to get exclusive content to share with their audience.

. The artist can help the influencer create content. The artist can be featured in an influencer’s vlog so the audience can get a better understanding of the artist’s overall personality and vibe.

In essence, you need to be making authentic content to see positive results in the end. This is the best way to implement an influencer marketing campaign. Make sure you do your research to find the right influencer. Then, you can create an epic promo ad that’ll bring your music to life!

‍