Digital marketing is probably the most common asset for emerging artists. It consists of the use of the Internet and mobile devices, as well as email, social media, SEOs, and other similar channels to reach consumers. Even though it’s somewhat new, researchers have already established some common ground on its characteristics. As any other marketing strategy, it requires the constant reflection by members of the intellectual and business circles to better define it and implement it.
Digital Marketing: How It Operates
In contrast to more traditional marketing, digital promotion aims at a specific segment of the potential consumers. Plus, it is widely interactive, so it is constantly changing. As you can witness by the constant advertisements that flow all round the virtual world, digital marketing is on the rise. In short, anything that integrates marketing with customer feedback or a two-way interaction between the company (seller or producer) is part of this wave of marketing.
Even though the Internet is probably digital marketing’s best ally, note, however, that some authorities distinguish between this and Internet marketing as such. The only difference is that the former sets its strategies only through said network, whereas the latter can take place through mobile devices, video games, apps—or even the subway station.
Some Technicalities
When you begin speaking digital marketing, you will refer to advertisers as “sources.” Similarly, “receivers” are the people who belong to the target market or audience. Now that we’ve got this cleared out we can tell you the following statement: sources usually aim at very specific and well-defined receivers. (And if you check our entry on the ABCs of music marketing, you will know that this is what Ben Rossman is referring to when he talks about an “audience.”)
Types of Digital Marketing
There are plenty of subdivisions within this umbrella term. Just to mention a few, there is website marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and content marketing. Others are email marketing and SMS marketing, which use these channels to reach a potential client (somewhat) personally. In addition, we have affiliate marketing. Interesting to highlight here is that affiliate marketing is one of the oldest forms of promotion, but it has adapted to the technological advancements of our times. The two last ones on today’s list are social media marketing—which is the easiest to get in touch with given the facility with which newer generations are interacting—and video marketing. You might be more familiar with this last one, too, especially if you promote your music this way.
Easy Peasy, Right?
Well, no, not really. Digital marketing has its difficulties, mainly because the virtual world is expanding with an unimaginable velocity. And, let us say, it is hard to keep up the pace. Regardless, knowing how to apply a digital marketing strategy might facilitate your career as an emerging artist.
