**Guest post written by Vinnie Hines, Co-Owner of Artist Collective AKA @ac_vinnie.

 

 

 

"You see it from the highest level of celebrity to the most inaccessible public speakers and now it is time for you to learn why you should be doing it, too! I'm talking about text message marketing.

If you’re not quite sure what I’m talking about, text message marketing is the act of sending coupons, special deals, announcements, current events, and other information to your customers via text message. Most commonly, this is done through an app or desktop program as most devices aren’t built to do this with function with group organization or discretion by default.

(*Read to the end to see our recommended app selection with a special offer!)

At Artist Collective, we’ve found that the most effective way to engage with your fans is through meaningful relationship building exchanges. These types of connections are invaluable and the foundation on which any type of notoriety is built. As you invest fans deeper and deeper into your art, music, message, culture, et cetera you can invite them to connect with you. We urge you to use text message marketing for these 5 AMAZING REASONS TO USE TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING AS A MUSICIAN.

#1 - Long-Term Equity

There are countless places to “keep” your fans. Social media has seen a huge surge as virtual ways to engage become more and more important to us as humans and even more as consumers. Now, in order to keep our fans’ attention, we have to stay relevant and engage regularly with them. As time goes on, equity begins to build on various platforms, but those platforms don’t always stay relevant at large or to the individual consumer. However, text messaging is an integral part of our lives that will stand the test of time. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about suddenly losing the metrics of a particular platform just because a particular business goes under or becomes irrelevant.

+Your Three Communities

#2 - Update Fans In Real-Time

As a performer, cancellations happen. As a fan, they can be devastatingly costly. Travel costs, baby-sitters planned, hours on the road, a general build-up of excitement turned to disappointment. It’s a big deal to people if you’ve done your job well!

One of the worst things you can do to these Superfans you’ve given so much attention to is failing to communicate in real-time when they need to be updated. Even if you’re not packing Coachella, one fan’s journey and the excitement leading up to your event can mean everything to them.

Example: “Hey ya’ll, Vinnie Hines here. Hold your beer, because my festival set today has been moved to another stage due to technical difficulties from the rain! Looking forward to seeing my true fans front and center to singalong. See ya' soon.”

Other great examples include tour updates, festival communication, reacting to a public event live, reaching out with words of comfort during a pandemic like COVID-19, emergency news, etc and you can send these outreaches to niche groups you create using text message marketing applications and programs.

#3 - Visibility

Obviously, folks are flocking to social media as an escape and the new way of communicating. Amidst emails, tweets, and dozens of other platforms, so many consumers are saturated with content and communication.

This likely means that they are seeing wildly less “organic content”. Everyone is pushing for paid ads, constant posting and other ways to bust the algorithms. The sad truth is that Facebook and Instagram have put up a serious paywall between you and your fans and other platforms don’t offer the same reach.

+8 Tips to Help You Maximize Your Efforts With Social Media Marketing

Rather than relying upon that you’ll reach them through a various platform notification, cut through the static with a direct text message conversation, basically giving yourself a 99% chance of being seen. (Unless they’ve muted your contact, removed their subscription, or gone on “do not disturb” mode.)

*An incredible statistic provided by SimpleTexting.com stated that text messaging boasts a 14.06% CTR (click-through rate) and an 8.22% conversion rate, dwarfing the rates of an email (6.64% CTR, 1.73% conversion)!

#4 - Quality Vs. Quantity

Simply put, not all marketing is created equal. The conversion rates of various methods vary greatly and email marketing and text message marketing continue to reign supreme. Why? "Quality" far outweighs the value of quantity.

+Why social media is DEAD for music marketing (and why email works)

Why are those methods so successful?

We believe that the answer lies in the idea of investing in your fans “deeper instead of wider”. What I mean is this: though you can scale this outreach to any number of people, you can use clever organization of your outreach groups to create a meaningful conversation that feels real because it is. That idea of exclusivity shows the importance of your fan and creates an infinite of opportunities to give calls to action.

A great example would be offering a particular text message group a promo code only available to them for your merch store. This uses the exclusivity of the group to incentivize the fan, incentivizing them to give you more money, subscribe to the new platform you’re trying out or do whatever you want them to!

#5 - Cost-Effectiveness

This is debatably the most cost-effective way to market to your fans. Programs for this service are incredibly budget-friendly. However, in a world of corporate choices, we urge artists to support their creative economy. In that spirit, we actually found a musician owned program we absolutely love called Blossom.IM!

+6 Marketing Strategies Which Are Helpful for Music Promotion

The owner, @RichieNuzz been so good to us! In fact, he's been a panelist on our Industry Chats twice and he has made our members an amazing affiliate deal.

If you are interested in getting complimentary access to Blossom.IM be sure to check out the Blossom.IM Industry Chat we just recorded last week! Not only did the Instagram-Verified Owner Richie Nuzz give us an amazing walkthrough with strategies and ideas, but he also gave us an exclusive promo code for our members, giving them 1,000 BONUS CREDITS to start with!

If you're not a member of the Artist Collective yet, click this LINK, you can enjoy 30-DAYS FOR FREE! Feel free to cancel anytime. And as always, be good to each other!

Cheers, ya’ll."

 

 

Related Blog Posts:

+5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Your Music

+5 Email Marketing Tips for Your Next Tour

+Why I Ditched Music Streaming Services (for the moment) and Bought A 1-800 Number