I am excited to touch on this topic because my career started with being part of the Sony Music College Marketing team, representing the Orlando, Florida area. This position entailed hanging up posters at “lifestyle” spots (covered more below), attending Sony Music artists’ shows, writing reports about these shows that were shared with label executives and artist management teams, and holding listening events at local record stores/college campuses.
Overall, I have seen these efforts really bolster an artist’s career, especially since Sony Music has 75 College Representatives nationwide. Just think about how much promotion is being secured for an artist’s release or upcoming show. In general, grassroots marketing is used at the beginning stages of an artist’s career and attempts to create initial interest. The audience created during this time is sometimes instrumental in helping with the artist’s growth because they help promote via word-of-mouth, which is the cheapest form of marketing. Further, there are fans who feel committed to an artist who they find at the beginning of the artist’s career because they enjoy seeing the artist’s growth and upward trajectory over the years. That being said, because marketing has secured an online presence (web/socials), grassroots marketing isn’t as imperative as it once was. Instead, I suggest this type of marketing be implemented alongside a very active social media/online presence.
Below breaks down all of the various avenues that can still be pursued by an artist, even if there is only a limited number of people available to help execute.
Posters and Flyers
Posters and flyers are a cheap way to secure physical visibility for a record release or upcoming event. Posters can be hung up at “lifestyle” spots (i.e. coffee shops, skate shops, smoke shops), record stores, college campuses, and any other locations where your audience frequents. Additionally, posters can be hung up at the venue in which your event is being held.
Flyers can be left at all of the locations listed above, in addition to being handed out at similar events. These events are those where your audience resides. For example, if you are a local EDM artist who is preparing for an upcoming record release or an upcoming show, handing out flyers at other EDM shows would most likely reach an audience with a high likelihood of attending your show/listening to your new music.
Creative: When I began my career with Sony Music, QR codes weren’t as popular as they are today. However, during these past few years, I have included QR codes on everything (including billboards). This allows you to have a direct call to action (CTA) to either a website, sign-up page, or streaming platform. It also allows you to track interest through clicks. I have used QRCode Monkey in the past to create and track QR codes. However, there are tons of platforms that provide the same service, including one run by Google.
Location
I know I mentioned Sony Music having 75 College Marketing Representatives located nationwide, which might sound a little intimidating. You may ask, where is the best place to hand out flyers and posters? There are many approaches, which are listed below.
Keep it local
Usually, an artist who is building a following starts with the city or surrounding area in which they reside. Specifically, they focus on building an audience who attends their local live performances. This could be anywhere from Nashville to Los Angeles, which are both huge music hubs, or Dubuque, Iowa. The latter might be a little tougher because there might be more of a limited live music scene, but you get the gist. Through playing shows, and promoting the shows via posters/flyers/social media, you create your initial fan following. From there, you hope they have friends and family located across the country and recommend your music to them so that you can build additional fan bases that will attend your shows once you are ready to tour.
Tour marketing
Once you are ready to tour, branching out to the cities in which you are touring can help promote your upcoming show or upcoming record release. In this case, it would be helpful to arrive a day prior to your tour date to canvas the city with flyers and posters. This might not be feasible if you have back-to-back tour dates, but you can always recruit your biggest fans to help. There are always a handful of fans who are wiling to help spread the word for a few free tickets or a chance to meet their favorite artist. These can be found based on social media interactions. Keep an eye out for active social media followers who consistently comment or send direct messages. Once you make that direct connection with them, you could arrange to mail to them directly flyers and posters to be distributed throughout their city to secure awareness leading up to your show.
Other grassroots marketing tactics:
I will quickly cover a few other grassroots marketing options, which are a little more pricy than printing flyers and posters, but are additional ways to raise awareness.
Street stencils: I have used these in specific cities and have incorporated a QR code to be able to track engagement.
Coffee sleeves and other promotional materials: This is definitely a more pricy option, but a great option if you are attempting to target a specific audience. For example, locally owned (non-chain) coffee shops usually love free coffee sleeves because it saves them money from ordering their own. Coffee sleeves are more likely to be allowed in coffee shops because they have a specific use versus flyers or posters that could be considered clutter. I have also distributed paper bookmarks to used book stores to promote artists with an older and more specific demographic. Overall, learning where a majority of your audience frequents will allow you to determine what areas/locations to target and will help with determining the types of materials to create and distribute.
Leave a Reply