Building a brand for you as an artist is crucial but how exactly do you do this? There needs to be some sort of strategy in place to ensure longevity. You need to be able to connect with your audience and have a strong branding campaign if you want to survive this industry in this day and age. How do you build a brand on Instagram for instance or what is the mission statement you want to deliver to your audience? Let us show you how this can be done so you can build a brand from scratch.
Logo
Everybody wants to stand out as a band or as a solo artist in this industry and how do you do that? What is the one image that people will see first and want to have emblazoned on their t-shirt to show who their favorite band is? You’ve guessed it, the logo! Why is it so important to get it right and what should it say about your band or you as an artist? Well the more thought that has gone into the logo and truly represents you as a band, this is the ultimate goal in how to build a strong brand.
Music logos tell you everything you need about the band. What color, typography have they used, the size of the text and the placement of the words all have an impact on whether it will be memorable. Now you want to create a good music logo and so it is best to brainstorm with your bandmates to come up with what your logo needs to represent. In short, your music logo will create your identity as a band and once it is out there, you can’t change it as it will be synonymous with you. So choose wisely.
You need to answer these questions before committing to a logo which is going to emulate your brand.
- What does it say about you as an artist?
- What color palette will you use?
- Is there imagery or text used in the logo? Or both?
- How does it compare to other bands?
- How big will the music logo be?
Make sure you are 100% happy with the design as you do not want to have to change it down the line and of course in terms of merchandise, it needs to be easy to replicate again and again.
Social Media Presence
A strong social media presence where you can present to your fans what you are doing in terms of a new tour, new singles or albums is key to building a brand image. Having a few social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube etc., and also creating your own website for your band or you as a solo artist is another way people feel closer to you. It is all about connection nowadays. Open, consistent, transparent connection. So you need to be able to give this to your adoring fans. Creating rich, creative content when something significant has happened, will only increase your fanbase. You want to build a brand online? Then this is how you do it.
Post regularly and remember one thing, people are curious about the personal lives of artists they like. So posting a few clips from your studio or jam sessions, some candid moments and directly interacting with the audience in Q/A sessions via Facebook Live or Instagram Live, is a great way to grow your audience on social platforms.
Own your music because it is personal. Your character, your perspective towards various things in life define your music so that is exactly what your audience should connect to, the real you and your real music. Once you understand this, you will be able to take the first step towards brand image strategy development as an artist.
Band Photos
People want to see their favorite artist from time to time and this means band photos. Your band’s image helps people to identify with your sound and your ethos. Having a really strong image helps you stand out from the crowd and it shows that you care about what you do. It makes you look like professionals – and that’s what a potential client wants to see. Your personality and style will shine through and your target audience will be much more clear. Think of everything you do as an artist as a positioning statement. You are offering yourself as a product or service that people can buy into. So it needs to be strong and unwavering.
Promotion
Once you have decided who you are as a band and you have a logo that the whole world will get to know, then you are in a great position to promote yourself. Social media is a part of this, but you may want to think about this on a grander scale. You know now why you want to share your music with others – the drive – and how your music reflects that drive, and what specifically the type of music you make. So now, let’s get that message out there. What is your stage presence like and really commit to the individual branding you have set for yourself.
Is there a PR assistant who can help you promote and market your music? Music Gateway can help you here, so take a look at our site here for more info.
Our team comes from world-leading music marketing companies, businesses, radio and TV stations so they know their stuff. Allow us to accelerate your marketing, drive real fan engagement and growth.
We help to get your music heard & grow your audience by working directly with independent Spotify music curators worldwide. Our approach is tailored to suit each artist, carefully planning each campaign to deliver success and maximize your results.
Merchandise
Creating a brand that epitomizes your authentic tone of voice can take time, but once you have this nailed, you can move on to commercial branding – items that can actually be sold to earn you some more money and make your fans happy. The power of merch has been around for ages and if done right and aimed at your target market, for a good price, then these pieces will fly off the shelf – or rather the digital one if you sell merch on your website. You can sell merch at our gigs and sign them after the show. Who doesn’t love a vinyl, poster or t-shirt signed by their favorite artist? I know I had a few posters of the Spice Girls back in the day!
Questions To Ask When Building A Brand
- Who are 3-5 other artists you admire? Define their brands
- What makes you unique in no more than two sentences? This will be your core brand statement.
- What are 3-5 core values that fit with your brand statement?
- What is your brand’s tone of voice with 3-6 keywords?
- What are all the key activities you do as an artist? So how can you adjust each one to better reflect your brand?
How Live Performances Drive Connection
Now the world is opening up again, that means there are more live gigs which artists can perform at and in turn your connection can grow with your audience. A person-to-person link that is made stronger by the exuberant, once in a lifetime experience you can have with your fans. They will never forget seeing you live and they have the chance to see up close what you look like, sound like, and enjoy your music. Nothing can beat that feeling. So I implore you to perform live as much as you can, so you can build an even stronger brand identity.
Now of course before the live gigs, you have to have fans already and have built up quite a following so you know that at least some people will be there stamping their feet and singing along. For emerging artists, the presence you create online is going to impact the live one. You need to market the music you have already made first and then you can think about performing live, otherwise nobody is going to know who you are. Promotion and marketing are instrumental at creating a successful brand, and remember this will continue for your whole career. Your brand personality is something that needs to be sold to the public and the behind the scenes brand needs to match the person who we see on stage. If you have really thought about what we have spoken about in this article, these aspects will perform simultaneously.
Closing Thoughts
In terms of how to build a brand identity, have you really thought about three things? Design, imagery and personality? At the end of the day you want to create a coherent story to communicate to fans and something that truly means something to you and them. Authenticity at its core and something you can build on. Now you have the tools to build a brand identity, we can’t wait to see it and you in the limelight, giving it your all!
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