Branding yourself as a solo artist isn’t easy, but when your in a band or group with different and often strong personalities it can be even harder to find your collective voice. However, even if you feel like you are all not on the same page when it comes to who you are as a band, it is important to build a solid brand that people recognize! Just like in the corporate world, marketing and branding your music is everything. Below are a few easy ways to help you brand your band and come with with a memorable strategy.
1. Express your band’s identity with storytelling
The word “branding” can seem a bit intimidating at first, but keep in mind that “branding” is really storytelling. Your band is already doing this every time you write a song or perform live, so it is really about translating that story into a broader narrative and establishing a unique persona for the group. Your fans are ultimately your biggest investors, they are going to want to know who you are as a band. Whatever you do, don’t fabricate your band identity. Every band needs to have a story, but a real story is always the best one. Decide if you want to have individual bios, a band bio or both. Be sure that relate to your fans with your band’s personal and current experiences so you can connect with them in a real way.
2. Know your competition
A big mistake many artists and bands make when it comes to branding is not knowing the competition. You can’t plan to stand out if you don’t know what other artists are doing! The music business is highly competitive, and more and more bands are coming out every single day. To fully understand how to position your band in the music market, you will need to understand all of your competitors, whether they are indirect or direct, what they do, how they do it and what fans are think about them. Once you have an idea of what is out there, it makes it easier for you to brand your band in unique way. Plus, it allows you to see what mistakes your competition is making what avenues they aren’t using and what gaps they are not filling for their fans.
3. Use visuals
Visual branding is super important these days simply because humans are highly visual creatures. Images and video are preferred over text. And it is the same way with hearing sounds – it helps to have images to go with it. and you basically want to make sure four things happen with your visuals:
– Stand out
– Evoke emotion
– Look professional
– Be memorable
Just like creating the actual music, creating your visual band brand subjective and dependent on the overall goals of the band. This can be difficult is a world full of musical content, so find ways to distinguish your band from others and stay genuine. It is a good idea to switch it up and use photos not just of the band, but of your merchandise, your fans, food, cool items or quotes you like etc.
4. Be consistent
Consistency is key when it comes to branding, so make sure you use different mediums to spread your brand message. Social media is great, but also make sure you are using other lines of communication to connect with your fan base. Use blogs to share your band stories and photos and definitely create a mailing list so you can send out a newsletter of what you have going on each month. Also don’t forget to connect with your community! Find charity, outreach programs or volunteer work that fits your music so you can involved your fan base in a meaningful way.
Now when I talk about consistency I’m not just talking about more than posting regularly and updating your fan base. You need to make sure that the way you choose to represent and brand your band is consistent with your musical style, music genre and personal values. Whichever promotional items you choose – t-shirts, videos, cover art etc – make sure it conveys a similar message about your band. Sometimes simplicity is the key here. If you get too complicated or change up your message too often you will lose brand recognition.
Remember, once you establish a consistent brand identity that becomes recognizable, it is YOURS! Good luck indies 🙂