This article is from the DI++O Music's website where you will find advice on how to release and promote your music.
When an in-person gig isn’t an option (which is true pretty much everywhere right now), live streamed performances are an awesome way to connect and engage with your fans.
But there’s nothing worse than spending ages rehearsing your set, setting up all your gear and going live on Insta, YouTube or Facebook - only for no one to show up!
We have another article on setting up a live stream for musicians, but here we’ll be discussing the best ways to promote your online gig to make sure your fans log into your live shows everytime.
How to promote a live stream for musicians
Create teasers & promo content
If you don’t build hype around your live streams, create content and share it with your fans, how will they know when to tune in?
Simply going live in the moment isn’t enough for most artists who are just starting out. Sure if you’ve 100k followers, spur of the moment live streams might attract an audience anyway. But why risk?
Think about creating posts, teasers, videos and graphics to share with your existing fans in the days leading up to your live stream.
And make sure to give your followers and subscribers a definitive time and place to join your stream.
Promote on ALL your channels
Share your teasers and promo posts across every single one of your social and marketing channels.
If you’re going to be streaming live on Instagram, you should still be sharing that info across other social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and even TikTok.
If you have a fan mailing list, fire an email out to your subscribers. Email marketing your music offers direct access to your audience's inbox, rather than potentially being choked by social media algorithms. So it’s always worth including in your promo strategy.
Link Songkick listings to Spotify
Did you know that you can promote your live streams and “virtual events” directly on your Spotify artist profile?
All you need to do is create a Songkick account, list your upcoming live streams and link them to your Spotify Artist Pick. You’ll find this option in your Spotify for Artists account.
You can include any online events hosted across YouTube, Instagram, Twitch and more on your profile. Once you've linked your profiles, your upcoming live streams will appear in the 'Concerts' tab of your Spotify artist page.
Spotify may also send out direct emails to your followers letting them know about your upcoming show.
Make it more than just a gig
A good way to attract more people to your show is to make it more interesting than just your live set.
You could incorporate a Q&A with fans, give a sneak peek of a new track or even play live from a unique location.
Anything you can do to make your stream more engaging and exciting is worth a try. Attempt different things and see what has the biggest impact on your audience numbers.
Start streaming early
Chances are your audience won’t always be on time. So it’s worth going live around 10-15 minutes before your stream is supposed to start and get into the best bits of your set a little while after your scheduled start time.
This gives your followers a chance to see you’re live and tune in, or if they’re a little late, they won’t miss a thing.
You could incorporate some kind of countdown timer to help viewers understand when your set will really get going. This way if they tune in early and see nothing happening, they won’t just log off straight away. They’ll be much more likely to hang around.
A quick Google search for live stream countdown timers will throw up plenty of options.
Share your link ahead of time
On certain platforms like YouTube, you can actually share the link to your live stream up to 48 hours before you’ve actually gone live. You can find out more here.
Share this link across all your channels with a definitive time and date for your live stream. Encourage your fans to save or bookmark the link at check back when it’s showtime!
Going live and streaming your shows can bring your live set directly into people’s homes. So it’s always worth doing some planning and promotion beforehand. Just remember, if you only get a couple of viewers at first, don’t be discouraged.
Keep it up, make great music, put on a killer show and fans will find you!
Read the original, full article here: Ditto Unsigned Advice
