It’s release day. Your new single, video, or album, whatever it may be, has been unleashed on the public. Months of planning ahead with PR campaigns, marketing strategies, and social media schedules has led to this day. So, what now?
The arrival of a new release is a crucial time for promotion. Pushing a new music in the early hours and days assists in boosting algorithms across streaming platforms and social media, for example, which can assist in your music reaching new audiences. In this blog post, a selection of tips and tricks are included to help you make the most of your release day efforts. Some of these points may appear to be fairly standard practices, however, we still see many bands who often don’t implement these actions.
Updating Assets: Release Day Visuals
Note: high quality graphics are key and best prepared in advance so you can focus on promotional activities on the day. Find more advice and information on creating quality assets here!
Now that the new release is publicly available, ensure to update graphics and any visuals across all social media and streaming platforms. This is to advertise clearly that the release is now live, but also this assists in maintaining a cohesive brand. Brand recognition is key in terms of getting your name out there and the more frequently individuals see your brand, the more likely they are to engage.
Release visuals may include:
- Banners (e.g., for Facebook, YouTube, Spotify)
- Profile pictures (consider having a cohesive series of individual shots for band members to use on their own profiles)
- Static post graphics (e.g., standalone cover artwork, or artwork incorporated with other release info)
- Video snippets (e.g., for Spotify canvas, social media, YouTube Shorts).
Note: Scale each asset to the relevant platform to prevent warping/ stretching/ loss of quality.
Share The News
This might seem obvious, but make sure to send out information to your mailing list and post on the community sections of Bandcamp and YouTube, with relevant links leading directly to your new offering. Direct forms of communication such as mailing lists help to overcome to the issue of social media algorithms only reaching a small percentage of your online audience.
Additional means of direct communication are also useful to break through the noise, for example by sending direct messages to your followers. However, exercise caution here. If you do choose to contact followers directly, always be polite and send a personalized greeting. Do not spam out links. Additionally, if individuals specify “No DMs”, you must respect this boundary.
Ask friends, family and fellow bands to share your release – and offer to do the same for your fellow bands with their releases! This is a quick and easy way to boost initial engagement, and develop your network.
Engagement is Key
Note: for a more in-depth look at cultivating organic and effective engagement, check out our recent article covering the topic here!
General interaction across social media platforms is useful for maintaining and enhancing any potential reach, however, if your time is somewhat limited, focus instead on interacting with engagement specifically related to your release. Reply to as many comments as possible on your own release posts and those that have been shared. It’s a great way to build connections with (potential) fans and demonstrate your appreciation for individuals who take the time to listen to your music.
Share content posted by others. Stories especially are quick and easy to reshare and, again, assist in building interaction, showing gratitude to fans, while also benefiting your profiles algorithmically.
Don’t forget to share press coverage from your new release. Not only does press coverage essential function as easy content, sharing and thanking the site (and named author, where possible), goes a long way in terms of building up connections for potential future coverage. It also provides an element of ‘validation’ around your release, showing that media outlets have chosen to include it. If you receive any reviews, take your favorite quotes and highlight those in your content.
Promotion work doesn’t end when the release day arrives, rather, now is the time to switch up your strategy and make the most of this post-release period. Prepare any graphics in advance and have these ready to hand, you can even pre-write the text for your release posts if this helps manage the workload. Remember, now the music is live, you have a tangible product to push through marketing strategies.
Further reading:
Navigating An Ever-Changing Landscape: The Importance of Adapting
Are Ads Right For You?
Understanding Music PR: Short & Long Term Benefits
Finding Your Audience