Video Marketing For Musicians

Contents

YouTube and Video Marketing

Chapter 1 : YouTube and the central role it can play in your music career

1.1 – Learn to leverage YouTube from YouTube stars…………………………

1.2 – Your individual approach to YouTube ..…………………………………

1.3-Ways to expand your YouTube subscribers and your exposure …………….……..……

1.3.1 – Why should one look to increase YouTube subscribers ………………..

1.3.2 Six strategies to increase your subscriber’s base…………………………..

1.4 Other important tips…………………………………………………………

Chapter 2 : Promote your music with YouTube playlist

2.1 – What is a YouTube playlist and how it works …………………………………

2.2 – Create themed playlist …………….………………………………………….

2.3 – Organize your videos in playlists ……….……..…………………………….

2.4 – Include the playlist as an embedded link on your blog and website ………..

Chapter 3 : How musicians earn revenue from YouTube

3.1 YouTube is the world’s juke box……………………………………………….

3.2 Can you monetize your music on YouTube……………………………………

3.3 How and what kind of money does YouTube pay to musicians……………

3.4 Monetizing videos vs songs on YouTube………………………………………

3.5 Who can use your music besides you on YouTube………………………….

Chapter 4: Why YouTube holds so much of importance in one’s career

4.1 New avenues of music ownership and its impact………………………….

4.2 Why is YouTube popular among the younger people………………………

4.3 Visual experience holds an advantage………………………………………

4.4 YouTube advantages…………………………………………………………

4.5 Five reasons why one should have greater presence on YouTube……….

Chapter 5: YouTube features that are less known for marketers

5.1 YouTube audio player…………………………………………………….

5.2 YouTube fan finder…………………………………………………………

5.3 Associated website annotations……………………………………………

5.4 InVideo programming…………………………………………………….

5.5 YouTube Live Events……………………………………………………..

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Chapter 1: YouTube and the central role it can play in your music career

YouTube with all the limitations and drawbacks that it comes with also provides a platform to display one’s music and visual art and all the aspects related to it like social media, music marketing, music and merchandise sales and concert promotional offers on a single platform. On YouTube one can get all the related content packed in a single sharable video. Scott Cohen of Orchard’s and DIY musician Peter Hollens recently spoke about the power and the opportunities YouTube presents which arguably makes YouTube to play a central role of one’s music career.

1.1 Learn to leverage YouTube from YouTube stars

At ‘the rise of video conference’ in London last month speakers discussed how musicians can take lessons from YouTube stars.

In words of Scott Cohen of the Orchard’s we should understand what these kids are teaching us that we are missing as they are doing things differently to how the music industry is working. “They communicate their message through YouTube which is their social media platform to interact with their audiences. And that is how they reach a large base of audience and earn revenue. When was it that you saw an artist tweet go viral and how much was he paid for it? But when it comes to YouTube artists is making money. ”

YouTube allows streaming and hosting embedded videos absolutely free making it possible for combining art making, marketing and social media efforts of an artist on a single platform. Add to this advertising, third party services, merchant and ticket sales and other shareable media are provided at YouTube let one earn revenue.

1.2 Your individual approach to YouTube

Peter Hollens spoke about him using multiple DIY tools and platforms to connect with fans with YouTube platform being emphasized.

He said “I believe strongly that YouTube’s success as a media site is leveling the entire playing field. Any artist with the drive, talent and the know-how to create their own content can make a living doing what they love, which means more music, more art, more inspiration, and more people on this Earth doing what they were meant to do: create and inspire!”

Although Hollens includes other resources the core DIY combo that he uses includes tools for releasing music on YouTube, selling it on Loudr and garnering a larger base of support for releasing more video from Patreon. Hollens also recommends using Tubular Labs for YouTube analytics.

From Hollens approach it is evident that YouTube works well in reaching audience and one can also find tools which feature YouTube as well suit to your individual marketing plan which also includes other platforms. Hollens approach puts a strong case for making YouTube the central focus of your music career.

1.3 Ways to expand your YouTube subscribers and your exposure

In order to get immense views, exposure and targeted traffic that one can gather from YouTube first an audience base or in YouTube’s terms subscribers has to be built.

1.3.1 Why should one look to increase YouTube subscribers?

A YouTube subscriber is the one who chooses to follow your channel and is updated with your latest videos and content. A subscriber is a follower who watches, comments and shares your videos, essentially becomes a raving fan of yours. Hence by building a subscriber base you create a community of followers.

Follow the three principles which are mentioned below for YouTube marketing strategy success for your business:

Be consistent- You need to make sure of updating your content regularly, an active channel with frequent new uploaded content gives better results in terms of traffic and views. So upload and share new videos among your followers as regularly as possible.

Provide value- Every video should have good content, interesting facts about you and any content that can create a buzz. It is essential you provide a good value to a user through your videos otherwise it would be no surprise if you don’t get any substantial views at all.

Create engaging content- It is a given that you should keep engaging with your audience with regular updates. But this is not enough to obtain real views. Your content should be engaging and entertaining and unique from the rest. On a whole your video need to be outstanding in order to engage with a substantial audience.

1.3.2 Six strategies to increase your subscriber’s base

Putting the above three principles into practice in your marketing strategy puts it on the winning path, further follow these six strategies to increase your subscribers base:

1. Invite subscribers

Gather subscribers through your videos by inviting them to get connected with your channel. Include a call to action button n your videos and compel your viewers to click on the subscriber’s button by posting worthy content.

A simple three step formula to be followed to include a compelling call to action in your video which helps one in increasing subscribers is to tell them

• What to do
• How to do
• And why should you do it

For instance one can include a call of action by posting “Click the button above this video to get all the latest news about me and watch exclusive videos by subscribing to the channel.”

1. Use annotations

Annotations are the sticky notes that one can include with the videos once they have been uploaded on YouTube. This tool is already overused but still if included in your video in a tactical manner it can turn into an advantage for your YouTube marketing efforts.

Two effective uses of annotations are:

• Call to action annotation- Add “speech bubble” annotation to all your old and existing video under the subscriber’s button.

Notice the call to action annotation ‘click here to order now’ above the video.

• Click to action annotation – When you mention a call of action include an image, graphic or button and superimpose it with a spotlight annotation. This spotlight annotation should be a clickable link which directs to your channel subscriber page. So your viewers can subscribe directly by clicking on a link in the video.

An image illustrating the above annotation is shown below.

1. Leverage featured channels option

One can increase his subscriber base by partnering with other YouTube content creators by using add other featured channels option.

On every YouTube channel page there is an option to add other featured channels among those YouTubers you follow and like. Once you choose this option your audience is now shared by those featured channels. By using this option you can choose to partner with channels that have similar audience as you and use them for lending an audience base. Using this option you can gather new viewers faster.

1. Have a regular interaction

YouTube is not just a platform to host videos but a community and once you realize this start having regular interaction with the community members you will attain better results by this activity.

Regular interaction by way of subscribing, comment and like other relevant YouTube channels is the best and easy way of increasing your subscriber base. Get to know about new and relevant channels on a daily basis and have real time conversation with them by leaving real and genuine comments. This is like give and take, the more you interact and share your followers the same favor will be returned to you.

1. Create a payoff

A popular approach of attracting new subscribers is to create a payoff. The strategy of posting ones goal has always worked wonders.

Posts such as the stubborn pounds you want to lose or declaring over the top that you have an eye for someone has been huge hits and more often than not go viral.

Here’s a simple step by step process of how to put in place a successful payoff method to attract subscribers:

• Get to know your current subscriber count
• Set a goal of reaching a particular subscriber count.
• Choose an action that you would do once you reach the goal of having a specific number of subscribers like for instance planning a free give away or something crazy like shaving off your head etc.
• And then share your payoff or your goal to the world

The basic idea behind sharing your goal with the world is that people look to join you and help you in achieving the goals. This way you can maximize your reach with little effort.

1.4 Other important tips:

• Commenting on other videos- Your user name gets hyperlinked whenever you leave a comment. Users get directed to your YouTube channel by clicking on the hyperlink or comment.
• Commenting on other channels- Videos tend to receive comments at a much faster rate helping it to go viral but this is not the case with channels, even the most popular of channels get much fewer comments. So get a habit of leaving a channel comment for a video maker whose videos you liked to get the same done for you.
• Create playlists- YouTube search results show up playlists as well so creating a playlist which can interest a user will serve your purpose. YouTube is one of the biggest online search engine second only to Google. Creating playlist including educational, interesting and entertaining videos is a good way of getting increased views and get them to subscribe to your channel as they want to get more such similar content.
• Collaborate- Collaborating with another channel which is popular than you can get you gather a wider audience base and exposure. As in collaboration the video maker would display the link of your channel or include annotate which directs to your channel directly.
• Update regularly- On YouTube there are hundreds of videos posted every hour. Unless you regularly update new and relevant videos people would not follow you. So make sure that you do post videos on a regular basis but also ensure you follow the current trends and update new and interesting videos as well.

Chapter 2: Promote your music with YouTube playlist

2.1 What is a YouTube playlist and how it works?

Group of videos that play in succession are called YouTube playlist. Anyone who has an account with YouTube can create a YouTube playlist and add videos to it irrespective of whether it is your video or others. This is very helpful in getting the videos various people have uploaded related to your band under a single playlist, so that you can get it heard for all your fans under a single channel.

On choosing to play a video in the playlist a viewer can observe the other videos in the playlist to be displayed in the queue. Video manager menu option in your YouTube account can be used to create and edit playlists very easily.

A few things to be kept in mind while creating a playlist are mentioned below:

2.2 Create themed playlist

Leverage the fact that YouTube is the second most used search engine. And with all search engines a keyword strategy is important for success. Create playlist using similar videos on a particular subject but tag them with related keywords which can help you gain cross platform promotion and support from other group members or brands. This can be done by including videos from other YouTubers and ask them to share it on their social networks.

For instance if you post a video offering touring advice then pair it with some informative video on touring by some brands and industry professionals. So be strategic while you create a playlist, make sure you maximize the number of views and also gain subscribers by creating a playlist.

2.3 Organize your videos in playlists

Although you are a musician you might not be uploading only music videos. A better way to organize your videos is to create playlists and categorize them into various themes like tour videos, behind the scenes videos, music videos, concert videos etc.

2.4 Include the playlist as an embedded link on your blog and website

Instead of making your users go through the videos one after the other it is a much better option to embed a playlist which gives the user an experience of listening to a channel dedicated to your music, and make sure you host the playlist on your website and blog.

Chapter 3: How musicians earn revenue from YouTube

3.1 YouTube is the world’s juke box

According to Brain Botkiller with nearly 1 million users streaming about 6 billion hours of video every month YouTube has become the world’s juke box. It is the most used and most popular tool for music discovery online.

Such immense activity is generating new avenues of revenue for independent musicians. So if you have your music on YouTube it is a good beginning now explores the options of making money through them. One such option is to license your music were you would be paid every time your music will be used.

3.2 Can you monetize your music on YouTube?

One cannot earn by himself directly on YouTube that is the reason a lot of independent musicians are not aware that songs on YouTube can be monetized. But one can monetize videos in your YouTube channel but not your songs this is a very important fact that has to be kept in mind.

3.3 How and what kind of money does YouTube pay to musicians?

YouTube being a Google company has its major share of revenue through advertisements and it is this ad revenue that YouTube pays to its musicians. Google uses its algorithms and analytics keeps a track on user’s behavior and accordingly serves the ads which it thinks users will respond to.

Companies pay YouTube for this kind of targeted advertising through pay per click, pay per impression, and pay per view and similar such methods of payment. A portion of this revenue is in turn shared with the video makers. So musicians earn money by allowing YouTube to put ads in their videos which feature their music.

3.4 Monetizing videos vs songs on YouTube

A lot of musicians are aware of the fact that they can monetize videos but what most of them are unaware of is that it is possible to earn money from a video with your music irrespective of whether the video is yours or not.

This is done by licensing your music. Once your music is licensed you will be paid if anybody uses your music in their videos. Basically the ad revenue is now shared with you instead of the video maker as your music has been used.

3.5 Who can use your music besides you on YouTube?

A lot of people can use your music and the more your music is used in YouTube videos the more you earn. A few instances where your music can be used are for corporate presentations, in commercials, fans or followers who post your videos etc.

Monetize your YouTube videos by choosing the appropriate monetization program from which you can benefit the maximum.

Chapter 4: Why YouTube holds so much of importance in one’s career

YouTube has become the platform of all new things to be displayed be it a new music magazine, a new album etc.

4.1 New avenues of music ownership and its impact

A lot has changed for independent musicians in the last decade. Listeners and music lovers have changed their idea of music ownership from the concept of buying CDs to new legal alternatives to ownership. This change in the ownership ways has also brought a sea change in how listeners engage with music as well.

The reason for wider acceptance and popularity of digital ownership of music is because of easy way of sharing them. Before when one listened to a song on radio or on CD the listener could not easily share the music and their experience which has changed with the advent of digital music.

4.2 Why is YouTube popular among the younger people?

YouTube has an excellent integration with social media platforms like Facebook, twitter etc making the task of sharing the music or video you like very easy. It is this aspect of easy sharability that makes YouTube the most popular online tool for music discovery and even more popular among the younger demographic.

YouTube has become the most preferred platform for listening to music with its web version and also smartphone applications making it more convenient for listeners.

4.3 Visual experience holds an advantage

It is observed that users respond to visuals more than any other type of content. So as an artist you should have a website, play gigs, write songs, do interviews and take up active pr campaigns but among all the things if you can combine your music with great visuals you can reach greater heights. This is the reason why YouTube is the most powerful tool on which you have to promote your music.

4.4 YouTube advantages

Some well known and popular artist’s careers like Justin bieber, Gotye have scaled new heights because of YouTube. Other aspect of YouTube like easy sharing, embedding, views counter and other such similar facilities make allow users to play a more active role in recommending music to others.

On a whole the above discussed points would persuade you to spend more time and effort on creating content on YouTube.

4.5 Five reasons why one should have greater presence on YouTube

1. YouTube is the most used tool for music discovery.
2. It is the most popular platform to listen to music among young music fans.
3. A lot of artists have built their careers entirely based on YouTube.
4. Creating music videos is the best way to engage and reach out to listeners.
5. Your music can be monetized and you can make money through ad-revenue generated by YouTube.

Once your video gets its share of promotion and recognition on YouTube by getting people to hear, see and also share your music. After this you can increase your fans base and look to sell your music to them and get them to engage with you.

Chapter 5: YouTube features that are less known for marketers

5.1 YouTube audio player

When you look to create a video the music of the video plays a crucial role in improving the aesthetic value of the video. Using YouTube audio player one can find the music that is appropriate for a video that they are creating. One can choose background music for the video from YouTube audio library to improve its impact.

One can access the YouTube audio library under the creation tools menu in the video manager menu of your YouTube account. You can filter the options by genre, mood, instrument, duration and preview of the track. You can click on download button to add the chosen song to the video.

YouTube has on offer about 150 instrumental background tracks which can be used in your videos without any royalty free.

5.2 YouTube fan finder

YouTube offers free ad space on its website through YouTube fan finder with the thought of attracting people who enjoy our content. Under this YouTube fan finder program a person is asked to submit up to five channel ads that YouTube believes will fetch regular viewership as they like your content.

Channel ads contain short videos that display your content and brand in an aim to get viewers click over and view your content.

Get started by uploading a channel ad similar to the way of creating an ordinary video. Later submit the channel ad for review through the fan finder page. This option can be found in the video manager section under the channel settings menu of your account. After the completion of this process click on the ‘select your channel ad button’ and choose the video you want to use.

It is recommended that your channel ads be short and engaging. In order to leave a lasting impression and strong memory of your image in the viewers use repetitive and clear branding.

Include a call to action in your video clearly explaining the viewer why he should subscribe to your channel. Explain the viewers what your channel is about. Make it a point that you introduce yourself as there may be many people who do not know about your channel. Try grabbing the viewer’s attention by the first 5 seconds of the video as beyond this time the ad can be skipped by the viewer.

5.3 Associated website annotations

It is common knowledge that a call to action and a website link can be inserted in a YouTube video. But it is also possible to include a clickable link to any specific website using the annotation within the video player. This can be done using associated website annotations.

Let’s see how this is done:

• The first step is to verify your YouTube account at http://www.youtube.com/verify through telephone process.
• After this in Google Webmaster tools add your website as an associated website. A verification process is again done to confirm your ownership of the domain before you can link it to your YouTube account.

One this is done choose advanced section under the channel settings menu in your YouTube account. Next to the associate page there is a box were you should include your website URL in this box. The successful completion of the process will be indicated by a green success circle next to associated website box.

On the successful completion of the above process a clickable link can be added to the URL with a video. Insert an annotation type, mark it as an associated website link and type full website URL in the box as showed in the below picture.

By adding a watermark to a video one has to insert a transparent associated website annotation immediately on top of it for the entire duration of the video. You can also audibly direct viewers to click on the annotation as you aim to incase the number of viewers.

5.4 InVideo programming

Even after you get a viewer it is challenge for you to keep that viewer hooked to your content. You would certainly not want your audience to click off watching your video and follow a competitor. To gain loyal viewership creating a strong brand identity and creating compelling and interesting content regularly is essential.

InVideo programming which was initiated by YouTube in October 2012 helps one in reinforcing their channel as a brand and drive viewership. One can embed a clickable thumbnail of his channel logo or video using this feature on all your videos in your YouTube channel.

To begin, go to the video manager page and select InVideo programming under the channel settings menu. From here you will be able to upload a watermark that can be displayed over one or more video of your choice. YouTube recommends it users to use a transparent image with single color for watermarking so that the user does not get distracted much from the active video.

You can also add a featured video and include a caption with it which further encourages the viewers to click so that they know about it.

In case of both featured video and the other you have the option of deciding when the image has to appear at the beginning, end or for a specific duration of the video.

5.5 YouTube Live Events

YouTube live events offers live streaming option for users with verified and trusted accounts. This was rolled out after Google+ offered live streaming on YouTube through application hangouts on air but what makes YouTube live events different from Google+ live streaming option is the more number of features it has to offer. These additional features turn your live streaming into a professional event rather than something which just uses a webcam and built in mic.

In YouTube live events you can set up multiple cameras and choose your encoder including the wirecast program offered by YouTube itself. The free version of wirecast includes basic switching, transitions and picture-in-picture. In addition you can also include live closed captions and view real time data like the number of concurrent streams, average session length etc.

Wirecast has paid versions as well with additional benefits.

To start a live event choose video manger option and then click on features link in the channel settings menu, scroll down and turn on the live event option. You can customize the live event and utilize all the features available by checking the custom option under type of broadcast once you enter all the basic info.

Using the above tools with a few changes to custom it according to your suitability will make your YouTube content and marketing strategy a winner.