The music industry has always been a tough nut to crack, and independent labels face a particularly uphill battle when it comes to getting their artists heard. With limited resources and a crowded landscape, these labels need to get creative with their marketing strategies. One avenue that has become increasingly popular among independent labels in recent years is Snapchat marketing. At its core, it’s a social media app that allows users to share short-form video content and images that disappear after a set period of time. For you, this should present a unique opportunity to connect with younger audiences and build buzz around your artists. In such a saturated world, finding a unique avenue to explore within social media marketing is so rare, but is Snapchat the answer?
The Ups –
One of the key advantages of using Snapchat as a marketing tool is the wealth of data that the platform provides. Snapchat’s built-in analytics tools allows you to track engagement metrics such as views, completion rates, and swipe-ups (when a user swipes up on a Snap to view additional content).
From an artist’s point of view, the best marketing method that snapchat currently offers is Snapchat Discovery. This content tool provides users with a quick and simple way to make easy to digest content that can reach a wide audience. Around 20% of Snapchat users consume daily Discovery content. That’s over 35 million people. Considering just how big the audience pool is, the market for an artist to excel within this world is more open than other platforms, thanks to its slightly reduced popularity compared to TikTok, so it’s worth a shot at the audience share!
Perhaps the most valuable data that Snapchat provides is demographic information. You can see exactly who is engaging with your artist’s content, including age, gender, and location. This allows you to tailor your marketing efforts to specific audiences and identify potential new fans. For example, let’s say you have a pop artist who is particularly popular among teenage girls. By analysing the demographic data from their Snapchat followers, you may discover that their audience is heavily concentrated in a specific region or city. Armed with this information, you can plan a targeted marketing campaign in that area, with advertising on local radio stations, billboards, and social media, giving your artists the greatest chance for success.
The Downs –
Of course, there are some drawbacks to using Snapchat as a marketing tool. The platform’s focus on ephemeral content means that it can be difficult to build a long-term relationship with fans. Additionally, the app’s user interface can be somewhat confusing for new users, and the constantly changing algorithms can make it difficult to predict what content will perform well. Additionally, the majority of the app’s users still view it as it was originally intended—for user-to-user chat—not as a platform to receive news and content from their favorite musicians. Slowly Snapchat is changing this perception but it isn’t one that has come easy for the site.
However, these challenges haven’t stopped independent labels from finding success on the platform. One such example is the UK-based label Dirty Hit, home to popular indie acts such as The 1975 and Wolf Alice. Dirty Hit has used Snapchat to great effect, particularly in promoting the artist Beabadoobee. Their music has a retro-inspired sound that appeals to younger audiences, and Dirty Hit has leveraged Snapchat’s demographic data to reach that audience effectively. They regularly post behind-the-scenes content, teasers for upcoming releases, and even exclusive merchandise drops on the platform.
Dirty Hit’s Snapchat strategy has paid off in a big way. Beabadoobee has amassed over 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and her music videos regularly rack up millions of views on YouTube. Snapchat has been a key part of Dirty Hit’s marketing strategy, helping them connect with younger fans and build buzz around their artists. This success isn’t all down to their snapchat strategy, but it helped set Bea apart from many other contemporary artists at the time, showing another side that helped grow a connection with her fans. Being able to follow this trend would give your artists a rare niche to work within.
Though Snapchat may not be the first choice when considering marketing strategies for artists, it’s clear that you shouldn’t overlook this social media mammoth. Looking at what it used to be, to what it is now, its clear to see the future marketing potential it offers. Future development plans for the site are obviously unknown, but keeping an eye on its move into a more entertainment based model is definitely worth doing. Play your cards right and you could be utilising Snapchat as your secret marketing weapon!
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