Branding Pt. III: Define Your Audience

We’ve discussed the importance of how you’re seen. Now we turn to the question of who is going to see you.

What if the people marketing Justin Bieber had decided to target senior citizens as his audience? What if the people marketing Susan Boyle had decided to market her to thirteen year old girls? The success of an artist, independent or otherwise, is largely determined by where your biggest efforts are placed. You could have Justin Beiber perform at retirement homes across the country, and I’m sure they would have thought he was a ‘nice boy’, but he wouldn’t have been an international sensation. At the same time, you could bring Susan Boyle in to perform at every junior high school in the country, but my guess is that, as phenomenal as her voice is, most of the students wouldn’t really care about someone who looks like their great-aunt (the one with the cats). 

Modern success for an independent performer hinges less on your ability to reach an audience, and more on your ability to reach the right audience. People are so inundated with new information and media every day that they only remember a small fraction of what they see and hear – usually the things that are most relevant to them. Choosing to seek out a very specific audience you know will most likely respond to what you do will help you achieve more success with more efficiency, and help you connect with a loyal, lifelong fan-base.

Many artists play whatever concerts they can find, and I understand the impulse. In the beginning, this is the way to become good at what you do. You want to be playing as much as you can, having the experience of being on stage. In my recent interview with Jeff Riddle, Jeff refers to the 'fog test', that exists for most new businesses - (“When [artists] start out, they work with anybody that will pass the fog test – meaning, put a mirror up to their face and if they breathe into it and it creates fog then they work with them.”)  But don’t spread yourself too thin, especially as you begin approaching music as a long-term career. Remember that people often discover new music through their peers – people in their same age group or community. If you’re playing for people in their teens one night, college students the next, and their parents the night after that, you might do well with each crowd, but how are people in different areas supposed to talk about you or send their friends to your show, when it’s a different crowd, venue, and vibe every time? Your music may be universal, but you’ve got to pick a specific audience to focus on, and the more specific, the better. 

Exercise: Branding Brainstorm

If you haven't done this yet, now is a great time to dig in. In a document or on a piece of paper, write down answers to the following. If you have done  a branding exercise like this recently, see how many of these things you can remember off the top of your head.  

1.     Brainstorm words that you feel accurately and concisely describe who you are in your music. What style or tradition do you most relate yourself to? When you have a solid list, narrow it down to the top three strongest words or phrases that define your vibe as an artist and a personality. It helps if you have truthful friends or colleagues who you can run this by to get a sense of whether your image of yourself matches the impressions you give to those around you.

2.     Decide the top 2 genres your music fits into, and write down names of well-known artists who cover similar musical territory to yours. You might say ‘nobody fits into the same genre as I do’. Re-evaluate that. We’re all musically borne in the arms of the greats who have come before. If you had to associate even loosely with another musical tradition or genre, what would it be?

3.     Create a branding outline. This will be your cheat sheet when putting together promo materials, doing interviews, booking, and carrying out the day-to-day of your business. This can be a series of bullet points, or even a page with paragraphs summarizing your plans for the following:

-      How will you dress on stage?

-    Is there a font/logo you plan to use consistently with your name? Is there a specific color or colors you plan to use? This will come in handy for both web and print design (your website theme as well as fliers, posters, album art, etc)

-   Recurring themes in your persona that you want to highlight in public? (Are you a rebel? The sensitive poet? The fun loving boy or girl next door? The loner?) Derive these concepts from who you actually are (or who you are in your art) and you’ll be much happier in the long run. Again, it might feel unnatural to try to distill your personality down to such simple terms, but this is branding, and it’s necessary. This is what a record label would be doing if you had one, and you’ve got to learn to do this for yourself. 

-     Any performance name or nickname that you want your fans to know you by? Be careful here - names stick; this is something that will be very hard to undo. 

-     Any boundaries you have as far as your public image and presentation. For example, are you willing to be publicly political or religious, or do you simply want to be known as an entertainer? Elvis would often answer that he was only an entertainer when asked about politics at press conferences. Comedian Jon Stewart is a master at using his entertainer status as a shield for his hard hitting political satire and commentary, which has made it harder for the press and politicians to criticize him effectively. 

-    Any other defining qualities of your music that stand out – do you play an instrument that most artists don’t play? What quality about your music stands out most? Anything unique about your appearance? Voice? Personality? Performance Style? All of these things will help to define your brand and presentation.

What you’re doing here is forming a specific picture of your brand – how you wish to be perceived by your fans, and ultimately what you wish to be known for. This may change over time, and in a few months you may actually go back and re-evaluate this document. But for now, use this as a guideline. Your branding plan is probably something you will keep to yourself, or only share with your team and trusted friends, but it’s important to define for yourself what your boundaries and parameters are, and to be especially aware of how you want to be presented in public. If you don’t decide these things for yourself, someone else will eventually dictate them for you, and it could take you by surprise.