Content Marketing in the Performing Arts: How it Benefits Artists

On November 2, 2022, singer Natalie Jane uploaded a TikTok of her and a friend covering Gnarls Barkley’s hit song “Crazy”. Their performance went viral on the app, garnering 18.4 million likes and 134.7 million views. The first time I watched this video, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I was so impressed with their voices and found myself eager to learn more about them. As simple as it sounds, Natalie’s post is an example of content marketing in the performing arts.

Content marketing is a strategy that focuses on creating specific content with the intention of attracting and holding the attention of a particular target audience. Compared to different, more traditional marketing strategies, content marketing simply provides relevant information that often entertains and communicates with the audience, giving them the desire to return to your content.
In contrast, traditional marketing often involves directly pitching one’s product or service. Additionally, this type of content can be like spam, as much of it is straightforward advertising. There are several reasons why content marketing is the best strategy for artists when considering the business side of performing arts. Let’s take a brief look at them!

Content Marketing is Simple

At first, the words “content marketing” sounds like another complicated business term, but it’s easier than you think. Examples of content marketing can be as simple as a social media post or a YouTube video. As we saw with Natalie’s viral performance, many prime examples of successful content marketing come from TikTok – meaning it doesn’t cost a thing!

Content Marketing is Expressive

Content marketing is often focused on consistency within your brand, for instance, a consistent type of content and routine uploading. This strategy works well for artists, allowing them creative freedom and expression to attract their audience and develop their brand. Content marketing strategies make it easier for artists to tell their stories and show the world what they do – all while creating a business for themselves. It also gives artists the opportunity to communicate with and directly respond to their audience, which traditional marketing often lacks. This builds relationships between a brand and its audience, creating genuine connections and more opportunities for artists to express themselves.

Content Marketing is Successful

There are several reasons why content marketing proves to be successful. While we know that it’s overall more engaging compared to other methods, audiences prefer this type of marketing over other strategies. Nowadays, more and more people are investing in ad blockers, which can completely prevent brands from reaching their audience. Lucky for artists, content marketing doesn’t experience that problem!
Content marketing also improves SEO, or search engine optimization. We don’t want to overwhelm you with another marketing term, but in short, SEO helps your brand appear on the first page of search engines like Google. By creating quality content and using consistent keywords (for instance, in a blog post), your content will likely be seen by many!

Time to Create!

As an artist, you’ll realize this marketing strategy is perfect for you. Remember, consistency is key. Content marketing won’t be successful overnight. Keep creating, don’t give up, and most importantly, continue to express yourself!

Julia Woodcock

Writer
The Modern Artist Project