You've just released a new music video, congratulations!
Music videos can be a great marketing tool for your music. Even though it's easy for music fans to download your songs illegally from sites like YouTube, they're easy to share on social media, and can give a strong visual representation of your song.
When promoted correctly, they provide a lasting inflow of loyal fans, and can even help drive merchandise sales.
Note: This article includes affiliate links where the author may receive a commission.
Here are some simple things you can do to promote your music video.
Promote Your Music Video with StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is a website where you can browse random pages on the internet. People choose topics that interest them, and click a big orange "Stumble" button that directs them to new content within their web browser that they may be interested in.
Fortunately for musicians, many of their users are interested in music, and have selected their specific genre of interest. Add a link to your music video, tag it with the right genres, and you have a chance at getting random people to stumble across your music video.
How to Add a Link to StumbleUpon
Step 1: Log In
Step 2: Go to Account Settings
Step 3: Click "Add a Page"
Step 4: Paste the URL and Click Save
Add Links to StumbleUpon with Interests
Following the instructions above is a quick way to add links to StumbleUpon, but it doesn't let you include interests with your link. To submit a new link with up to 5 interests attached to it, you must meet the following criteria:
- Your account must be over 24 hours old
- You must set a Profile picture
- You must have a minimum amount of Stumbles (however, they don't reveal how many this is.)
If you meet the above requirements, you can submit your url at their StumbleUpon's submit page.
Retail Stores
Retail stores that sell TV's often have promotional videos playing on them to help with TV sales. These retail stores also want to sell sound systems with the TV's.
This one's a long shot, as many retail chains like Best Buy are required to play specific videos on their TV's, but if they have a clearance section, they may be willing to play your music video to demo a TV and sound system. This might provide you with some extra promotion of your music to a local audience, as customers who come in and shop for a TV or sound system will be exposed to your video, and may become a fan and make it to your next gig.
YouTube Playlists
YouTube playlists can be a great way to get some extra exposure for your music video. Additionally, part of how YouTube ranks videos in their search is by how long people watch a video for. Since playlists auto-play videos, placing your song behind a more popular one can help increase the search rankings for your music video.
How Do I Create a YouTube Playlist?
Step 1: Search for a video you want to add to your playlist.
Step 2: Click "Add to."
Step 3: Click "Create New Playlist."
Step 4: Name the Playlist and set it to "Public."
Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each song you want to add to the playlist. Once your playlist is created, after clicking "Add To," you should see your playlist listed as an option. Click it to add the video to the playlist.
Feature Other Artists
Having other artists make a guest appearance in your music video can help get more social media coverage for your video when it's released, especially if the artists are more popular than you are.
A Day to Remember was clever in featuring a number of artists within their scene in their music video for All I Want. Check it out:
The music video likely got a huge amount of social media coverage, as the combined audience of the musicians featured in the video is much bigger than A Day to Remember's audience alone.
Subscribe, Comment, and Share on YouTube
Subscribing, commenting, and sharing your music video across YouTube is a great way to increase your views and get more subscribers to your channel for future music video releases.
Here are some tips for commenting and subscribing that can work well for you across YouTube.
Subscribe to Channels in Your Niche
Look for music videos on YouTube that are similar to yours, and comment on them. Spam commenting can ruin your reputation, so make sure to provide valuable, insightful comments. After commenting, subscribe to the channel so you can be first to comment on new videos that are uploaded by the users channel. Being first to comment on later videos can provide powerful first-mover advantage that can drive traffic to your channel.
Read the YouTube Emails
When YouTube sends out an email, it contains newly uploaded videos from the channels you've subscribed to. Watch these videos before anyone else does, try to be first to comment, and respond to comments already posted on the video.
Be Active in the YouTube Community
Subscribe to other channels you find interesting, respond to comments on your videos, and reply to comments on other videos. Being active on YouTube and engaging others in conversation will result in new traffic to your channel, new views for your music videos, and new fans who may share your music video with their friends.
Promote Your YouTube Channel by Posting Valuable Comments
Lots of people listen to full albums on YouTube.
Many of these videos have each song on the album back-to-back without any indication of when each song is in the video, like this:
This can be a great opportunity for you as an artist. Find videos like this containing music of popular artists within your niche, and post a comment with the tracks and the times that each of them starts in the video.
The great thing about this type of comment is that it isn't promotional, it's helpful. People won't be annoyed by it, and will be more likely to check out your channel with a positive mindset.
A comment like this is valuable enough to be voted to the top, and having a top comment on a popular video can generate lasting referral traffic to your channel - some of which will convert into subscribers.
Do you have tips for promoting a music video online? Let us know in the comments!