When building a Music Artist Fanbase, it’s worth thinking about The Marketing Funnel.
Don’t worry! I’m not about to ruin your day with some boring corporate gobbledygook.
But it’s worth knowing how your funnel works, so marketing efforts can be optimised, hopefully leaving more time for music creation.
What is a Marketing Funnel?
In simple terms, it’s the steps on the journey people take with you. From initial discovery, through to becoming a Superfan, and all stages in between.
The top of the funnel is wide. Reach lots of people, casually stumbling across your content. Further down the funnel, fewer numbers remain. These are the increasingly hardcore fans, ones who’ll ultimately become paying supporters.
The exact number of steps in the funnel is entirely down to analysis of your target audience and approach to “recruiting” new fans. Typically, they’ll be three to five stages, as people transition from mildly curious to crazily obsessed.
For a musician, the funnel doesn’t end with a simple sale. It’s about an ongoing relationship of community, loyalty and connection. Real fans won’t just stream or buy the music. They’ll join your story, the music becoming a soundtrack to their own lives.
A Basic Marketing Funnel
A regular product, like a new mobile phone, might have three main marketing stages:
Awareness: You see ads about the new phone, implanting memories and familiarity with the brand and product.
Consideration: Your current phone starts to die. You’re in the market for a new one, researching options. That phone you saw lots of ads for previously, is top-of-mind and joins your wish list.
Purchase: Deliberations complete, you buy the new phone. The purchase leads back all the way to the first ad you saw months ago.
The Musician’s Marketing Funnel
Here’s what a marketing funnel might look like when specifically tailored for a Fanbase building strategy. It has five stages and I like to label them as the “5 A’s”:
#1. Announce (Awareness)
What it is: Reach as many relevant people as possible, giving them great reasons to get interested in you.
How it works: A TikTok clip of your amazing new track, a trending Instagram Reel from the studio, a live jam on YouTube. Grab attention. Stop them scrolling. Make it memorable.
#2. Amplify (Awareness and Consideration)
What it is: People aren’t going to see or hear you just once and immediately become a Superfan. Keep reaching those to whom you’ve already “announced” yourself with regular posts and ads. It’s essentially an education process.
How it works: Vary content shown across social platforms. Different songs or live performance clips. Videos sharing stories behind the songs. See increased engagement and the first concrete signs of tangible interest, such as a follow on Spotify, likes on Instagram or a subscribe on YouTube.
#3. Activate (Consideration)
What it is: For those now engaging, it’s time to get their details. Nurturing them directly with high value content and offers. Build the artist-fan relationship more deeply.
How it works: Sign-ups to an email list from targeted ads, posts or via directional content on social pages or a website. It’s a key stage, allowing one-to-one dialogue with fans. Provide high perceived value content, such as exclusive offers, early bird music releases, VIP gig tickets, even live Q&As.
#4. Acquisition (Purchase)
What it is: Not all fans will “buy” in the traditional sense. They’ll primarily be streaming your music. Yet, hardcore fans will support you with their cash if high perceived value products are available.
How it works: Limited edition physical releases of your singles, EPs or albums. Merchandise including t-shirts, posters, stickers or mugs. Promote via email, SMS and social pages to engaged fans only.
#5. Advocacy
What it is: Fans become Superfans and tell the world about their favourite new artist. This is a potential goldmine, helping grow your fanbase far faster, through effective endorsement.
How it works: Fans repost and share your content, bring friends to shows, wear your merch and use your music in their own social posts.
Assessing Your Funnel
Oooo, errr!
No, seriously. Understanding the numbers at each stage of the funnel is crucial to optimising marketing efforts. For every 100 people at the Announce stage, only about 5 will likely transcend to Acquisition and beyond.
While it’s therefore critical to fill the top of the funnel with as many relevant, curious music fans as possible, increasing the percentage who jump from each stage, even by a small amount, can make a big difference to the eventual number of Superfans.
Take Action
Map out your funnel and track the numbers. Adapt and test marketing content to see how and where incremental improvements through the funnel are achieved.
Remember, it’s just about following a plan. Don’t just post, advertise and hope.