Ever wonder why your business gets lost in the clutter of online content? Every 60 seconds, 571 new websites are created, 48 hours of Youtube videos are uploaded, and brands on Facebook receive 34,722 “likes.” And that’s just a tiny percentage of the data that’s generated each minute. With so many sharing platforms accessible, it’s pretty easy for entertainers to broadcast their talent. But this can be a double-edged sword because it greatly increases the competition. If you don’t have a strong, engaging web presence, you run the risk of losing your clients. Sure, word-of-mouth is great, but promoting yourself online can be one of the best marketing tools available. Instead of disappearing in the crowds, you can stay ahead of the trends with these tips and boost your web presence.
Create a Straightforward Website
The massive amount of content on the web has helped contribute to a shortened attention span for users. Studies have shown that you only have about 10-20 seconds to create interest before they’ll click through to something more engaging. So, when someone visits your page, your message should be clearly communicated. Answer the questions your clients would want to know.
What can you offer me? Why do I need your services? What makes you different from your competition?
Along with a clear and concise message, you’ll want to display a few additional links on your homepage:
- About Us– This page explains your brand’s history and company culture.
- Services– This is an in-depth description of what your business provides.
- Contact– If your visitor has questions, they can easily direct them to the source.
- Call to Action– For entertainers, this is typically labeled, “Book Now” or “Get a Quote.”
You can add to this list, but the above information is fundamental for a straightforward website. Ideally, you’ll also want links for your photos, videos, and social media.
This example navigation bar provides all of the essentials and clearly displays their social links.
Often times, images are used in websites to communicate a message quickly. The key here is quality over quantity. David Ogilvy, legendary advertising executive, is known for his marketing research and techniques. His testing created a set of best practices that successful advertisers use to this day. Ogilvy advises marketers to show high-quality photos that quickly demonstrate their services and add punchy captions. (Captions under photos are read four times more than the body of the text.) Just be sure your text and images are communicating the same thing.
When choosing a photo, show one with audience engagement, if possible. This can act as a visual review from past satisfied clients.
Of course for most entertainers, having a video on your website is an obvious benefit. But much like your photos, make sure the quality is superb. You don’t want to show a shaky clip with bad audio, and you don’t want to overdo it with a lot of fancy effects. You’ll need to keep your videos as up-to-date as possible. This helps avoid confusion as to what your performance consists of and if your style is what the client wants. Having fresh content will also show how active you are as a professional.
If you’re worried about your lack of “techy-ness,” there are several website builders that make it easy to simply plug your media into a beautifully designed template. You’ll want to choose one that can be easily customized to the type of talent you offer. Just make sure it’s mobile-friendly and offers stylistic flexibility.
Because Bandzoogle was created by entertainers themselves, they know the most valuable features to offer the independent artist.
We recommend Bandzoogle to our GigSalad community, because it’s built specifically for performers to add downloadable audio files and gig calendars, and can easily integrate with your PromoKit. They also offer GigSalad members an exclusive promotion for 15% off any Bandzoogle subscription, plus a 30-day free trial. Whatever website builder you choose, use the free trial if it’s offered. This way, you’ll know if their platform will suit your needs.
Boost Your SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, refers to the steps that improve a website’s ranking in top search engines. This is a set of best practices that provides the most exposure for those who implement them. But because the practices and definition are ever-evolving, SEO is continuously being researched and analyzed.
Although SEO can be a beast to understand and conquer, the benefits of this process are incredibly important for your web presence. That doesn’t mean that you have to dive into SEO analysis. You may need to just link up with a site that already has the expertise. Check out helpful online resources like FirstSiteGuide, which offers tutorials, cheat sheets, and even stock images that can be used on your website. You can also find online platforms specifically used by entertainers that have built up such credibility in search engines and allow you to promote your talent.
GigSalad creates exposure for entertainers by providing the largest and most diverse booking marketplace on the web.
Our platform offers tools like audio, video, reviews, and provides a customizable booking agreement. Not only can we land you in a top position on Google, but we also bring in thousands of event planners every day searching for performers to book for their events. So you’ll also find an influx in gigs just by being a part of the community.
Use Your Social Media
Fan engagement within social media is a great marketing technique, but to truly maximize your opportunities, consider going outside of your own social media feeds. When you connect with other local performers, venues, and community groups, you’re exposing your business to their followers as well. Liking other posts instead of just asking users to like yours creates a more direct relationship with those users.
At times, you’ll create posts that will be especially important for your followers to see. In this case, you’ll want to boost your post.
By doing this, you can choose your target audience, how many people you want to reach, and how long you’d like to run your post. This can be used for significant updates, special announcements, and to provide useful data from specific subgroups of followers.
The way many of these social platforms display business posts has changed over time, so it’s important to take that into account. Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz and SEO guru, explains in his blog post that Facebook has made reductions in business reach that you could use to your benefit.
“In order for Facebook to not be overwhelmed by content, they’ve reduced [free, organic reach]. But that means a little bit more room for individual people. So individual accounts . . . have a little bit more opportunity to get reach versus brands, which for a while were more dominating than they are.” -Rand Fishkin
To get more exposure for your business, you can post links and updates from your personal page. The links will direct them to your business page which can generate more followers.
As a professional entertainer, it can be easy to fully identify with the artistic part of yourself that makes you so talented. But because your talent is your business, it’s essential to incorporate good business practices. Creating a strong web presence will help you promote your services and maximize your gigging opportunities.
Want to know more about GigSalad? Learn how we can help you make money doing what you love.