Integrated Digital Marketing

Around here we listen to and enjoy all types of music, you are as likely to hear AC/DC as you are Miles Davis, and everything in between. Bluegrass, rock, funk, jazz (my personal favorite) and jam bands all stream from Pandora and iPod alike. While musicians inspire and stir our emotions with their creations, everything from sports teams to weddings, indulge me for a moment as I explain how I think musicians can also inspire your marketing.

Live music is something that many people enjoy, from large stadiums packed with superstar performers to classical concerts in small theatres. For many, experiencing music live takes it to a new level. Jam bands, those that seem to have the ability to recreate a song every time they play it, set the bar, when it comes to live performances.

The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band, Phish and Govt Mule are just some of the jam bands that have created strong brands by leveraging their content and their communities. Jerry Garcia was an incredible guitarist; Is it possible that he and the Grateful Dead were pioneers of content and viral marketing? You decide.

Why are jam bands so successful at content marketing?

• Jam bands take a story and present it in a unique and captivating way.

Of all the jam bands I have had the opportunity to see live, I never once walked away from a show thinking it seemed contrived. Can you say the same thing about your content? Tell your story in a personable way. Corporate speak sucks, ditch it and roll with the story the way you would speak it, not how you think your 8th grade English teacher would want it.

• Jam bands keep things interesting.

They accomplish this by always changing play sets, arrangements and sometimes they will really surprise you with a guest appearance. How can you mix your content to produce something new? Know someone you can reach out to for a guest blog post? Never hurts to ask, and you give your audience something new, something fresh…they will thank you.

• Jam bands spread their music virally

Most jam bands allow, and even encourage, the recording and trading of their live music. Some will even allow “tapers” to plug into their sound boards for maximum quality. The “taper” community then trades and shares the recorded concerts, which allow the band’s music to spread virally. The bands allow this trading of their music to take place free of charge. You are creating content and sharing it with your audience, but are you giving them the access, the permission and the tools to share it? Sharing of content and music helps spread your content and helps build a stronger community.

• People enjoy “discovering” new bands.

Many years ago I had the opportunity to see The (then unknown) Dave Mathews Band play at a fraternity party. They were damn good, but hadn’t hit the big time yet. Think we all didn’t tell our friends about this new band we saw? Of course we did, we all wanted to feel like we had “discovered” something great. Things are no different online. A great video, a really good blog post all are things that people love to discover and share. Create things that people will want to tell their friends about, don’t just create to complete a milestone.

• Jam bands create community.

These communities are tight-knit, many having their own norms, nomenclature, and even nicknames – the “Dead Heads”, “Spread Heads” and other countless communities are fiercely loyal. Each member of the community consumes the content in their own way, and react to it differently. Some spin, some sway and some simply shake it. Your audience is no different. They consumer your content in different ways and react differently – some share a blog post through their RSS reader, some post a video to their Facebook page. Do you know your audience and their nuances?

So crank up some music, play a little hacky-sack, start thinking like a jam band and you will see improvements in your content, your engagement and your rankings.