Investing an exceptional music video is hardly any good if no one sees it. In this article we look at ten different ways in which artists can work to promote the popularity of the music video when the view counts begin to slow to a trickle.
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Guest Post by Kosha Dillz
Hey guys. Music videos are everything. We invest thousands of dollars in them. We put entire days and weeks into prepping the video. We show up with models and movie sets and hire tons of people and directors and editors and special effects and boom! Once it is all said and done post explosions on the set and hi-fi RED Cam visuals, we only get 774 views. Here is the ultimate question...how do you get people to keep on clicking and clicking and clicking and clicking? (insert Pee-Wee Herman voice from big adventure for knitting and knitting and knitting)
I made a list of things to do when your video comes out, that way you can have the ultimate push when you hit the internet. Before all of this, you must make sure you video has the highest rate of return. It has to have that wow factor...before it is done, ask yourself what makes this video different and better and more awesome than others?
If you have that video, lets move on to the numbers below.
1. Schedule a premier date. with a website.
This builds hype around the actual video. Now if no one knows you, you can premier it on your own site. If you don't know anyone, try a local site or the town you're in. ie. If you have an epic LA video, try LA Weekly. In NYC maybe the village voice or denver. I used Culture Collide to premier my music video for Half a World Away. It def helped build up the prestige of the video :) I had Culture Collide premier my last video, Half a World Away.
2. Have a list of 50 friends to contact. Not "contacts" but "friends".
When I mean contact, I mean there is no stigma of them helping you out. The worst is when a video has epic proportions but no interaction. Youtube is the biggest site in the world. If you aren't being talked about, what is there to talk about? These friends must all hit the "like" button. They must all hit the like button and write a comment!! this keeps those other people who come across excited to engage.
3. Press Release
We need a press release to build hype. around your video. Make it awesome. Make it hype. Make people want to read more. (Ie. SUPA HOT FIRE VIDEO - CLICK HERE.) No don't write that! Why don't you try something more pro like "MC Jon and Flying Cucumbers premier spaghetti western video for "future is now" + announce US tour dates. Maybe that sounds more intriguing to read?
A Press release needs to be professional. If you aren't professional, don't be alarmed! You can get someone on fiverr to help write a press release and if not, hit up someone in college who can help. Not all of us are the brightest with writing skills, but we can certainly make things happen.
4. The Text Hustle
The text hustle is real! You can show people your mass blast on the phone. Most people are always on the phone. Let people know you can shoot it to them. A friend named Thurzday will always shoot me a text with the new video. I always appreciate it, and I know I can go back into my text to see the new video.
5. Personal emails
Personal emails take 1 to 2 minutes if focused, and it guarantees to know that someone sees your email. Well it doesn't guarantee, but being personal works everywhere in the world, from real life dating to customer retention to emails. Send out 50 of these in two hours. I think you can do that. Plus these increase your chances of it being shared around.
6. Do research on current acts receiving press
Sometimes when I am looking to find new website to cover my videos, I look up friends who are receiving press. This way ,I can reach out and 'say hey" with at least a reference and it isn't a blind pitch. Just imagine blind pitches in a baseball game. The chance of them hitting are that of a blind person…pitching. Not to say they're bad, but you have to be pretty amazing to land these pitches since they are in fact, blind!
7. Be active with interaction on YouTube
We stay so active on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter but what about YouTube? Ultimately, our mind doesn't think it is as cool to be on YouTube, but landing yourself to be visible on YouTube [is] NECESSARY. Be interactive and authentic on comment boards of similar videos. It leaves the opportunity for someone to click on your page. You can do this naturally by commenting and liking other videos of your friends and similar homies in music. believe it or not, there is a whole world that doesn't mess with anything on the phone.
8. Never stop sending your video to people
This is imperative. If your video is good. If your video is great…no reason to never stop sending it. The video will get shared more and more and more the longer time goes on and people will watch it again and again. It doesn't matter if they are popular or not when sending it, but ideally the world of internet can only take one click!!
9. Facebook Ads vs VIROOL Ads.
Don't be alarmed [by all the] different ways to upload your video. You can have your video on Facebook which counts views per 3 seconds of page time vs YouTube (which will have way less than that) but tagging back n forth can encourage people to click more on your material. Virool is strict marketing per click on YouTube and I have used it before. It makes the views go up in genuine fashion, but massive results mean you need lots of $$$$ to throw in the pot. Facebook ads give you direct analytics and insight on what is happening and how many clicks per cent you spend...etc.
10. The Hail Mary approach.
Please do not under estimate a hail mary. While your views might be low, your determination and resilience with great product can still get the attention of big people. Many "bigger" people respect the underdog like you and me and want to help. I have performed on the street as a street performer and gotten millions of views plus connected with huge artists to throw me a RT that massively blows me up. My friend Mickey Shiloh, who writes hundreds upon thousands of songs and her song Drunk on the Mic shared by Kylie Jenner. It wasn't a blog that blew her up, but her talent was appreciated by someone of larger status. If you are talented and your song is amazing, get it to someone when you put it out there :) It is like the lottery. Hey you never know...you gotta be in it to win it. I call this the Hail Mary.
Well there you have it folks. I am currently pushing my videos to the limit on the internet and hope that the most important thing I can learn is that if a video doesn't have replay value, people will not be interested in watching it and sharing it with friends. Speaking of sharing with friends, don't be afraid to give my new one a listen, Half a World Away. Drop a comment, a like, a share, a subscribe, and all the other things I am forgetting.
If there is anything you would like to add to this article that I didn't let us all know in the comment section below. The worst thing you can do is keep all the help to yourself!!
Kosha Dillz is a American Rapper currently on tour in Europe. He joins @matisyahu on a song called Dodging Bullets fwhich is out now on iIunes Hot Tracks. Stay up to date with him on bandsintown and email him for tips on life and help with anything at rapperfriends@gmail.com. His album What I Do All Day and Pickle, comes out July 15th on his OY VEY! / Soulspazm imprint.
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