Before I start writing this article, I would like to say that most artists and musicians are sometimes intimidated by the word BRAND. Many, or even most, have no idea what it means or what it is, and more importantly, how crucial it can be to stand out from the thousands of other acts out there; and be the band that finally achieves success.

First, let me point out that building your digital brand is not as complicated as you might think. In fact, it’s probably one of the easiest and least expensive ways to promote your music and your band. As I indicated, I am going to lay this out step by step so that it is very easy to follow and implement. So, let’s get into this a bit:

YOUR LOGO:

This is probably the simplest form of your brand. Every act must have a logo that in one way or another represents who you are. It should be simple and easy to understand. But you must have one. Don’t rush – do lots of different ideas and samples until you choose the final version. Collaborate with band members, fans, and friends to get different ideas. Six heads are better than one.

YOUR HISTORY:

Remember, you essentially want your digital brand to tell the story of who you are. Focus on the details that describe your image and likeness, your uniform appearance on stage, and a uniform appearance for your websites and social media. Once you put the tagline to your brand image, exploit it everywhere. When fans move from one website to another or see you perform, your brand must be consistent. Wherever people look for you, they should be able to absolutely tell it’s you, just by seeing your consistent logo, branding and image. It must be unforgettable!!

BUILD A COMMUNITY OF FOLLOWERS:

Personalize your fan engagement experiences. Build trust and affection in your close personal community. Participate as often as possible. Possibly use brand-infused giveaways as a way to increase cooperation from your followers.

Use Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to constantly spread the word about your brand and expose it to as many followers as possible. By all means, shoot professional videos. Video will enhance your brand and give your fans a closer look at who you are and get closer to you.

Outshine your competition:

Dominate your particular music market by being distinctive in all aspects of your traditional and digital marketing efforts. Some examples are their official website, their social media sites and posts, new CD releases, and especially on their merchandise. Your merchandise must be distinctive and express your image and brand in its designs. Along with your logo, merchandising designs should also reflect your band’s character and overall history. The designs must be original and fashionable. If they’re really cool designs, people will buy them even if they have nothing to do with your band; therefore more collateral exposure for your brand.

RELATIONS WITH ADVERTISING AND MUSICAL MEDIA:

Exploit your brand in the media, interviews, radio and music review blogs. Getting coverage in any of the media outlets will create huge attention and awareness for your brand, and make it even better. This type of disclosure is best handled by an experienced music publicist. It takes a great deal of time, experience, and an accumulation of high-profile media contacts. It is extremely difficult for the media to take the average artist seriously. A professional music publicist, trusted by the media, may cost you a few bucks, but it’s worth every penny.

SO, IN SUMMARY:

Remember, don’t get too intense or complicated. And most importantly, don’t get frustrated. Take your time, do it right, and keep it simple. Don’t forget to work with all of your band members, fans, friends, and followers when it comes to establishing your logo, story, image, and designs. Six heads are better than one. Take a look at the wildly popular acts you admire – see how they approach the brand. You may want to consider emulating some of his ideas.

Branding is serious business. It is not something to be ignored. It is the visual representation of you as an artist. Just have fun and do it!