How to Promote a Concert

Co-authored by Anna Colibri

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 References

Concert promoters are responsible for the most important element of any concert: the audience. Every element of a concert can be within the purview of a concert promoter, but nothing is more important than maximizing the promotional reach for a concert or event. In today's world, a concert promoter must be as engaged online as they are in the real world in order to entice the largest possible crowd.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing a Marketing Plan

1
Gather all of the information and materials pertaining to the concert. Before you begin promoting your concert, you will need to make sure you have all of the information you will need. As the promoter, you will be expected to know everything there is to know about the concert in the event anyone should ask.
- Identify the location, date and time of the concert.
- Make a list of performers and gather marketing information and resources like pictures and videos for each.
- Make sure you have a thorough understanding of the genre of music and type of person you will need to attract as customers.
2
Identify your target demographic. Demographics are groups of people that are unified by something in common like age or region they live in. The demographic of your concert should be similar to the fan bases of the performers attending.^{[1]
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- Determine the age group you will be attempting to engage with your promotions.
- Decide on the location you want to concentrate on. Do you want national attention or just local?
- Take lifestyle factors into account: college students are marketed to differently than corporate employees or educators.
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3
Determine your budget. How much money you have to spend on your promotional efforts will determine much of what kind of campaign you will be able to execute. It’s possible to promote a concert with very little money in your budget, but there are many ways to increase reach if you can afford some expenses.
- Determine how much money will be available for promotions.
- Once you know how much money you have to work with, you can plan out how best to utilize your budget.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Establishing an Online Presence for Your Concert

1
Build a website. Your concert will need a homepage on the internet to serve as a central communications hub for all announcements and information you want a prospective audience member to receive.^{[2]
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- Create a compelling description of the concert and the performers that will be in attendance.
- Use publicity photos of the artists that will be performing on the website to coincide with written text.
- You can create free websites on pages like Weebly.com or Wix.com.
- You can create paid sites with relative ease on platforms like Squarespace.com.
2
Establish a social media presence. Social media can be the most cost effective means by which to reach your target demographic and allows those you have engaged to expand your reach for you through their own posts or sharing yours. Use your social media accounts to drive people to the website using links.^{[3]
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- Create pages for your concert on multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Vine.
- Share pre-existing content regarding the concert or performers on each profile, as well as new material as you prepare for the concert.
- Using applications like Hootsuit or Everypost will allow you to post content to multiple social media accounts or platforms at once.
- Social media, SEO, advertising, and email campaigns are all great ways to promote your concert with digital marketing.^{[4]
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  Expert Source
  
  Anna Colibri
  Digital Marketing Specialist
  Expert Interview. 29 June 2021.}
3
Use a custom hashtag. Choose a short word or phrase that is unique to your concert and use it as a hashtag in social media. Hashtags are words or groups of words preceded by a pound sign (#) that turns your phrase into a searchable link. This will allow someone to click on your hashtag on any social media post and be redirected to a list of all posts that share your hashtag.^{[5]
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- Your hashtag should be short and unique. If the name of the concert or location are easy to spell you may want to consider using them, like #FultonOrchestra or #BostonRock.
- Use your hashtag often and encourage others to do the same. Ask the performers to share posts with the hashtag as well.
- Post on social media to encourage people to share their feelings about the concert with your hashtag to increase its reach.
- Hashtags can be used on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and most other social media platforms.
4
Reach out through social media. If your concert does not already have a large fan base migrating to it through fans of the performers, you may have to work hard to get people’s attention. Social media users often value reciprocated efforts.
- When people follow or friend your concert’s page, follow or friend them back otherwise they may delete you.
- Engaging with people will make them more apt to share your content and increase excitement about your concert.
- Ask questions and respond to posts from others.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Promoting Your Concert in Person

1
Contact local news outlets. Depending on where you are located, there could be any number of local news outlets in your area. Reach out to these outlets and inquire about how you might be able to get them to promote your concert.^{[6]
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- Contact local television and radio stations as well as newspapers.
- Offer to promote their channel, show or paper at the concert in return for them promoting your concert through their channels.
- In small markets, some news outlets may cover your concert for free.
2
Create and distribute a press release. You will need to know how to Write a Press Release as well as how to Submit a Press Release in order to take advantage of the benefits press releases can have for your concert.^{[7]
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- Use press releases to gain media attention from traditional news outlets in the area.
- Sometimes press releases are printed as they are submitted to newspapers, allowing for maximum control in how your concert is presented.
- Unless you use a pay service to distribute your press release, submitting a press release is free of cost.
3
Pay for advertising. If you know how to Create an Advertisement you may want to consider purchasing ad space or time in local media outlets. There are many ways to increase awareness of your concert through paid advertising, provided you have the budget. Try to choose advertising space that best targets your chosen demographic.
- Billboards offer the opportunity to be seen by many people of varying ages.
- Print ads can be directed at specific demographics by choosing publications aimed at certain ages or interest groups.
- Radio and TV ads can be directed at specific demographics by choosing during which shows and what times the ads will air.
- Programmatic advertising sends ads to a person's cell phone when they visit a similar venue.^{[8]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Anna Colibri
  Digital Marketing Specialist
  Expert Interview. 29 June 2021.}
4
Create flyers. A relatively inexpensive way to increase the reach of your promotions is simply to create and distribute flyers. Flyers should be simple, to the point, and visually stimulating in order to garner the most possible attention.
- Make sure to include the names of who is performing, the location, date and time of the concert on the flyer.
- Check into local laws about posting or distributing flyers in public places to make sure you are in accordance with local legislation.
- Consider having the flyers printed on bright colored paper to draw people’s attention to them as they pass by.
5
Partner with local businesses. There may be businesses in your area that would be willing to put up your promotional materials in exchange for you promoting their name at the concert itself. Approach business owners to see if they would like to take part.
- Some business owners may be willing to provide other services for your concert in exchange for the promotion of their business.
- The more business partners your concert has, the more promotional reach you will gain through each business.
- You can also partner with influencers and other relevant media to promote your concert.^{[9]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Anna Colibri
  Digital Marketing Specialist
  Expert Interview. 29 June 2021.}

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you market an online concert?

Anna Colibri
Digital Marketing Specialist
Anna Colibri is a Digital Marketing Specialist and the CEO of Colibri Digital Marketing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Anna specializes in branding, digital strategy, product and service development, team management, and leadership development with a focus on women and minority business owners and professionals. Anna holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from The University of California, Davis, and a Master's degree in Social Welfare from The University of California, Berkeley. Colibri Digital Marketing is San Francisco’s first B Corp certified digital marketing agency. They won the 2019 Better Business Bureau Torch Awards for Ethical Business, the 2009 Local Excellence Award, and one of the Best Digital Marketing Agencies in San Francisco in 2017.

Anna Colibri

Digital Marketing Specialist

Expert Answer

It seems obvious, but leveraging digital advertising is a great way to go. Use your social media to really pump the event, and utilize email marketing to get the word out to people prone to spending time online.
Question

What kind of PR could I use for a concert?

Anna Colibri
Digital Marketing Specialist
Anna Colibri is a Digital Marketing Specialist and the CEO of Colibri Digital Marketing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Anna specializes in branding, digital strategy, product and service development, team management, and leadership development with a focus on women and minority business owners and professionals. Anna holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from The University of California, Davis, and a Master's degree in Social Welfare from The University of California, Berkeley. Colibri Digital Marketing is San Francisco’s first B Corp certified digital marketing agency. They won the 2019 Better Business Bureau Torch Awards for Ethical Business, the 2009 Local Excellence Award, and one of the Best Digital Marketing Agencies in San Francisco in 2017.

Anna Colibri

Digital Marketing Specialist

Expert Answer

When it comes to public relations, I'd reach out to some influencers who are in the same space as the genre of the music you're promoting and get them to talk up the event. You can even put some video ads together and target them to folks in the area. Get someone popular who is going to play or be involved with the event and have them talk it up.