What is a digital promo service?

Written by Jon Lemmon (Managing Partner: 8DPromo / GM: Xelon Digital)

 

Promo’s are the lifeblood of the music business it seems, everyone does them, some better than others. But, what exactly is a digital promo service and what does it bring to the table when you’re trying to get your new track heard and seen by the right people?

 

What are digital promotions?

Digital promotions are a way labels and artists can get their music into the hands of DJ’s around the world. You can do it yourself if you have a nice email list, or you can hire a company to do it for you. A lot of times you (or the company) will use a promo system where the dj’s must leave feedback in order to download.

 

What is a digital marketing strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is your “plan” for how you are going to roll out your marketing and promotion for an upcoming release. Typically you start at least 4 weeks before a release is scheduled to go live, and schedule a rollout of different things over that period to build hype and develop interest. It also continues for a few weeks after the release is out to generate sales.

 

What types of services does a promo service offer?

A promo service, often confused with PR, is just promo. The purpose is to deliver the promotional materials to club dj’s, radio dj’s, tastemakers, bloggers and reviewers. Often there’s a social media element as well, where the promo company will do social posts leading up to, during, and after the release. PR typically adds elements of actively soliciting writers to blog, review or feature the release in their respective medium. PR may also seek premiers and other forward facing promotions for the release.

 

What is the purpose of promotion?

Promotion is meant to do just that – promote. It’s a way to get your music heard, and to generally build audience and interest in your release.

 

How do social media promotions help get my music heard?

Social media promotions, when done right, engage with all facets of the music community and get your music out there to the fans and dj’s. Simply releasing it on the shops is one piece of the pie. Promoting it and pointing people to the shops via social media is a huge factor in success.