Sharing my favourite social advertising strategy for artist campaigns
Layer different tactics to show the audience a series of ads, not just one.
If you are not a subscriber of The Fanbase Builder, join the hundreds of artists, creators, and music industry executives who receive it for free.
Let’s dive into today’s topic:
Sharing my favourite social advertising strategy for artist campaigns
Layer different tactics to show the audience a series of ads, not just one.
Why it matters
People use social media like Instagram and TikTok for entertainment, so ads should be entertaining, too.
Yet, many social advertising campaigns use sales-focused ads: “Buy your tickets now.” “Stream via Link In Bio.” Etcetera.
So, how can artists reach people interested in their commercial messages while keeping things fun and on-brand?
Today, I will share the basics of my two-layered strategy that’s worked wonders in numerous artist campaigns.
How it works
A multi-layered strategy means showing the audience a series of ads, not just one.
The main idea is to first find people who might be interested and then target them with more persuasive ads.
Layer 1: Reach campaign
First, we target a broad audience with a short, entertaining video. Get as many people as possible to watch at least three seconds of it.
Target audience: A broad audience, like anyone who engaged with the artist brand in the past year and lookalike audiences.
Objective: Reach as many people in this audience as possible.
Intended behaviour: Get them to stop scrolling and show interest.
Metric for success: We measure this by looking at three-second video views.
Creative: A short, catchy video that hooks people in the first three seconds.
Copy: Engaging text that adds to the video experience.
Layer 2: Retargeting campaign
Next, we target the folks who watched the first video for at least three seconds with a second ad.
Target audience: People who watched the first video for at least three seconds in the past week.
Objective: Drive actions like clicks or sales.
Intended behaviour: Get them to buy something.
Metrics for success: CPC or CPA.
Creative: I primarily use still images, such as photos, and occasionally display them in a carousel format.
Copy: More direct, like “Get your tickets now at..”
This layered strategy has been super effective for me in promoting shows, tours, and (virtual) merch.
Yes, but..
The success of social advertising campaigns depends heavily on the quality of their creative assets. The great thing about this strategy is that success is clear-cut: the video should grab attention in the first three seconds.
The second layer might have some measurement challenges. Without third-party cookies, attributing sales directly to the campaign is challenging. Also, a bad landing page can stall people in the funnel. It’s better to focus on and report campaign performance based on clicks rather than sales in these cases.
Take action now
Artists can brainstorm ideas and create a multi-layered strategy for their upcoming campaign.
Your thoughts
We’re eager to hear your experiences and insights on today’s topic. Join the conversation and engage with hundreds of artists, creators, and industry professionals in the comments.
Further reading
Should artists run ads? (The Fanbase Builder)
Improve short-form videos with creative strategies (The Fanbase Builder)
Four steps to strategically improve artist campaigns on Meta (The Fanbase Builder)
How artists can lower the costs of their ads (The Fanbase Builder)