Marketing To A Mixed Audience
Indie artists tend to talk to all audiences at once, which means they are marketing to a mixed audience. As an indie there are so many things to compete for your time. They all feel important. When time is short, talking to all audiences at once feels a bit easier to manage. The trouble is, mixing audiences together is at the root of why indie artists find it so hard to build an active following of listeners. I’ll deal with that in detail in other posts, but at it’s simplest:
- Artists find it easy to build bigger lists by doing like and follow exchanges with other artists. Bad idea
- Social media algorithms instantly think you want to talk to other artists and that is who they present your posts to
- Artists suck as fans if they encounter each other as “fellow artists”, not fans
- You have already cut yourself off from your main target audience: listeners
Table of Contents
The Problem With Mixed Audiences
At first glance, having a large social media following seems like a great thing. More followers mean more people see your content, right? However, when you prioritize quantity over quality, you might end up with a mixed audience—a diverse group of followers who are interested in a range of things, but not necessarily your music.
When it comes to promoting music, targeting a specific audience is crucial. Here’s why aiming broadly can lead to issues, along with the benefits of refining your focus—and how to tailor your message for different groups.
Lack of Engagement
One of the biggest issues with a mixed audience is low engagement. If your followers aren’t genuinely interested in your music, they’re less likely to interact with your posts, stream your tracks, or attend your shows. This low engagement can be disheartening and make it seem like your efforts are going unnoticed, even if you have thousands of followers.
When people see content that doesn’t feel relevant, they’re less likely to engage. Mixed audiences often mean lower engagement rates because the message won’t match each group’s interests, meaning fewer likes, shares, and follows.
Of course, the algorithm is always watching. That means that the algorithm sees that you have a lot of exposure resulting in a lack of engagement which it interprets as low levels of interest. The net result is that the algorithm responds by showing your content to fewer people. This is clearly a problem.
At the same time, your audience will see that something is wrong too.
Inconsistent Or Diluted Brand Message
Aiming at multiple, broad audiences can make it hard to establish a clear, memorable brand. One moment, you’re promoting to indie lovers; the next, you’re trying to reach a pop audience. It can be confusing, which can lead to disengagement or worse, a negative impression of your brand.
When you have a mixed audience, it’s challenging to create content that resonates with everyone. You might find yourself catering to different interests, which can dilute your brand message. Instead of being known for your unique sound and style, you might end up being just another account in someone’s feed—easy to scroll past.
Harm to Algorithm Performance
As mentioned above, social media algorithms favor content that gets high engagement. If your posts aren’t receiving likes, comments, or shares (which is highly likely if your followers aren’t truly interested in your music), then the visibility of your content will almost certainly go down.
This means that even the followers who care about your music might not see your posts. Without even realizing it, you will have slipped into a vicious cycle of low engagement and low-performing posts.
By now, the algorithm will already have you marked as a low performer. An artificial ceiling exists on your content because it is shown to fewer people, with an expectation that it will not perform well. It is possible to break this cycle, but you will have to change your behavior and work hard so that the algorithm changes it’s expectation of your posts.
Why This Hurts Your Career
Focusing on follower count over follower quality can have serious long-term consequences for your career as an artist. If you do not care about the quality of your fans, social media algorithms will notice the consequences. Your fans might not be able to tell that it is a direct consequence of your behavior, but they will notice that other fans seem pretty unexcited by new releases and that it is particularly hard to get a decent conversation going about your music. They will interpret that as a lack of enthusiasm.
There are signals that transmit across crowds. Excitement is easy to spot. Lack of enthusiasm. Doubt. Disappointment. These might all be harder to spot, but they can kill your music career
Wasted Resources
When you market to a mixed or general audience, your ad spend, time, and effort are spread too thin, reaching people who might not care about your music. This reduces your overall return on investment (ROI) because the message may not resonate. In other words, your audience just doesn’t get it.
In all truth, we only have so much time, energy, and money. Of course, it makes sense to focus what we have on something that actually helps us, instead of squandering it.
Misleading Metrics
Mixed audiences make it harder to pinpoint what’s working. You won’t get a clear picture of who your true fans are, making it challenging to optimize campaigns or get useful insights.
A large follower count might look impressive on the surface, but it can give you a false sense of success. If those followers aren’t translating into streams, ticket sales, or merch purchases, they’re not contributing to your growth as an artist. You could end up investing time and resources into marketing strategies that don’t yield real results because you’re chasing the wrong metrics.
Missed Opportunities
Brands, promoters, and industry professionals are becoming increasingly savvy. They know that follower count doesn’t always equate to influence or fan loyalty. If your engagement is low, they might overlook you in favor of an artist with a smaller but more dedicated following. This means you could miss out on collaboration opportunities, sponsorships, and gigs that could help you advance your career.
Burnout and Disillusionment
When your social media strategy isn’t yielding the results you hoped for, it’s easy to get frustrated. Constantly chasing numbers and not seeing a payoff can lead to burnout and disillusionment. This can make you question your path and even your talent, which is the last thing any artist needs.
Let’s not underplay the importance of this. A huge number of artists reach here as a final destination. You absolutely need to be aware of what can cause it and do what you can to avoid it.
How to Build a Quality Audience
The good news is that it’s never too late to shift your focus and start building an audience that’s genuinely interested in your music. Fortunately, there are a number of safe, predictable ways to do just that. Here are some strategies to help you:
Define Your Brand and Stick to It
Your music is your brand, and it’s essential to define what makes you unique. Is it your genre, your lyrical themes, your image? Once you’ve nailed down your brand, make sure all your content aligns with it. This will help attract followers who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
A clear focus helps define your brand, making it easier for fans to remember you. Your brand starts to represent something specific, which makes people more likely to support it and spread the word.
Engage Authentically
Instead of focusing on getting more followers, focus on engaging the ones you already have. Respond to comments, ask questions, and create content that invites interaction. The more you engage with your audience, the more invested they’ll become in your journey as an artist.
When you speak directly to people who identify with your genre, themes, or persona, they’re more likely to respond, engage, and follow you. Relevant content stands out, making it easier to build a community around your music.
Authenticity is a key driver in your online presence.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key to building a loyal following. Post regularly, but make sure the content you’re sharing is valuable and relevant to your music. Whether it’s behind-the-scenes footage, new releases, or live Q&A sessions, keep your audience in the loop.
When you compare those who are successful on social media and those who are not successful, the issues around being consistent can clearly be seen. It is not “there could be a problem with this”. The evidence that not being consistent is a problem is not in question.
If you want your efforts to help you, you have to be consistent.
Target Your Audience
Use social media tools to understand who your audience is and what they like. Tailor your content to appeal to this group. You can also use targeted ads to reach potential fans who are likely to be interested in your music, rather than casting a wide net in hopes of catching a few new followers.
By focusing on a specific group, you can better control costs and avoid wasted time. You’ll be able to stretch your budget further and have a greater impact on each dollar spent on ads, press outreach, or content creation.
Narrow targeting allows you to collect meaningful data on your fans’ preferences. This helps fine-tune future releases, tours, merch, and overall brand positioning.
Collaborate Within Your Niche
Collaborating with other artists, influencers, or brands within your niche can help you reach new fans who are likely to be interested in your music. Choose partners whose audience aligns with yours to maximize the impact.
When you collaborate for a short time you will co-opt their fans. You borrow the reach of the people you collaborate with. Their fans will be introduced to you. It is up to you how they see you.
Don’t Be Afraid to Lose Followers
As you refine your brand and focus on engaging with your true fans, you might lose some followers who aren’t really interested in your music. This isn’t a bad thing! It’s better to have a smaller, engaged audience than a large, indifferent one.
How to Approach Different Target Audiences
An independent artist can have a few core audiences, each of which needs a slightly different approach. Here’s how you can adapt your messaging for each one:
- Core Fans (Genre-Loyal): These are the people who already love your genre. For them, emphasize your influences, your story, and what makes your music unique. Use language and references they’ll relate to, like talking about your creative process or stories behind the lyrics. Engage deeply and personally—think newsletter updates, early-access events, or behind-the-scenes content.
- New Potential Fans (Related Genre Fans): When reaching out to people who enjoy related genres, try bridging the gap. Talk about how your sound blends elements they’re familiar with or how it’s inspired by artists they might know. Keep the tone accessible and emphasize the relatable aspects of your music, like emotion and storytelling, while highlighting what makes you stand out.
- Industry Professionals and Media: Press, radio, and bloggers look for a compelling story, quality, and unique value. Focus on your achievements, influences, and any partnerships or notable performances. Be concise and professional, and make it easy for them to understand why you’re worth covering or adding to a playlist.
- Casual Listeners or General Public: For this group, focus on relatability and entertainment. Instead of in-depth stories, try to keep the message light and approachable—talk about what emotions your music evokes, or share visually engaging content that captures your vibe. Social media is a great place to catch their interest with reels, clips, or teasers that show the “fun” side of your artistry.
Conclusion: Audience Quality Over Audience Quantity
It’s not talked about anywhere near as often but audience quality is hugely important. Building a large social media following might seem like the ultimate goal, but it’s far more important to have a dedicated audience that’s genuinely interested in your music. By focusing on quality over quantity, you’ll not only improve your engagement but also create a community of fans who will support you throughout your career.
So, take a step back from the numbers game and start nurturing the followers who truly matter. Your music deserves to be heard by those who will appreciate it—and that’s a goal worth striving for.
By strategically tailoring your approach to each audience segment, you’ll build a stronger fan base, see higher engagement, and create a loyal following that understands and values what you bring as an artist.
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