The key to effectively managing your online reputation
Taking steps to manage your online reputation is vitally important as an artist. Your online reputation will dictate your online success and will either aid or impede your social media campaigns throughout the years. Having a positive reputation is step one to securing more listeners and fans, making it imperative to build a positive relationship with your audience online. Without a positive reputation, your brand will struggle to expand at the rate it should.
Naturally, as an artist you have no control over what others post about you, but don’t be deterred. Much of your online reputation is determined by the way you adapt and respond to negative comments. Responding with aggression is guaranteed to make the situation worse, so avoid doing this at all costs. Not responding at all neither betters nor worsens the situation, but responding and turning the comment into a positive reflection of your brand is the most desirable outcome. Be careful when responding to negative posts, it is very easy to make yourself look worse in the eyes of the masses, so always run your response past somebody else around you first.
The key with negative comments is to outweigh them with positive ones. One negative comment in a sea of positivity is lost, but a 50/50 split between good and bad comments can cause problems for your image. Therefore, the more positive discussion you can provoke around your brand the better. One way to increase positive conversation around your brand is to achieve a positive feature on a leading online blog. Many media outlets are highly reputed, making receiving a positive review highly valuable for your brand. If leading media outlets openly praise your music, listeners will soon catch on and view you as an artist to watch. Being featured also increases the legitimacy of your brand much more than your own promotions can.
Another method for encouraging positive conversation around your brand is to respond to those who praise you as much as possible. Every listener enjoys receiving a reply from an artist they admire, so responding to your fans is more than likely to provoke increased praise posted online. A response may be as simple as ‘liking’ a comment to signify that you’ve appreciated a positive message. People are far more likely to trust the opinions of others than they are to trust your marketing material, making celebrating positive comments equally as important as planning your next campaign. Genuine outcries of affection towards you and your brand are key to building a more positive online reputation.
As soon as you are receiving praise online it is important to reinforce this image across your own channels through your campaigns. It is important to decide exactly what kind of image you’d like to portray and involve this in your marketing. As part of your branding, it is vital to portray a specific personality and maintain this across your social media and beyond. Having a specific brand and personality that stands out in a positive way is a huge aspect of differentiating yourself from the other artists out there and can only have positive results.
For example, Don Diablo is known as a family man who is very close to his mother, an aspect of his personality that allowed many people to feel closer to him as an artist. Steve Angello has become known for his inspiring advice and unique perspective on the world, he has been able to become even more respected by his audience through his wise outlook. Dillon Francis has differentiated himself from the masses using his sense of humour, something that definitely aided in the rapid growth of his fan base. To reinforce this, he continues to share humorous social media posts on a daily basis. The result for all of these artists is increased fan loyalty and increased engagement. With so many artists trying to reach the top, making good music is no longer enough. In order to really achieve widespread success, it is imperative to have a strong brand, a unique personality, a positive reputation, and strong social media campaigns.
It is also important to remain aware of negative conversation surrounding your brand. If somebody posts a negative review of one of your tracks, you should be the first to know about it and react if necessary. A great way to do this is to set up a Google alert linked with your name, allowing you to be notified whenever you are discussed online. This will allow you to act quickly if something negative does arise and the quicker you respond to negative press in a calm and positive manner, the quicker that any reputation damage can be mended.
Overall, maintaining a positive reputation online is vital for any artist’s career. The perception of your brand online will play a huge part in the amount of support you gain throughout your career. Without a positive reputation, potential fans may be put off and your number of listeners will suffer as a result. Giving outsiders a good first impression can only result positively for your brand and can make the difference between widespread success and a more gradual journey to the top. With the right branding and positive online coverage, it is possible to give potential listeners a good first impression and peak their interest. Never underestimate the value of a positive online reputation and its ability to fast-track your career.
