In this article, we explore key strategies and insights on optimising digital marketing for the entertainment sector.
Strategic Budgeting for Marketing Success
Entertainment companies often allocate budgets when a release is imminent. This approach typically includes spending for pre-announcement hype, aggressive marketing during the release, and some post-release efforts.
While this strategy is logical, there’s a notable gap in audience development between releases. Investing in audience development ensures that an engaged audience is primed and ready for new releases, preventing a cold start when something new is announced. This continuous engagement can significantly enhance the success of subsequent releases.
The Essential Role of Content Creation
Content creation is at the heart of digital marketing for entertainment. Effective content serves as a preview of what consumers will gain if they purchase the product. It acts as a bridge, drawing audiences in and maintaining their interest, helping to facilitate engagement and remarketing opportunities.
It’s crucial to pair content with a thoughtful delivery strategy to ensure it reaches the right audience and drives desired outcomes. Captivating and relevant content moves audiences and drives the success of digital marketing campaigns.
Maximising Paid Search and Social Media Strategies
Paid Search
Though less utilised than paid social, paid search (otherwise known as pay-per-click or “PPC”) remains an important strategy. Entertainment brands should leverage branded search terms such as the film or album name or the artist’s name to ensure visibility during important product launches. Using paid search can place new releases at the top of search results, capturing audience interest and preventing confusion with competitors or scams. Paid search is also particularly useful for new projects that haven’t yet gained traction in organic search results.
Social Media Channels
Choosing the right social media platforms depends on the target audience. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram perform well due to their sophisticated ad platforms and wide demographic reach. TikTok and Snapchat are also valuable, especially for younger audiences or niche genres. The key is to align platform choices with audience demographics, ensuring that the right message reaches the right people.
Engaging with expert agencies, such as DMS, can optimise paid media strategies. Our team understands the nuances of digital marketing dynamics, ensuring systematic audience engagement and retention. We have successfully increased the reach and engagement for numerous entertainment projects by using tailored digital marketing tactics. For example, a recent DMS campaign for Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé resulted in it being the first movie in two decades to cross $20 million opening on a Thanksgiving weekend. Partnering with experts maximises returns and eliminates costly oversights, making digital marketing straightforward and effective.
Effective SEO Strategies for the Entertainment Sector
Overcoming SEO Challenges
SEO presents unique challenges in the entertainment industry, particularly with new releases. Integrating press releases with website URLs can boost organic rankings quickly. Focusing on evergreen content, like detailed artist pages, draws continuous traffic and enhances SEO effectiveness. For example, including lyrics or tracklists on artist pages can capture devoted fans and redirect them from external sites like Wikipedia.
Measuring SEO Success
Many entertainment companies overlook measuring SEO effectiveness. Key metrics such as search impressions and click-through rates are essential for gauging success. Increasing these metrics indicates growing organic traffic and improved brand visibility, which translates to more engaged audiences and better marketing outcomes.
Leveraging Email Marketing for Audience Engagement
Building a Subscriber List
Effective email marketing begins with clear sign-up paths on websites and social media. Incentives like discount codes or early access to tickets can motivate sign-ups. Subscribers should receive automated welcome series to introduce them to key offerings immediately. Maintaining engagement requires value-driven broadcast campaigns, ensuring regular communication offers exclusive benefits, thus fostering loyalty.
Engaging Subscribers
Maintaining an engaged audience requires strategic broadcast campaigns. Regular, value-driven communications keep subscribers interested, even during downtime between major releases. The goal is to ensure that being on the mailing list offers exclusive benefits, fostering a loyal and engaged audience base.
Market Segmentation and Target Audience Identification
Segmenting the Market
At DMS, we segment audiences by their familiarity with the brand or project. The three broad categories are:- Cold Audiences: These individuals are new to the brand or project and require an introduction. They are considered as cold audiences that we aim to familiarise with the brand or project and its premise.
- Warm Audiences: These are individuals who have engaged with the brand in some manner and require nurturing. You can segment them by their recent interactions, such as whether they have engaged with you in the last week or month. Retention is an important factor to consider when dealing with warm audiences. If they don’t interact with you for six to 12 months, depending on the platform, they will fall out of the warm audience and become part of the cold audience.
- Hot Audiences: These are individuals who have recently engaged with your brand, are on your mailing list, or made purchases and are more likely to convert again soon. They’re not cooling off yet.
- Attract Cold Audiences: Use strategies to draw in new fans who have never heard of your brand.
- Nurture Warm Audiences: Develop relationships and maintain attention among those who have shown some level of engagement.
- Convert Hot Audiences: Capitalise on the heightened interest of recent engagers, converting their enthusiasm into immediate sales.
These broad strategies provide a robust foundation to explore various tactics, ultimately moving audiences through the sales funnel and optimising engagement and conversions.
Understanding Consumer Behaviours
In entertainment marketing, consumer behaviours reflect broader social patterns. Audiences often rely on peers and influencers to determine their entertainment choices. This can be seen in viral trends on platforms like TikTok, where a song snippet used in a popular video can lead to millions of streams overnight. Measuring engagement metrics like video views and shares becomes incredibly valuable in this sector, providing insights into what drives audience interest and interaction.
By implementing these strategic insights, entertainment companies can harness the full potential of digital marketing, ensuring they remain at the forefront of audience engagement and market success. At DMS, we strive to make digital marketing strategies straightforward and effective, empowering our clients to focus on delivering exceptional entertainment experiences. Get assistance in creating and optimising your digital marketing strategy, book a call with our team.
