Creative artists are sustained by their fans, but it can be difficult to identify which fans are merely along for the ride and which ones are actually paying for the art they’re enjoying.

Today’s mobile technology is changing that. With mobile marketing and tracking capabilities, the artist can now not only interact directly with fans in a convenient, accessible way, but also easily discern who the most engaged, paying fans are and tailor marketing efforts to reach these fans.

The Challenge

Creative artists need fans—patrons—to support their art. However labeled, it is marketing that exposes prospective fans to art and engages them in the artist’s work. Prior to digital technology, artists were limited to traditional marketing methods such as word of mouth, print advertising, radio, television (if affordable), events, or promotional swag.
 
On its own, traditional marketing has a critical disadvantage: results of marketing efforts are not easily measured, and in some cases cannot be measured at all. Traditional marketing is also static, which means that there is no way to truly interact with the audience. It’s more like throwing information in front of people and hoping they’ll decide to take action.
 
The Internet brought new digital marketing techniques such as websites, banner advertising, and social media. Though a step in the right direction, with the ability to track clicks and referring links, these methods still often lack the one-on-one, personalized interaction needed to truly understand a fan’s level of engagement and make them feel heard, included, and valued.
 
The Solution

Mobile marketing, a subset of digital marketing, is now changing the landscape to the advantage of the creative artist. In contrast to traditional marketing and other forms of digital marketing, mobile technology gives the artist the distinct advantage of precisely identifying which individual fans are most engaged, and to what level, while facilitating direct dialog between artist and fans. Not only does this give the artist a good sense of whom they’re reaching out to and what the results are, but it also fosters loyalty, relationship, and purchases among fans. This identifying and nurturing of fans leads to the creation of superfans, the ones who will support the artist’s work with both their enthusiasm and their wallets.

Mobile Technology in Action

Digital marketing gives the artist the ability to interact with a nearly unlimited audience. Mobile marketing takes this a step further, with an infrastructure that qualifies and categorizes fans based on their level of engagement; fans who support the artist with purchases can now be distinguished from casual admirers and catered to individually.

 
Mobile communication has other advantages as well:

·       Mobile phones are everywhere—virtually the entire planet is connected, with more than 5 billion people owning mobile phones.

·       The number of mobile phones in use has surpassed televisions . . . and toothbrushes.

·       Mobile phones are always at hand—more than 90% of US citizens are reported to have their mobile phones within reach 24/7, and the phones are usually on.

·       A full 80% of Internet users use smartphones.

·       Text messaging apps are the most widely and frequently used smartphone apps, with 97% of Americans texting at least once a day.

·       Text messages have a 98% open rate and a 45% response rate, while email has only a 20% open rate and a 6% response rate. The average person responds to an email in 90 minutes, and to a text message in 90 seconds.

·       Mobile phone numbers are uniquely associated with individuals, not just addresses.

This last point is critical: fans who engage with creative artists on their phones can be identified individually. When fans opt into a mobile marketing platform, they willingly and voluntarily provide information which is included in all their future interactions. Their activity can be precisely measured, providing an engagement score that is unique to each individual.

Add to this the strict regulations on unsolicited text communication. Whereas email is rife with spam messages, mobile users know they are usually receiving only what they have opted into. Fans positively respond to text marketing because they have chosen to receive these messages—which translates into a higher response rate.

The Ideal Marketing Mix

Mobile doesn’t stand alone or replace current fan acquisition activities. Traditional and especially digital marketing techniques continue to provide results for creative artists actively engaging their fans. Digital marketing, including artist websites and social media pages, are great for aggregating a fan base. From here, fans can be prompted join the artist by texting a designated number which opts them in to receive engagement texts.

An effective mobile marketing platform will perform CRM-like services, including text in, text out, fan database management, and engagement tracking. As the fan base grows and more is learned about individual fan interactions, the fan base can be segmented down by engagement activity, location, demographics, preferences, and other details the fans have shared about themselves. Marketing messages to these fans becomes more personal and targeted, motivating purchase actions from the most engaged fans.

Adva Mobile Makes It Happen

Adva Mobile serves creative artists with a mobile marketing technology and services platform. Creative professionals come to Adva Mobile to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunities available from the mobile ecosystem, to identify and engage with the fans that support their art with purchases.