a couple of musicians practicing

Branding — it’s the mark you leave on someone’s imagination when they think about you, your music, your image, your story.

In the “Authentic Artist Branding Bootcamp” I talked about the advantages artists have when they know their brand and how to communicate it.

I just saw an article by Ramon Ray that gives a good overview of what you should do to build your brand. It’s targeted for the business/entrepreneurial audience, but hey, musicians are entrepreneurs, right? The same principles can apply whether you’re a public speaker or a hip hop emcee.

I’ve truncated some of Ray’s advice (so check out the original article for full details), but here are just a few of the important steps to building your brand.

Five Ways To Build Your Brand As A Musician

1.Focus on what you do.

It’s important to be clear on what the core of your personal brand is. A strong personal brand is strengthened when you enable people to narrow their focus of what you do.

2. Build a tribe.

Don’t focus on generating sales. First, focus on building your community, or building your tribe. I’m not saying you should NOT generate sales. However, building your tribe should be about building a community of followers who know, like and trust you. To build this tribe, encourage people to join your email list, like you on Facebook, follow you on Twitter and otherwise connect with you to continue the conversation.

3. Showcase your brand.

It is essential that you showcase your personal brand. You need to FEED your community. The best way to do this is through the power of social media.

4. Video brings your brand to life.

Remember, most of your tribe cannot get up close and personal with you. However, through the power of engaging videos you can get closer to and more personal with your community.

5. Get media coverage.

When the local TV affiliate, radio station, magazine or other media [covers you], it gives you credibility and amplifies your brand. This requires active outreach to get their attention, but it is well worth the time and effort.

Want to dive deeper into your own musical story and find out how to best communicate your brand to audiences and the media? Listen to the Authentic Artist Branding Bootcamp episode of the DIY Musician Podcast.