One of the basic, irrefutable truths of all marketing techniques is that you must offer something above and beyond what you customer expects. Like it or not, your band’s marketing campaign needs to utilize the same basic marketing concepts as almost every other major company and brand out there and that includes providing something that your “customer” or listener in this case, does not expect.

With the advent of online music promotion, this has become slightly harder - mostly because people expect so much from their bands. They expect to find a regular yourbandname.com address, a MySpace profile, an updated blog, free music to listen to, and endless information about you and your band. For that very reason though, you cannot be content to simply provide what everyone else does - you must go above and beyond the norm and make your band stand out.

Asking for Help

So, what can you do to be different that every other band with a cable modem and a digital camera has not already done? It starts by knowing your audience. You probably know your audience better than anyone else. You see them every week at your shows and sell them t-shirts or CDs. But, do you really know what they want and what they expect from you?

The answer is likely no and the best way to remedy the situation is to remain in contact with them and simply ask the question, “what do you want to see from us?” The Internet has so many different mediums and tools available for free now that you would be downright surprised by just how many ideas they might come up with for you, and it starts with the simplest ideas.

Thinking in New Ways

The next best thing you can do is to stay aware of the various tools at your disposal. Look for new Web 2.0 services and social networks that offer services few other bands are taking advantage of, use existing services to try something new, or work on creating an entirely new approach to how people view a basic profile.

To properly sell your product - the music you make - you must be willing and prepared to think outside the box. Ask yourself questions about what a YouTube series of home videos would do for your band’s popularity versus a regular blog. How can you use a podcast to be creatively interactive with your fans rather than just loading music on to your profile?

Not only do these extra methods make you more creative than your contemporaries, they make you stand out. If someone looks at 12 different band profiles in one day and sees that only of them infuses a Twitter stream and has multiple home made videos attached to it, they will likely remember that one first and foremost and your goal, especially in the crowded field of bands on MySpace and other social networks is to be remembered.

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