Calling all music lovers! Whether you’re a musician or an event organizer booking local talent, putting on a successful concert is no small feat. Crafting an unforgettable show is just the first step; the next is to master your music event promotion and get as many people into your concert venue as possible! Not to mention, there are a variety of marketing channels you need to tap into to ensure a packed house. But rest assured – we’ve got some extremely effective tips to help you sell out your next concert!

Now that you've got your next concert booked, it's time to sell tickets and gain new fans! When it comes to promoting your upcoming show, it's important to find a mix of marketing strategies that works best for the audience members of your genre and of the music venue. As the music industry constantly evolves, you’ll need to adapt your approach in order to draw in more fans year after year. Now, let's dive in!

1. Pre-plan your approach

To effectively promote a concert, start by setting clear goals and objectives to guide your event planning efforts. Determine what you hope to achieve, whether it's selling a certain number of tickets, raising awareness about your band's latest album, or growing your brand and your audience. Next, develop a comprehensive promotion plan that outlines what marketing channels you'll want to tap into and how.

This plan should include a timeline, target audience, key messaging, and channels you will use to reach your audience, such as social media, email marketing, and local radio stations. In this early phase, you'll need to evaluate your marketing budget (if you have one) and how to allocate those funds to the different aspects of your concert promotion plan. Proper budgeting will give you the opportunity to maximize your chances of success.

2. Build your best ticketing page

This is where you’ll hook people in! Make your ticketing page as enticing as possible to encourage people to buy tickets once they land here from all your other marketing efforts. Include an event description with the location, bios of the performers, and all the important event information that the venue owners would want attendees to know (e.g., parking, when doors open, any age restrictions). Add links to the artists’ music so people can listen, and embed videos on your ticketing page to make it even more engaging! This footage could be of their latest music video or live videos of the act's best moments at other concerts, giving customers a glimpse into how awesome your concert is sure to be.

3. Blast it on social media platforms

Social media marketing is extremely powerful in the music business! The key is to use your social media pages to attract people near the concert venue, tapping into tools like Facebook advertising and location tags on Instagram stories to target people who live nearby.

Post engaging videos!

Creating video content, especially of fun moments from past shows, can really get attendees excited for what's coming next. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are perfect for this. Building promo videos around the show dates offers a fresh way to invite people to your event.

If you're promoting concerts while in the local area, make videos experiencing the sites and community around the venue. Share a stitch or use a local spotlight video to highlight what you're looking forward to experiencing at the show when you're in town. As the band, you could also post updates leading up to the concert and create content around just how epic the live music will be. When you make and post videos, make sure to encourage people to purchase tickets to your concert event! Tag the venue, artists, and any sponsors so each of them can share it with their audiences as well. And don't forget to use location-based hashtags!

Take full advantage of your Facebook event

Make sure to post on all your social media accounts, but remember that using Facebook for your concert marketing offers some unique ways to spotlight your upcoming events! First, you'll need to create your Facebook business page if you haven't already. Then, create a dedicated Facebook event page for your concert, and send it out to your followers so they can RSVP. That way, their friends will see that they're going and they'll want to go too (thanks FOMO!). Don't forget to post in local music-related Facebook groups for more visibility from fellow live music lovers.

Tap into digital ads

If you have a marketing budget, you can run paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok that target specific geographic regions and music interests. It's important to allocate some budget for retargeting too since most people won’t buy tickets the first time they see your ad. Make sure your ads meet two criteria: the audience should live near the venue and have some prior knowledge of you, like watching a music video you posted. You might also consider using Google Ads to drive traffic to your website, focusing on keywords such as “folk music near me.”

4. Tap into your email list

Whether you’re a venue coordinator or an artist, it’s important to build a strong following beyond just your social media presence. Your email list is a key way to do that. After all, these are the fans who are most invested in your story! Start by collecting people's emails on your own website through a sign-up form, and gather their zip codes too so you can segment your list based on location. Then, when you have a show nearby, you can email them to get them excited and encourage them to buy tickets.

To help grow your mailing list, offer incentives for people when they sign up, like a free sticker or song download. Consider doing a regular newsletter to keep your audience engaged with the latest news from your band or venue! Be sure to include a list of your upcoming gigs and remind them to get tickets. You can send personalized email invites or even send emails directly through TicketLeap.

5. Leverage local SEO

As you book each show, keep your website up-to-date with all your concert details — it’s a great way to boost your engagement with the power of SEO! If you're wondering what SEO is, it stands for Search Engine Optimization. This involves making improvements to your website, including by adding local keywords and phrases to help you easily appear in search results. That way, when people search for your band or are just looking for a cool concert near them, you’ll show up!

On top of your website, don’t forget to update your tour dates on Spotify as well. It's also a good idea to create a concert listing on local event directories and use third-party website integrations like Bandsintown or Seated. Finally, consider connecting with local influencers, event podcasts, and local websites to spread the word about your concerts.

6. Market your show in person

In addition to promoting your concert online, there are plenty of ways to market your concert in person to drive even more ticket sales!

Create & post eye-catching flyers

Once you've launched your ticketing page, you'll want to create physical flyers that include a QR code on it linking directly to your event page for easy access. You'll want to use large fonts, bold colors, and impressive images on your flyers to grab people's attention as they walk past. Once you've created your eye-catching flyers, distribute them in nearby communities, especially in locations close to the venue itself. This could include coffee shops, universities, and local businesses (with their permission of course!). Don't forget to leverage local event listings and community boards too.

Recruit a street team

One effective way to market your concert is to create a "street team" to hand out flyers, stickers, and other promotional materials for your upcoming event. This team can target high-traffic areas, popular local spots, and other live events where potential concert-goers are likely to be. Consider recruiting volunteers by offering them free admission, backstage passes, or exclusive merchandise in exchange for their help. With the help of your concert promoters, you can create a buzz and significantly boost attendance at your concert.

Promote at other local shows

For artists, make sure to promote your concert at other events or gigs you might also have in the area. Take some time during your setlist to mention your next round of shows and where fans can find more information (e.g., your website, on social media). This is the perfect opportunity since the audience is already listening to you and loving what they’re hearing! Additionally, consider booking a local opening act to draw in their audience as well as your own, especially if they're in the same genre. This way, they can also promote your show at their gigs too!

Get local businesses involved

Want to take your concert marketing a step further? Try asking local organizations for help! More specifically, research if there are any local arts communities you can tap into. Ask if they’ll give your upcoming events a shoutout, share your concert on their newsletters or in a blog post, and add your concert in the program for their shows. Also, have the sponsors of your venue or event spread the word about your upcoming concert too, and consider letting them give away some tickets to loyal customers in their audiences.

7. Get the local media involved

You can get great exposure through TV appearances on local news and lifestyle shows, along with being featured on news websites, alternative publications, or blogs. Consider writing up a press release about your upcoming concert to share with all the media outlets as well. It's also super helpful to have an electronic press kit (EPK) from the musician or band to share along with your sample article detailing your concert. Shoutouts on TV and radio are awesome too. So, reach out to local music stations and podcasts, and they might even do ticket giveaways on air!

Bonus tips on concert promotion!

Looking for another effective strategy or two to promote concerts you've got coming up? We've got a bonus round of tactics for you to test out!

• Host a ticket giveaway on social media, where people tag 2-3 friends they'd like to go with to your concerts to be in the running for some free tickets (and maybe even a meet & greet with the band!).

• Throw a contest for people to create their own TikToks, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts using the band's latest song. Pick your favorites, and give them free tickets to your next concert near them as their prize!

• To encourage people to act fast, try using discounts on tickets for exclusive promotional campaigns.

• Engage with local influencers to help spread the word and generate buzz around your concert.

It’s your time to shine!

Now you know how to advertise a concert! As we talked about, you’ll want to tap into a wide range of channels, from email marketing to in-person tactics, to ensure you bring in as many fans to your next live show as possible. Plus, understanding how to promote a concert on social media effectively will be essential to reaching an even wider audience. For the record, you don’t have to brave this journey alone. TicketLeap is here to equip you with all your concert’s ticketing needs and can help with your promotion strategy too. After all, a ticket is the gateway to your next amazing concert experience!