Part 1: Digital and Social Media Marketing for Music Industry’s A-Listers with Cassie Petrey, Co-Founder and CEO at Crowd Surf
Episode Summary:
Cassie Petrey, Co-Founder and CEO of Crowd Surf, joins Tejas Mehta and explains how her passion for the Backstreet Boys drove her to a career in Digital and Social Media Marketing for artists like the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Camila Cabello. Cassie wants Crowd Surf to be a one-stop shop for all digital needs of the artists, including website management, social media and content management, email strategy, and digital PR. She wants to use social media to forge a tighter artist-audience relationship through release-week campaigns, exclusive content, and direct access. Cassie believes that artists should post content that connects with the audience without worrying about the numbers. The numbers will follow as long as the content is for a purpose and from the heart.
Key Highlights:
- 01:16 – 06:10 – Cassie’s backstory and baby steps in digital and social marketing. Cassie’s journey started with her passion for the Backstreet Boys and evolved into a full-fledged career in digital and social media marketing for musical artists. Along the way, she worked with local bands in and around Nashville and did a two-year stint at Warner Music, where she was in charge of New Media. From the early days of using Myspace to promote local talent, she has come a long way to managing the A-listers in the music industry.
- 06:20 – 07:13 – The stars align and technology advances foster the evolution of digital marketing. The development of technology from AOL to Myspace and Social Media platforms was well-timed for Cassie. It enabled her to adapt to the changes early and develop her business. Being an early adapter gives her a leg up today in her business, and she is regarded as a pioneer in combining artist management with digital and social media marketing.
- 07:29 – 09:23 – The nuts and bolts of Crowd Surf. Crowd Surf is a digital marketing agency that handles all the digital needs of artists. Its competitive edge lies in being a one-stop solution and offering services across the artists’ digital and social media needs. The artist doesn’t need to look for multiple vendors to cover the bandwidth of their digital needs. Crowd Surf offers services in social media management, calendaring, digital advertising, and PR.
- 09:30 – 15:45 – The secret sauce for signing A-list talent. Unlike the corporate world, where cold pitching is the norm, the music industry works on word-of-mouth publicity. In fact, cold pitching is looked down upon in the music industry. The secret sauce is to start with small gigs and do each gig to the best of your effort so that you start building a reputation. Cassie mentions how she got a break with Britney Spears thanks to a referral from a digital consultant who was working with Britney Spears. Her break with Backstreet Boys came when she was invited on stage at one of their shows and the conversations she had with them after the show.
- 18:36 – 19:50 – Myth-busting – Social media for the music industry is more challenging than traditional industries. The fact is that social media teams for music artists are smaller and more agile than those for large corporations. The social teams for large corporations suffer from the phenomenon of too many cooks in the kitchen, and this often dilutes the messaging. Social teams for artists are small and tightly knit, and the focus is on creating and putting out content that engages and connects with the audience.
Part 2: The Art of Crafting Content for Music Industry’s A-Listers with Cassie Petrey, Co-Founder and CEO at Crowd Surf
Episode Summary:
Cassie Petrey, Co-Founder, and CEO of Crowd Surf joins Tejas Mehta and walks us through the content creation process for artists in the music industry. She mentions that different artists have different needs, and hence the role of Crowd Surf can vary from ideation all the way to editing and posting.
Key Highlights:
- 00:37 – 04:51 – Process Flow for Creating Content for Artists and Relevant Platforms
When crafting content for artists, the bottom line is different strokes for different folks. Some artists are just looking for ideation and have their own team to create the content, edit it, and upload it to different platforms. Others will leave the entire process from ideation to uploading to Cassie’s team. TikTok and Instagram are the preferred social platforms.05:11 – - 08:23 – How Artists Handle Trolls and Bullies on Social Media The negativity of trolls and bullies often creates mental health issues for artists, especially the up-and-coming artists who aren’t used to it. Cassie recommends that the artists uninstall the social media apps from their phones and only access the sites from their web browsers. This disengagement helps in keeping the negativity at arm’s length. With time the artists learn to become less sensitive and let things roll off their backs.
- 09:28 – 11:45 – Social Platforms to Watch Out For Social platforms keep evolving, but one common factor is that they all follow the bell curve. Exponential initial growth is followed by tapering of sign-ups and then a decline in following. Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter are the key platforms today, and two new platforms to look out for are Be Real and Gas.
- 16:43 – 18:13 – The Secret Sauce for Doing Social Media Right The three keywords for doing social media right are authenticity, vulnerability, and humor. Cassie suggests that if you’re trying to build a follower base on social platforms, put your game face to the side. Be real, be who you really are. The advice applies universally, irrespective of if you’re a leading artist, a global brand, or an individual trying to build your personal brand.
- 19:48 – 21:15 – Words of Wisdom for Someone Starting Out in Social Media If you’ve just joined CrossFit, you’ll not lift 250 pounds on day one. Building your strength is a gradual process, and it takes time. Similarly, building your presence on social media is a gradual and step-by-step process, and you’ll need to experiment with content that works for your audience and on the platform. The key is not to get overwhelmed by trying to achieve too much too soon.
