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IIt’s no secret that online marketing is perhaps the most powerful weapon in any musician’s arsenal. It allows you to widen your reach, advertise yourself to potential new fans worldwide, and can be a massive help when booking international gigs. If you don’t have a website or at least a few social media accounts, then you’re placing yourself at the bottom of the pack, for sure!
Although this form of promotion is undeniably important, it does bring with it a few commonly unconsidered risks. Falling victim to a cyberattack can not only result in lost work, it can also significantly damage your reputation. Even a simple spam injection into a website page or email can be enough scare off potential listeners. Because of this, protecting yourself online is an essential part of marketing. These five steps are a great place to begin to ensure you and your music career are secured.
Protect yourself from harmful malware
The most common way to lose work is by contacting harmful malware, which can easily get inside your system and corrupt files. It’s also possible for these viruses to access and infect any promotional websites you might access via an infected device.
Because of this, it’s essential to make sure you have your own personal security locked down. Do your research and ensure you have a fully functioning firewall, install good anti-virus software and perform regular scans. This way, if there is a problem, you will be alerted before too much damage is caused.
Due to the many, many variations of cyberthreats out there, it’s not enough to simply protect your computer. WiFi connections are an easy way for hackers to access your data and traffic, so it’s also important to make sure you’re protected from this.
Particularly for those who update social media, check emails and upload tracks while on the go and use notoriously unsecure public WiFi networks, having a good Virtual Private Network, such as ExpressVPN, is unavoidable. This type of software encrypts your data and allows you to access the internet anonymously and securely.
For those who promote their work via their own website, a whole article could be written documenting the specific things you need to watch out for. Firstly, it’s important to be stringent when choosing platforms. Opting for a package hosting option from blog giants, such as WordPress, can be a good option as they usually have their own security set-ups in place. If you chose to host your site from an independent shared server, you may find that infiltrations are more likely to occur.
Aside from this, it’s also useful to install a few of your own plug-ins to add additional security layers. Again, WordPress is a great option for this as there are many security plug-ins designed specifically for the platform.
Social media is probably the most powerful tool for promoting your work. Shared posts and increasing follower numbers are clear signs that you’re on the right track, so nurturing this type of marketing is an essential pursuit for anyone who’s truly serious about their career.
Unfortunately, social media domains also bring their own plethora of security problems. While most sites offer comprehensive privacy settings, particularly when using the platforms to advertise work, it can be hard to find the balance between privacy and promotion. The best way to overcome this is to do some research into what’s available and find the perfect set-up for you.
No matter what you’re trying to log in to, ensuring you have strong and complex passwords is essential if you want to keep your online marketing campaign safe. The recent mandatory advances in password security have left most of us sick to our stomach with the amount of requirements involved.
While it’s definitely true that ensuring every password is unique and strong can be a bit of a nightmare that our brains simply do not have space for, this is not an excuse for sloppy password security. They are your first line of defense, and if they are infiltrated, then any other security system you have in place will become obsolete. Fortunately, if you’re worrying about remembering them all, there are many great password management plug-ins, such as LastPass, that will do the work for you.
Online security is something that is rarely considered when marketing music online, but in reality, it’s one of the most important aspects. By taking these simples steps, you can be well on your way to creating a secure and solid advertising campaign. However, if you can think about anything else that you feel should be included, then be sure to leave a comment below!
About The Author: Cassie Philips is an entertainment and online security blogger, who specializes in writing about marketing and cybersecurity tools. When she’s not getting her fill of new bands, she loves sharing the tips she’s learned throughout her career with others
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