Why do you need a Google Knowledge Panel for musicians?
What is Google Knowledge Panel for musicians? It’s something that you see on the top as soon as you search for a famous artist. It’s very useful since Google collects available information about your music and just posts it there. It’s not only nice in appearance but also helps a lot if people google your name.
Many people told us that it’s impossible to “tune” Google Knowledge Panel for musicians and all you need to do as a musician is to sit tight, publish music and eventually you’ll get there. While it’s true, you still can work on a few things that will help you to speed up the process and avoid mistakes in the panel and get it look more consistent.
Anyone can do this!
The whole process will take some time as it’s not like a registering an account somewhere. Google would need to see that you’re there, you’re making music, you have an online presence. But to achieve that, you don’t need to get to Beyonce’s level. This can be done by anyone.
Be consistent with the stage name.
Decide on your stage name and use it whenever you’re creating an account on social media. Think twice because it would be difficult to change it later. Once you decide on the name (or have a few variations) – Google them. Make sure that it’s not taken on Spotify or Apple Music. If it’s taken, this might make things complicated for you because the listener would not know which profile is the correct one. The more Google Knowledge Panel for musicians knows about you, the better the result you will get in the end.
Create social media profiles everywhere.
You would need to register profiles on the biggest social platforms that Google uses as information source: Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter. Let’s walk through each one of these. You would need a google account to create all these profiles and try to use same email every time. Very important to create a business page on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Do not use your regular social media profile, think about yourself as a business and music as a job. With a business page you will be able to run ads, get followers, sell merch, etc. I know, you’d say “no one uses Facebook these days”. But you do need an account there to reach to Google’s brain and let them know about your music and existence. Separately you would need to create a Youtube channel as a musician and you can do this in the settings.
Upload your music to all major platforms.
Upload your music on all major websites. Let the world know about your music. You would need profiles on (and remember to use the same name everywhere!): Soundcloud, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, MusicBrainz).
Get your own website.
That step is very important and you need to make sure that your website name has your stage name in it. Just a simple, free one-page website is more than enough. Make sure that it’s listed in your social profiles, updated regularly and has quality photos and music content.
NELA Records can manage Google Knowledge Panel.
We understand it’s quite a lot of work and you need to be consistent as well. However, we’ll be happy to help you with any marketing needs that an Indie musician might have. Just reach out to us and we’ll be happy to discuss your goals as a musician.
Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash