What makes buying music from a brick-and-mortar record store just feel so good? For one, you get the opportunity to connect with real-life human beings who share the same passion for music as you do. You also get the added benefit of knowing you’re supporting independent, locally owned businesses in your community. It’s a win-win!
As record store owners continue to look for new ways to drive more foot traffic to their stores and build stronger connections with their customers, they’re turning to digital and social media marketing activities to help streamline those offline and online experiences—and to keep the community growing.
From digital marketers at large enterprises to mom-and-pop pizza shops and rising TikTok influencers, creators and businesses of all shapes and sizes are using the Bitly Connections Platform to (re)imagine the possibilities and connect with their audiences and customers in new ways.
We chatted with life-long music lover, indie record store advocate, and co-founder of Record Store Day, Carrie Colliton, to learn about how she’s leveraging Bitly Link-in-bio to support independently-owned record stores around the world and bring fans, musicians, and labels together all year long.
Show your support for independent owned record stores and shop local! Visit Record Store Day to learn more and give them a follow on Instagram.
Putting the focus on community and connection at Record Store Day
Officially founded in 2007, Record Store Day’s flagship annual event celebrates the unique culture surrounding independently owned record stores, giving music fans the opportunity to connect with one another and their favorite artists all while supporting local businesses.
“This is really why we started Record Store Day in the first place. Our annual event is a celebration of everything a record store does for their community year-round.”
Taking place each year on a Saturday in April, Record Store Day’s annual event is a day for indie record stores to come together with their customers and musicians to celebrate the art of music. From special vinyl and CD releases and exclusive promotional products, to special appearances, performances, and meet and greets with hundreds of artists, there’s no shortage of promotional opportunities that help inspire customers to head down to their local store.
Thanks to the passion behind this voracious community—Carrie’s creative marketing efforts—Record Store Day has grown from less than 200 stores to over 1,000 independently owned record stores participating each year. But keep in mind, this record never stops spinning.
“Record stores aren’t going away and music doesn’t just come out one day of the year. If you aren’t finding ways to consistently get people into your store and onto your website to buy things from you, you’re only doing one part of the job. ”
Tasked with keeping a growing network of busy small business owners up-to-date while also bringing music fans the latest and greatest news about contests, events, and more, Carrie turned to Bitly Link-in-bio to simply organize and spread information to the masses.
Leading a one-person marketing band with the help of Bitly Link-in-bio
Carrie, like many others in the small business world, quickly realized the importance of using social media, email, and other digital marketing channels to keep the engagement going once customers head home from a long day of record browsing. And the work Carrie is doing by leveraging Bitly Link-in-bio on Instagram to point fans and stores in the right direction is a great example of the impact a marketing-team-of-one can have with limited resources.
“Whether it’s a new release that’s coming out or an exciting event taking place, the flow of information in the music industry is non-stop. I wanted to find a way to make it as simple and easy as possible to share news with our online community.”
Knowing attention spans are short and ease of use is key for both business owners and social media scrollers, Carrie makes sure to provide the best information sharing experiences possible at each and every touchpoint with Bitly. As a result, Record Store Day has spread the love for 1,436 indie record stores to over 1.5 million music-lovers with Bitly Link-in-bio.
Making every click count with Bitly
From celebrating new releases and album anniversaries to a record store-centric podcast hosted by author, journalist, and musician Paul Meyers (be sure to give The Record Store Day Podcast a listen), Carrie is promoting it all with Bitly Link-in-bio. Think of it like a metronome that just keeps clicking.
“Record Store Day is obviously a great day of the year, but what we’re doing is so much more than that. We’re building a community of stores, customers, labels, and musicians that we engage with and support every day of the year.”
As someone who wears many hats at work, Carrie also uses Bitly Short Links to her advantage when reaching out to stores to make them aware of new Record Store Day opportunities or even when gathering feedback and gauging interest about upcoming events.
“While I’m out of the office working on a project right now, I have an auto-reply email set up with a Bitly Short Link directing people to fill out a form to share their interest about the upcoming conference we’re putting on in the fall.”
For Carrie, it all comes down to simplifying the message. When there’s a constant stream of information to share, tailoring your communication to your audience and making it easy (and enticing) for them to click through is the name of the game.
Adding QR Codes to the mix in the future
The possibitlyties are endless when it comes to using the Bitly Connections Platform to engage with customers and communities online and in-person. And because Record Store Day so often brings together the digital and physical worlds through their marketing efforts, they’re thinking about integrating Bitly QR Codes into some of the print materials they plan on creating for their upcoming conference in New Orleans this summer.
“Instead of printing out hundreds of guides to New Orleans to pass out to attendees, we might create a handful of posters with a QR Code on them that links out to a digital version of the guide.”
Carrie is also toying with the idea of using QR Codes to creatively bring fans a bit closer to their favorite musicians as well. This type of innovative QR Code usage is music to our ears, and we can’t wait to see what Record Store Day comes up with next.
For many small businesses, creating community and driving engagement can be a challenge, but it’s one that pays off for years to come when done right. Here at Bitly, our mission is to be a catalyst for connections. With the Bitly Connections Platform, customers can shorten and customize links, create QR Codes, curate their Bitly Link-in-bio, and track performance all from one place.
Feeling inspired? Get started today or find out how other industries are using the Bitly Connections Platform to imagine the possi(bitly)ties.