Now I write a lot about personalized marketing, but I think that one of the issues with that is we often view that purely as face to face marketing when it really isn’t just that, it’s so much more. There’s a lot of weird math that you need to breakdown which can open up your options for what your band can do for you. The music industry can be a surprisingly easy thing if you take your time and look at how you like to get marketed thing. You need to look at things from a variety of perspectives and have a realistic view of yourself. This is why figuring out a plethora of ways to capitalize on personal interactions is going to be able to launch your band to a new level. The key to remember is that at a low level no one cares about you, so if you can become a part of a greater scene then you will start to find a better future for your work.
Look at it this way, if you are trying to promote your band you can either go out and buy a ton of likes or do a huge sponsored post that targets a bunch of fans of ‘rock’ music but how much of that would actually convert? Sure you can tell yourself ‘maybe some people will legitimately fall in love with the music but we all know the amount of effort expended and the money spent isn’t really wort it. You’re just shooting yourself in the foot because it makes any social media following you have seem illegitimate which in turn makes promoters, labels and agents paranoid about working with you. But as much as I might make it seem like this is all nihilistic social media is still a great way to reach out to people. Before I go on, also realize that sponsored posts are a key part to any social media plan, but also be aware that they are not the be all and end all. Rather they are another part of a larger plan that you need to put together.
When it comes down for it it’s all about creating personal relationships with people by following them on Twitter, commenting on Instagram and generally engaging people directly. You are going to get a lot farther by being a nice guy on Facebook then you are by doing a bunch of sponsored posts. The people who dominate in this scene are the ones who realize that they need to interact with one potential new fan every day and one band they could work with every day. This is a lot simpler than I’m making it sound too. A lot of the time it’s as simple as adding a band member on Facebook and telling them their music is sick. Hell – even just commenting on a few of their posts will probably get them to check you out. For example, I made all of my connections by writing literally thousands of reviews, now it has paid off dividends in my favors because I was able to become a part of a greater thing.
I think that when you are devising your social media strategy you need to realize a few key aspects of how underground music scenes tend to work. First of all – pretty much everyone involved isn’t trying to be a professional musician. Now I know that seems obvious but consider that the next time you put out an ad or try to figure out how to make you band big. Most people are in this because they want to make friends and become a part of something greater. They are not trying to figure out the most ‘professional presentation’ whatever the hell that means. Now that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t present yourself professionally but it also means that you need to approach people in a way that is actually going to make things happen. You’re often not going to get very far by sending a wordy email with lots of links. But if you send a simple “Hello” after adding someone as a friend you have a much higher chance of getting a response that ends up being productive.
Be aware that reaching out directly to fans is usually very different from reaching out to bands, unless of course you operate in a scene where most people are musicians. It’s tricky reaching out to people personally because it’s hard to tell how engaged they are in the scene. On the one hand there is a lot of potential with fans who view musicians as rock stars because they like the personal outreach. This is often helpful for pop music where the fans, especially on the entry level tend to be a little more naive. On the other hand though you need to be careful to not talk down to people because it’s entirely within the realm of possibility that they are far more deeply involved in th scene then you are so you being a condescending dick will fuck you over. That’s why the cult of the rock star needs to die because in a world where no one has any influence then those with even a smidgen of it become gatekeepers for us all. The thing is – once you get the bite THEN you blow them away with good content and professionalism. But getting that bite isn’t going ot happen becaus you paid someone.
At the end of the day – early on you’re only going to be playing for your friends. But that’s how you prove your worth, by being god enough that people who openly admit to liking you come out to see your music. Obviously you want to make as many friends as possible for this sort of thing because you are going to want to be a part of a greater collective. You need to go out an contribute in a way that is actually valid and isn’t just self serving bullshit. The folks who understand that this attitude needs to also extend to social media with developing personal relationships and remaining a friendly and positive contributor to the music are the ones who are going to find a way forward. If you can’t embrace this then things will go south fast.
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