May
9
Written by:
masterblogger
5/9/2011 7:11 AM
BY BROOKLYN ALLMAN
SOCIAL NETWORKING is the most indispensable tool that an
artist can use to maximize exposure, build a fan base,
and capture the attention of the industry. The era of
the major-label showcase that wins an artist a record
deal is pretty much over and done. Today, it’s all about
your number of Twitter followers, Facebook fans, and
YouTube views. So here are a few tips and tricks for
skyrocketing your online fan base.
Join Everything It is crucial to create a profile on
every social-networking site where users are eager
to find new music. This includes Twitter, Facebook,
Purevolume, Stickam, Formspring, Reverb Nation,
etc. Each site allows for its own style of interaction
with different types of fans. Twitter delivers frequent
updates, Formspring is a great tool for answering
individual questions, and Stickam is a live video chat
environment where fans can interact with you in
person. I’ll also let you in on a little secret: Industry
insiders often employ NextBigSound.com to compile
and track your fan base through all of the sites
you’re utilizing.
Seduce Although your music is obviously the most
important element for your success, your image is
an attention-grabber in today’s Internet-dominated
music scene. Potential fans are more likely to stumble
across one of your videos or photos before they even
hear your music, so make sure your image content is
high-quality, unique, attention-getting, and regularly
refreshed. You want people to keep visiting your site
for new content, and, hopefully they’ll stick around to
hear your tracks.
Organize You have one shot to capture potential fans
when they click on your page, so don’t blow it with
a sloppy profile. Arrange photos into albums (“Roxy
Gig, May 2010,” “Photo Shoot for Revolver magazine,
October 2010,” and so on), clearly label all videos and
songs, and make sure your biography identifies what
you’re about in less than 30 seconds.
Respond Fans don’t like to be ignored. To build up
your audience, you must reply to every comment and
message with a genuine response. Users typically
seek personal interaction when they visit a socialnetworking
profile, and if you give it to them, they
may come back again and perhaps even spread the
word about you.
Engage Posting fan contests, daily music-related
questions, or anything else that encourages people
to comment or become involved is a great way to
increase activity on your profile pages. My band will
often hold “art contests” where fans will submit edited
photos of us, as well as sketches of our band members.
Not only is this a great way to get people involved,
but, in the end, we have tons of fan-made artwork to
post and show off our dedicated audience. Another
example is when we let fans do their own cover
versions of our songs on video. Soon, we had all of
these videos of our songs floating around YouTube for
people to stumble upon.
Collaborate Reach out to other bands and artists
who are also trying to build their fan base by
doing a “status swap,” where you share links to
Facebook and Twitter pages, websites, and so on. It’s
mutually benefi cial to open up your communities
to promote each other’s gigs, songs, and videos to
potential new fans.