Week 3 - MKTG 347 - Music Promotion Tips With Social Media

Choosing a social media can be difficult for a band/musician. They must keep in mind that certain platforms have different kinds of audiences. Facebook is about creating a diverse community experience, Twitter is all about quick, short posts in real-time, and Pinterest is about creating themed photo boards. However, no matter what platform you choose (maybe even multiple ones), there are three elements you need to include. These are: brand image, band bio with website link, and common purpose.

People want to see consistency when it comes to an image. If you use a red and black color scheme on Facebook, do the same for all of your social media pages. Also, the banners and background should have a similar look to them. You do not want to confuse your fans with contrasting content. By keeping things similar, you will create a recognizable style with your social media.

Your band bio should also be on your website. The website should also be linked with your social media pages. If your band does not have a website, take some time to work on one. Consult with some help on creating one if you need to, because your website should be your central hub for your online presence.

(example of band website with social media links)

Finally, you need to know what your purpose is. Are you trying to sell CDs? Are you promoting new material and merch? Are you finding and building a fan base? Whatever your goals are, they need to be implemented across all your social media networking platforms.

Week 2 - MKTG 347 - Band Presence on Facebook

Facebook is known as the flagship social media format when it comes to bands. If you have a band, you probably have a Facebook for that band. In today's media world along with the expenses bands have, Facebook is great way to generate fans for your band for free (if you can market your band the right way). Sure, you can pay to boost your band page or a specific post, but there are other options.

One of the key ways bands can use Facebook is to connect with other bands. Just how opening for a bigger band can help boost your fan base, networking with other bands can work the same way. You can see if other bands would be willing to post one of your new songs or a new line of merch you just released. You may have to do the same for them, but overall it's a great, cheap way to get your band name out there.

Probably one of the best advice for bands would be to post about anything and everything. As a band, fans look up to them for not only what they create, but what they think about any topic. Think of it like this, your lyrics reflect a certain story or opinion, posts can do the same. Post something crazy or controversial. You're a band, it's what you do.

Week 1 - MKTG 347 - Know Your Audience

Digital marketing in social media is a great tool to get a product, service, event, or anything else out to the public. However, when advertising or promoting a page, it is essential to know who your audience is. What do they like? What do they have in common? How specific or broad should the message be when promoting? I run into these same questions and concerns when promoting my band page on Facebook.

We usually promote our page when we have some new material out or if we are announcing a show. With that, we have two options. We can either promote the page or the direct post. It all comes down to how important the individual post is for us. Another key point is knowing who you want to promote to. What kind of fans can we promote to that would not only like our music but might actually buy our music/merchandise and come to shows? We are a hard rock band, so for us, we want to target actual fans of that style of music. If we chose to promote to fans of a super huge rock band, we may not get the results we want because a lot of people may like a few songs by that band and may not fully like everything they offer. Instead, we target other bands fans who have a tighter following. That way, we get to the more hardcore fan of that genre.

Band Page Layout