Social media is a great way for musicians and bands to grow their fan base and spread the word about their music. Increasing your following across the different platforms can increase your potential of booking more gigs, getting signed, and selling more merch.
Social platforms are cheap and relatively easy to use, but creating a strategy to get the most from them can be overwhelming. We’ve put together a few social media tips for musicians that will help you assess your goals, revamp your plan, and get the most out of social media.
Social media is one of the best ways for bands and musicians to connect with fans and communities on a regular basis. While Facebook continues its dominance as the most-used platform, the gap between it and others is closing. Given the fact that users share 95 Million photos and videos a day, Instagram appears to be gaining considerable ground in the social media world.
Designed to be the first mobile-only social network, Instagram found a unique way to tap into the 46 times a day the average American checks their phone. With Facebook’s acquisition, Instagram gained even more muscle behind their growth efforts. As of April 2017, Instagram had reached 700 Million active monthly users, and 35% percent of those users access the app daily.
The numbers are strong and the audience is there, so how can bands and musicians take advantage of Instagram’s growth? Let’s cover a few tactics for promoting your music on Instagram.
Imagine you’re playing a gig at a small venue. There aren’t very many people around but you can tell that those who are there are enjoying your music. After you finish your set, someone from the audience walks up and asks for your card.
A few years later you get a call from the same guy who explains that he happens to work at the White House, and he thinks the President would really like your band.
It seems like a ridiculous scenario, right? Except it’s not. That’s exactly what happened to Pat McGee back in the 90s.
Content upgrades — bonus content that people can access in exchange for their email address — are the new hot trend in email marketing and growing an email list.
There are a number of benefits of having an email list to market your music and promote yourself as a musician. Content upgrades work well because you have the full attention of the person viewing your content and thus they are more likely interested in a related freebie. This is something Seth Godin calls permission marketing.
Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers. – Seth Godin
In a previous article, we touched on how to build an email list and why you should. One key point in that article was that you need to offer something of value to your prospective subscribers. In this article, we’ll discuss how content upgrades are an effective way to provide value by rewarding fans who subscribe to your email list.
Promoting your band used to be relatively straightforward. You’d cut an album, book some tour dates, print up some flyers, put them in the hands of your ever faithful street team, and hope that people showed up to your shows to jam out and buy some merch. Then you’d pack up and do the same thing one town over.
Now, bands have the opportunity to do a lot more promoting on their own. It’s also easier than ever to create and sell products and music. It’s no longer necessary to be signed to a label or tour across the country to make a decent living in the music industry. All you need is 1,000 true fans.
When you’re working to book gigs, you’ll most likely be asked for an EPK by promoters, managers, and talent scouts. An Electronic Press Kit is basically a resume for musicians, or a way for the people interested in booking you to quickly tell if you or your band may be a good fit for their event or venue. Booking managers see tons of EPKs, so you’ll want to be sure that yours is optimized to accurately represent your band very quickly.
Here’s how to create an EPK that will get your band noticed.
So, you’re ready to start playing live shows, but don’t know how to get your band’s first gig.
Getting your first show is no easy task. You want to play live because it’s an important part of building a fanbase, but venue owners already expect you to have a fanbase to bring in. It’s a tough process for musicians to navigate.
Here are a few steps to help you land your first gig.
This is one of the most common questions among musicians. When you’re trying to do your research, all of the options and specifications can seem overwhelming. We’ve compiled an overview of the best way to make sure you hit worldwide distribution.
Your biography is one of the most important pieces of your press kit and website.
Venues, promoters, booking agents, and even journalists rely on a bands biography to help them spread the word about music and write about performers. When you consider how important a great biography is, writing one for your band can seem like a daunting task.
Here are a few ways you can take your biography to the next level.