Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band’s Shows

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Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band’s Shows

There are 1.7 billion people on Facebook and, most likely, you are one of them.

Facebook has become more than just a means to keep up with your best friend from high school or a way to say “hi” to your aunt without actually having to call her. You can actually use this world-wide platform to post your upcoming gigs or create event notifications about your next tour.

Facebook Events is making it unbelievably easy for musicians to spread the word and promote their music. All it takes is a few minutes to set up an event and all of your friends and followers know where you will be playing on Friday night. They can then share the event with their friends, let you know whether or not they will be there and even buy tickets. In this post, we’ll walk through the process of using Facebook Events to promote your band’s shows. We’ll cover setting up an event and explain some of the lesser known features.

First, you need to log in to Facebook. Once you’re there, click on Events in the left menu of your News Feed. Here you’ll see a list of upcoming events that you’ve been invited to, and even some that are happening around your area. This is a cool feature to note because it means your event may be shown to people you aren’t connected with. Use the blue Create an Event button to get started.

Let’s walk through the process.

Getting Started

You’ll want to make sure you are posting a public event. After all, you’re trying to get people to come out!

Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band's Shows - Public Event
Create a public event.

You’ll also want to make sure you’re using your Band’s Facebook page as the host.

Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band's Shows - Host
Use band Facebook page as Event Host.

Basic Info

This should include a great photo (you can also use videos), title, start date/time, and the venue.

Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band's Shows - Basic Info
Basic info includes your photo, event name, and location.

Facebook limits event names to 64 characters and doesn’t allow you to use symbols in the name. Try to make this as attention-grabbing as possible to avoid being passed over in others news feeds.

When choosing the event photo, stick with your event theme here. If you can’t find the picture of yourself looking like a young version of Bob Dylan, add a cool picture of the event venue or an Instagram post of some fans enjoying your music. Just remember that your event page will be viewed by people on both phones and desktops, so Facebook currently recommends your photo to be 1920×1080 pixels (16:9 ratio) or larger with little or no text. Have a gallery you want to add? No problem, you can always add additional photos and/or videos to your event page later.

You’ll definitely want to add the location of your event so your followers will know where to show up. Make sure to add the name of the venue if possible. Facebook also allows you to add a map and directions so the more specific the better.

Details

The details area of the event should go a little more in-depth. This is your chance to really “sell” people and convince them to come out. Here, you’ll also want to add if there’s a cost, or cover to get inside the venue. The category is most likely going to be “Music”, and your keywords will be pretty standard as well. Just make sure you choose something that is portrays your sound well.

Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band's Shows - Details
Use the details area to explain what people can expect, and why they should come out to the show.

Tickets

Facebook gives you a chance to send people to a ticket page directly from the event. If the show is free, you can either leave the field blank, or link users back to your website.

Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band's Shows - Tickets
If your show is free, consider adding a link to your website.

Options

There’s now an option to add Co-hosts to events, which can be a great idea to double down on event promotion. If the venue has their own Facebook page, you can add them here. You can also add your personal profile, booking agent’s page, and other band members to reach the folks who don’t follow the band’s page.

Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Band's Shows - Options
You can add several co-hosts to the event, which will boost its visibility.

The rest of the options are up to you, but I’d recommend allowing people to comment and build buzz, as well as see who else is expecting to attend.

That’s it! Just click ‘Create’ (or schedule it to post later) and you are ready to start spreading the word on your upcoming event. Invite people you know, share your event on your news feed and post updates and stories to keep your event relevant. You can even use Facebook’s Go Live feature to stream video of the event in real time for people who couldn’t make it out. And of course, you’ll want to take the time to post a special thank you message after the event has wrapped up.

Recap:

  1. Be sure to create a public event.
  2. Come up with an attention grabbing event name/headline.
  3. Add a slick looking photo or video that can stop someone mid-news feed scroll.
  4. Tag the event’s location so people know where you’re playing.
  5. Set the proper date and time.
  6. Add a description letting people know what to expect and why to come out.
  7. Link to the URL for purchasing tickets, or your own website if it’s a free event.
  8. Tag co-hosts like the venue, booking managers, your personal profile, and band mates.
  9. Keep building buzz as the event draws closer. Add videos, comments, photos and more.
  10. If possible, have someone update the event page as you’re on stage. Facebook gives you the opportunity to live stream for those folks who couldn’t make it out. This may be what convinces them to attend your next show.
  11. Say thank you after the event is over to let your followers know how much you appreciate their support.

Have you had luck using Facebook Events to promote your band’s shows? Let us know in the comments.