A lot can be said for the use of social media by bands these days.
Website tools like myspace, facebook, twitter etc have definitely made an impact on emerging bands and their ability to network and reach new fans. The internet dramatically shortens the distance, and bands can access fans they normally wouldn’t get to show their music to.
However, bands can’t just rely on this one marketing tool to get known.
There’s still the hard yards to do manually, which a lot of bands these days neglect, and then wonder why no-one’s turning up to their shows.
You can’t just put up a myspace page with one or two demos on it and expect to get hits and gigs straight away.
Bands need to network, not just over the internet, but face to face at gigs. Go to another band’s gig and see what kind of reaction they get from the crowd, and how big it is. Talk to the band members, and don’t be a tool about it. If they’re keen, they’ll help you out by putting you in a support slot. This means you will then have access to a new fan-base, and interest can possibly grow.
Also, self-merchandising is ideal. You don’t have to go all out, but at least have badges and stickers to either sell or hand-out at gigs. T-shirts can be expensive at times, but do you research and should be able to get some good deals. If no-one in the band has an artistic talent, then maybe hold a competition for fans to design the shirt. This promotes fan/band interactivity.
Also, don’t overcharge for shirts if you’re a band just starting out. Make your money back, and a little bit more, and that’s it. Charging $30 for a shirt that cost you $15 is just getting greedy. You’re trying to establish/broaden a fan-base, so make it attractive.
If you start to develop a larger fan-base, start up a street team. These guys act like cheerleaders, but more importantly, they help with poster runs and other promotional activities…just don’t abuse their loyalty.
There we go, some fairly easy ideas. Keep the social media going, just don’t use it as the only marketing tool you have.
Tags: Bands, promotions, Public Relations, social media, street team
