Pros and Cons of Facebook musician/band page for composers?

[zircon]

Deb is absolutely and 100% correct on everything.

I will add that while the ultimate goal of social media is, essentially, to sell more albums and make more money, you cannot view FB/Twitter/YT as strictly promotional vehicles. Nobody likes spam. Really, nobody. So don't just use your Facebook page to talk about yourself. You need to ENGAGE people - social media is a two-way street. You want to encourage discussion; ask questions, ask for opinions, ask for feedback. You also don't JUST have to talk about your artist persona, imo. While I wouldn't get into religion or politics, it's fine to ask people, say, what they think about some other artist, or movie, or soundtrack, or whatever.

In other words, don't look at social media as a way of you pushing a message or announcement on to people (though it can be used for that, in part.) Look at it as a way of making public conversation and engaging your audience.

[Casey H]

A lot of good points all around...

What I was trying to say is social media and internet presence should compliment other more traditional networking activities and not replace them. I think there is a tendency nowadays to throw stuff up on the internet and that's all... Or make a lot of on line friends and fans but not go further.

Our own mazz (John Mazzei) is a good example. He has on-line and social media presence, but also makes sure he attends important conferences like Game Developers, ASCAP Expo, the Taxi Road Rally, and others.

Casey

[coachdebra]

I completely agree Casey. The foundation of niche marketing is figure out who your niche is, find out where they're hanging out and get in front of them in every way you can.

I also think that Social Media can't replace traditional internet marketing - you must have your own website. And remember, when it comes to online marketing:

Content is King. Engagement is Queen.

It's not enough to just be jumping up and down, shouting - look at me, look at me.

You have to provide entertaining and interesting content (over and beyond your high quality product) AND connect authentically with your target market.

[Hookjaw Brown]

Deb

I like that, "Content is King, Engagement is Queen". In chess the Queen is a pretty powerful piece of the game!

[Casey H]

Content is King. Engagement is Queen..

Great song lyrics! Or maybe these were in a song by Yes, years ago?

Lots of good advice here, Deb

Casey

[kevinmathie]

Thanks, everyone, for all the great replies. You've given me lots to think about!

[Kazak]

Kevin:

I hope it's not too late to add my two tenges

I have a regular profile on Facebook that I keep private, only family & friends & a few others. However I am like you, I also have my own personal website, I'm on Myspace, Twitter and on iTunes. Last year I started trending on Myspace & went from 350 "friends" to almost 35,000 within a few months. I had a hard time responding to all the messages I received, but I spent hours doing it. During that period my music sold well on Myspace, in Amazon MP3s & via iTunes. It showed me the power of big exposure because I did get contacted by several A&R people & a few music libraries.

So I believe it's very important to have an overall presence on the internet, but realize it will always change & some of these sites will become more or less relevant in the future. Personally I would rather spend my time working on the music, it feels more real. The rest of it can seem artificial.

Alicia

[ottlukk]

Alicia: How did you get that exponential jump in fans? If it was a single tune, I'd love to hear it. Ott

[Kazak]

Hey Ott:

The 3 singles I last released were the ones that sold. However, I think when my name flashed on the main screen, I became popular with
the little 14 year old girls in the Philippines and Brazil I am a "safe" person for these little girls to add as a friend, and my permission was no longer required to accept friends. I believe Myspace chose me to promote.

Now the Myspace main page, doesn't show "undiscovered artists" trending on the home page & the music doesn't play automatically in our profiles.

Alicia

[Tim_Behrens]

Just wanted to point out that Google+ is quickly becoming a good place to have a presence. While Facebook is often oriented more towards people friending those they already know, Google is evolving more into a place where you can network with people who have similar interests. Performing Artists are getting a fair amount of exposure by sharing their music in On-Air Hangouts. I've met a number of midi composers there who were generous enough to visit with me about their process. I've also met a lot of creative types who are starting projects that need music, and have gotten a few opportunities through them.

Great thread. Lots of food for thought.