Are you a Lone Star?
When using digital media to grow your music brand, it’s easy to fall victim to one of the biggest social media marketing fails – going solo with your content. Being in a band or music project does offer up stacks of content opportunities, but the more your story becomes solely about you, the less interesting it becomes for the rest of the internet.
Here are some good guidelines for creating meaningful content which connects to your brand and avoids the death knell of self-indulgence.
Chances are, your audience is going to worship the same music legends you do. Connect with them over a bit of hero worship from time to time.
Promoting artists who are essentially competing for the same airtime as you may seem counter-intuitive. But being generous with your fellow musicians by chucking a page share on your timeline here and there shows confidence in your own brand and allows you to develop a positive association with their audience as well.
Put more IRL (In Real Life) in your URL! Pics or video of you and your crew attending your local venues, art hangs or beloved dive bar sets a good example to motivate your audience to get out amongst it too. Fans can relate way more to being a punter than playing on the stage, so seeing you as one of them makes you more accessible, on their level – and human! (This satirical piece from The Onion kinda upholds the point in an Onion kinda way).
The added bonus is that you can tag venues, other bands and music associations in your posts, promoting your community and your involvement in it without it coming off as self-promotion.
Don’t be afraid to use your platform to have a social conscience. The depth and breadth of your input here will depend on what is in line with your brand, but it is certain that your loyalty to human rights will gain more favour than it could do harm.
Have you seen internet? It is hilarious! Nothing makes us feel sharier than fun videos which bring together the elements we love. And cats. And dogs, And kids singing death metal.
In general a 70/30 rule is good to observe most of the time. It then allows you to do the occasional short term campaigning without coming off as a self-indulgent-poser-jerk. You will have earned the favour.