Author: Marius van Dyk
You'll find the web littered with advice for independent
music artists all about how you can use social
network sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter
to promote your music, attract a tribe of supporters
and make more money.
It's easy to get lost in the hype which surrounds
the latest and greatest social network. First
it was all about MySpace, then Facebook came along
and stole the show, then Twitter and so they rise
and fall.
You need good strategies to deal with social networks
in order to leverage them for maximum advantage
for your career and business.
I give you these 3 strategies which I think you
should keep in mind when it comes to your web
music marketing...
1 - Be Present...
Obscurity is your enemy, make sure you are seen
in all the right places. Yes, this means you'll
create profiles on web sites such as Facebook,
Myspace, Twitter, Last.fm, YouTube and also on
sites more specific to your genre or niche.
You realize there is nothing worse than a "ghost
town" profile last updated over two months ago
and which shows no real sign of activity.
You can therefore see why you'll have to spend
time to update all these profiles and communicate
with the users on the different sites, or get
someone to do it for you.
You can use a service such as Ping.fm to update
multiple social networks from one central location.
You can also use FriendFeed.com or SocialThing.com
to track the different networks you're active
on.
2 - Don't Push, Pull...
You won't get far with traditional advertising
and marketing methods on the web. You know the
type of advertising where you basically scream
or flash your message anywhere you can in the
hopes that you may distract the already over-distracted
masses with your product.
You want to rather build relationships with your
potential tribe members and turn them into active
supporters of you and your music. So...
... be authentic, be honest, interact with your
visitors as much as possible and over-deliver
on value with the music and the other content
you provide on your web site. You want to also
give tools such as "share this page" widgets to
help your supporters spread the word about your
music.
Word of mouth is easy to create when your music
is good, you are present and open and your web
site is often updated with lots of quality content.
People will share things they enjoy with friends
and tell others how much they like you when you
are nice to them. You can not buy word of mouth.
You cannot avoid word of mouth when you offer
outstanding value!
3 - Own It!...
Your own web site, that is. Your own web site
and domain name shows that you are serious about
your music and also gives you control over the
content and stats generated by your visitors.
You create equity for yourself when you add content
to your own web site which is not the case when
you add content to social networking sites.
Social networking sites do however offer you a
potential source of visitors to your web site.
Your strategy should be to direct visitors from
outside web sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter
and others to your own web site. So...
... use the social networks to add to the value
of your own business, not build the business of
the social networks.
Conclusion...
You need to be present and update often on the
major social networks and other genre-specific
networks.
People talk about things which they enjoy and
find valuable. People share music they like. So...
... create and deliver value to people on your
web site and with your presence and you'll receive
value in return.
Your music marketing will be most effective when
you have your own web site to which you can funnel
visitors from social networks and other outside
web sites.
the Author:
Marius van Dyk is a renegade musician, producer,
entrepreneur and independent music and web business
helper-elf. He's also the creator of http://www.renegadeproducer.com
which offers a big-picture view of all the aspects
the independent music artist needs to consider in
music and in business. His Mantra? Make Your Own
Music - Your Way!
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