Knowing the best way to reach new fans on Twitter and Facebook is a must-have skill for every musicians. Status updates are great way to directly connect and reach new fans. They remove middlemen and connect you to your fans 140 characters at a time. What are the most important things to keep in mind for reaching fans on Facebook and Twitter? Follow our tips and you’ll be all over the internet in no time.
1. Be Consistent: Status updates aren’t emails. If you email your fans twenty times during a month you risk alienating them and being labeled a spammer. If you post 20 status updates during a month you aren’t posting enough. Consistency is extremely important. In order to keep your fans engaged make sure you communicate with them consistently. Out of tweet out of mind.
2. Connect with Other Bands: Other bands shouldn’t be your competition; they are your your allies. Try to find bands in your area who would like your music. Engage those bands through the use of status updates, direct messages, the @ symbol on twitter and sites like Headliner.fm, then team up to promote each others music. Social recommendations are the best way to introduce your music to new fans.
3. Let Your Fans Spread the Word: Status updates are a great platform for talking to your fans, but status updates are also a great platform for your fans to spread the word about your music. Want to get your fans involved? Offer free downloads to anyone who retweets one of your messages.
4. Be Creative: You wouldn’t release a poorly written song, so why write a poorly written status update? Although the ultimate goal of your status updates is to promote your music your status updates shouldn’t sound like ads. Did you just enjoy a mind-blowing meal or have an idea for an awesome TV show? Share it with you fans, even if it’s not directly related to your music. Try to display the same creativity in your status updates that you display when you make music.
5. Don’t Forget the Links: Twitter and Facebook are great places to engage with fans, but ultimately you want your fans checking out your content on other sites as well. Have a show coming up? Don’t forget to post a link to the event’s page on your Twitter, Facebook and Myspace. Make sure to include relevant links whenever possible.
6. Make People Want to Know More: Your status updates should leave something to the imagination, inciting fans to click on your links and find out more. If you say too much you risk giving away the whole story too early. Try to write status updates that tantalize the reader and leave them with unanswered questions with status updates like: “Could this be the best show ever? (link)” Sometimes leaving your fans a little puzzled can drive them to click on your links.
7. Listen To Your Fans: Fan engagement is a two way street. It’s important to craft your status updates intelligently, but it is also important to be receptive to your fans. Make sure to search for all mentions of your name and interact with everyone mentioning you.
8. Let Other Artists Recommend You to Their Fans: After you connect with artists who like your music see you if you can get them to recommend you to their fans. Use direct messages on Twitter, Facebook or Myspace or promotion requests on Headliner.fm to trade recommendations.
9. Use Pictures: A picture is worth a thousand tweets. Did you just play a show? Share pictures with your fans by posting them as status updates.
10. Track Your Results: It’s very important to include links in your tweets. At the same time it’s also important to track how many people click on those links. You can learn how many people clicked on your the links you tweet and post to Facebook by using sites like bit.ly or Headliner.fm’s pro analytics. Then, use that data to figure out which messages make people want to click on your links
