Band Essentials: How to Create Truly Loyal Fans

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"We'd be nothing without the fans!" These six words fall just short of cliche, but they couldn't be any more true. The success of your music career is ultimately dependent on your audience's reception to your work. Some artists' marketing will be far reaching, pumped with advertising and bright lights catering to the masses, while some will play to a niche market, employing more intimate outreach methods to win over fans.

Somewhere along the spectrum of an individual's devotion to an artist, there is a critical tipping point to be reached. It's more than just passive approval of the music; it's the point where the individual will make the choice to consume and repeatedly patronize the work. Loyal fans are the engine that keeps a band alive, and you don't need a multi-million-dollar ad campaign to get them.

Know your audience

As a musician who's put in countless hours of work, you're at least halfway to understanding the nature of your fans. When marketing your music to reach and expand your fanbase, put yourself in your potential fans' shoes. Whether your appeal is broad or more selective, all your fans have something in common. Tap into that commonality and use it to unite your fans and form a community.

This kind of a movement doesn't happen overnight, but with strong content and consistent marketing, it's not beyond your reach. Always remember to make marketing choices that are appropriate for your audience, as a bad mishap can be tough to recover from and even compromise your identity.

Here are a few tips to help you identify your audience:

Build connections online

Examine the social media outlets at your disposal for advertising: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram. It's up to you to decide which of these outlets suits your fans, and to decide upon the nature of the content you create. Unless you personally struggle with social media (which, hey, some of us do), this really shouldn't be a difficult undertaking; it should feel natural.

Provide your fans with content through these social media platforms to foster a sincere connection. Use your best judgment to determine the frequency and the nature of these posts. There's no one-size-fits-all guideline for this, but whatever you do, don't spam your fans. If you do, the rest of your posts will never get read, and the relationship is effectively ruined. The goal is to build a relationship with your listeners, and like any good relationship, it must be built on trust.

A large portion of the population saw the new Star Wars because they trusted it to deliver the same cinematic elements as the previous films, and consequently, the same emotional reactions. To accumulate loyal fans, it's your responsibility to build a clear picture of what your fans can expect, and consistently deliver that picture. This consistency will be the firm foundation upon which a lifelong relationship can be built.

Start using these social media strategies to build better online connections:

Make the most of the live show experience

Your live performance is the culmination of all the advertising and hype. What you give on that stage needs no explanation, but there's just one thing left to do. Once you've established yourself as the artist you've claimed to be and delivered what you've promised, reach out to the fans and bring them into that moment with you.

Continue this connection after the show. Talk to the fans, answer questions, and if you really killed it that night, you might even have to take a few pictures. Enjoy this moment with your fans, and they won't soon forget it (especially when reliving it is just a touch away on social media).

Here's how to win over fans at a live show:

Max Monahan is a bassist and a writer living in Los Angeles. He spends his time working for an audio licensing website and shredding sweet bass riffs.