Forgotten Tears. (Photo courtesy of We Are Triumphant)
When a band or an artist is on the other side of the world, they still want to remain in touch with, vital to, and on the minds of fans in the US. But how can a foreign band accomplish this, and also continue to make new fans while not on tour? Well, it takes work. You have to be diligent and set a routine. Here are the most failsafe methods that non-US bands I've worked with have used.
Retain a local publicist
If you can afford it and if it makes sense, you might want to retain a publicist or a dedicated social media person who can keep your name in the press while you're out of the US. That person can come up with ideas and facilitate execution of blogs, diaries, vlogs, Euro tour diaries, and more. Or you could be an overseas correspondent for a domestic publication. There are a lot of options for content, but it has to make sense and it needs to be parsed out carefully.
This is how you need to address it: if your band plans to hit the US soon, it's important to be visible ahead of the trek. If you're not going to be in the US soon, well, it's important to remain visible anyway. The trick is not overdoing it, providing relevant content, and connecting with the right media outlets.
As I said, I have a lot of bands with no plans to tour or release material in the US contact me for press campaigns, and I'm often unable to take those on for a variety of reasons that I won't get into here. But generally speaking, I turn down nine out of 10 of these types of projects because they're labor intensive when a band isn't local. It requires a lot of time to educate the media about something that's essentially abstract due to not being in front of their face.
However, there are some agencies that fill this white space. Seek them out. Be proactive. Find someone who focuses on non-US bands and tailors campaigns in that way. They're out there. You just have to use a little Google elbow grease.
[How to Find a Music Publicist]
Kill it on social media
Italian metalcore band Forgotten Tears are signed to US label We Are Triumphant, and they stay vital through the ever-important tool that is social media. Here's how they navigate that world and which method yields the most results for them straight from singer Fausto. It just might surprise you, since it's not Facebook. Really.
"Since we are literally on the other side of the earth, it's not very easy to keep up with our audience in the US," he said. "Social networks help us with this. Facebook is certainly a good tool to communicate with fans; people are reacting fast there. We usually try to not pollute with too many posts. We do a max of two to three posts per week."
Stop. Did you take note of what he said? Do not engage in overkill. Make posts relevant and impactful by making sure there's not too much ether to sift through. Make every post count.
"We use also Twitter, but we realized that people are less reactive there for many reasons," he continued. "The interactions are not as frequent as on Facebook. Instagram is a very good tool for promotion, too."
That all makes sense. But are you ready for the kicker?
"But the best social network for promoting our music is YouTube," he said. "There's a huge community there always starving for new stuff to watch/listen to. We periodically create music videos – a new one is coming really soon – but we also post updates, video diaries, and playthroughs. Any kind of video is good for YouTube, and people are just waiting for more every day."
See! It's not that hard to be top of mind, even when you're thousands of miles away from your US fans.
Amy Sciarretto has 20 years of print and online bylines, from Kerrang to Spin.com to Revolver to Bustle, covering music, beauty, and fashion. After 12 years doing radio and publicity at Roadrunner Records, she now fronts Atom Splitter PR, her own boutique PR firm, which has over 30 clients. She also is active in animal charity and rescue.
