Social Networking
The task this week is to setup and learn how to “water your social media garden”
(In case you haven’t been following, here’s what this is all about: “Music success in 9 weeks”)
I’ve already been active on Twitter for around two years http://twitter.com/AfricanABC I’ve found it to be one of the most valuable tools for spreading the word about my music. I’ve made many connections with people, and the relationships are often symbiotic. This isn’t a platform to push products, rather it is a platform to connect with people. If people I follow are producing music/literature/art or any product that I think is valuable or interesting, I will share the info with my followers on twitter. Almost every review or article that has been published about our music has been through my twitter friends. Some examples: Portfolio Collection Harassed Mom Times Live
I started a Facebook group a couple of years ago, and made a rather unfortunate mistake in doing so: I invited, coaxed and cajoled all of my personal Facebook friends to join the group. I had a few hundred fans in days. Then I began to push the kids CD and promote live kids shows which we were doing at the time. I did this regularly for months. Then one day I bumped into a friend who mentioned that she had hidden all posts from my Facebook group. Turns out I was posting way too often, and the majority of people that I had enticed to join the group were not in the least bit interested in kids music! So I sent an email to the entire group announcing the closure of the group and apologising for the spam. I also announced a new fan page (http://www.facebook.com/AfricanTreehouse) and requested that people only join if they are interested in kids music. So from a few hundred fans, I ended up with around 50 on the new page. Its growing a little every month and I’m planning a contest to get more fans. But the best thing is that those who joined the new fan page are there because they want to be there.
MySpace
By the time I had got into social networking (around 2 years ago) MySpace was dying. I decided that Facebook & Twitter (and my website) were enough. MySpace has recently been revamped so I may reconsider.
YouTube
We have a YouTube presence, but I guess I should try and update it a bit more regularly http://www.youtube.com/user/AfricanABC
Music Alley
I had never even heard of Music Alley before reading “Music success in 9 weeks”! It is a fantastic site for podcasters to source music for their podcasts. I have just signed up and uploaded some tracks. Too soon to tell if any of our music will be used, but watch this space….
if you want success from social media, in particular Facebook and YouTube you should try advertising or sponsoring.
ReplyDeleteFacebook ads can target your page into the path of those interested in your media and YouTube sponsored Videos can do the same. it costs more than free but has much better success.
Great post, Graeme! I really liked the transparency and how you shared about your FB experience. As a matter of fact, it was so refreshing that I "liked" your FB within seconds, as a result of your writing skill! -Deborah
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments Deborah! I guess the experience highlighted to me the fact that social media is exactly that: "social".
ReplyDeleteIt's not about inundating people with repetitive "buy me" adverts (that's what TV is for!), but rather engaging with people and offering them something of value.
Thanks for wriiting this
ReplyDeleteVery nice blog you hhave here
ReplyDelete