creative deconstruction

Social Media and Fan-Driven Promotion

Posted on 11. Nov, 2009 by refe in STRATEGY

This piece originally appeared as a guest post at Audiolife.com.

Social media has brought us into an age where consumers, not companies, determine the market’s perception of brands. This can be frightening for those who are accustomed to doing business at arm’s length with the masses. But there are huge opportunities for those of us who don’t know any better.

Consumer driven marketing is one of the most powerful tools out there today, whether you’re a billion dollar corporation or a five-piece band. Each artist has multiple fans (hopefully.) It’s only logical that your fans would be capable of spreading the word about your music much farther than you can by yourself. Social media provides the tools to harness that word-of-mouth promotion.

The key is to stay involved by managing fan experiences. The old way was to try and shape consumer perception of brands through large-scale marketing. In other words, trying to attack entire demographics at a time. That takes money, and a whole lot of it. Most independent bands have to scrape up the cash to fill the gas tank of their tour van, let alone spend thousands of dollars on a marketing campaign.

Mass perception is expensive to effect, but every band can work to make sure that each fan they touch has a memorable experience. These experiences are what fuel fan-driven marketing – enough positive experiences and you have the chance to go viral. Too many negative experiences (or a single high-profile one) and you might find your band name on the Twitter trending topics list – and not in a good way.

Managing Fan Experiences

There are two simple ways to begin creating positive, memorable fan experiences. The first is to learn how to listen. Pay attention to what people are saying about you or your band – both to you directly and when you aren’t around. Set up Google Alerts and TweetBeeps for your band name and read each one. Watch for patterns. If you notice a significant number of people remarking about how rude you come across at your shows it may be time take a hard look at how you’re acting on and off stage.

That’s number two – learn to respond and adapt. Criticism is never fun, but it is a valuable resource. It exposes weak spots and gives you the opportunity to work them out. If you come across a fan who has had a negative experience, reach out. Let them know that they’re a valuable part of your community and turn it into an authentic interaction. Chances are the fan will walk away from that experience with a much higher level of respect for you as an artist and as a person.

If you can learn to harness the power of fan-driven marketing your band will be much better equipped to generate lasting buzz and build your fan base through word of mouth and social media referrals. Use the tools at your disposal to ensure that your fans are getting everything they need to become effective ambassadors for your music.

Tags: marketing, promotion, social media