Facebook Edgerank for Musicians 101: Increasing Fan Engagement

The latest update to Facebook’s ‘Edgerank’ algorithm is a bit confusing and has many of you concerned about losing access to your Facebook fanbase. There are differing opinions on why the change was made (whether it was to force you to pay for ads or — the more likely scenario — to take clutter out of newsfeeds).

Here are some tips to help you avoid your Facebook posts getting lost in the clutter:

1. Don’t beg your followers to click “show in newsfeed”

Some bands are asking their fans to click “show in newsfeed,” which ensures that the band’s posts will… show in their fans’ newsfeeds! This is not recommended. Yes, it will work for those fans who can’t see your posts in their newsfeed, but Edgerank changes went into effect in late September; if your fans can already see your post in their newsfeed asking them to take such an action, having them go to your page and check a box that is already checked may cause confusion and even some accidental un-checks!

2. Don’t ask your followers to click “Get Notifications”

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Facebook Ads! Are they really that effective?

Facebook is the new black, as some would call it. As one of the biggest social networks around, getting your music out there using this network is vital. But are Facebook ads an effective way to increase your ‘fan base?’

Recent blog post by Hypebot suggested that Facebook’s ad revenue is decreasing. Karsten Weide, Vice President of Media and Entertainment at IDC stated that:

“The effectiveness of advertising on Facebook is just really terrible,” 

“Advertisers are realising that Facebook isn’t as effective as they first thought. They’re pulling their money and taking it elsewhere.”

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How effective are Facebook ads for music bands?

About two weeks ago I decided to do a little experiment with Facebook ads for fan pages. My band Colorless Green Ideas has a Facebook fan page for a couple of months now. Unfortunately, the amount of fans stagnated at a humble 64 fans. I thought we deserved better and tried a Facebook ad campaign. What’s quite interesting about Facebook ads is that you can decide to spend a small budget and that it’s quite easy to target your ad to a specific niche. I targeted my message only to people in the UK who were younger than 37 and who claimed to be interested in drum’n’bass or breakbeat.

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