JES Debuts ThingLink Interactive Video with iTunes Store Inside Facebook Timeline

Magik Muzik recording artist JES has debuted ThingLink’s new interactive video format inside Facebook Timeline. Bands, labels and producers can use ThingLink to add music discovery, movie rentals, stores and call to action to the surface of any Facebook, YouTube or Brightcove video.

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Signal, Noise, & Facebook Newsgroups

Over the past couple of years Facebook Groups have really risen to prominence as a way to get the word out about creative work. Unfortunately they have also proliferated to the point they are hard to keep track of & many have been so inundated by promotional posts that they are no longer useful. So I made this spreadsheet to help sort through things.

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8 Ways To Keep Up With and Discover New Music Releases

Have you ever felt like you were no longer in the loop when it comes to new music? “Have you heard Beyonce’s new song?!” “Did you get tickets for that gig?” “It went to number 1!”. None of us like to feel left out when it comes to the hottest new songs, the latest summer smash, or that killer album everybody’s talking about.

Here are a number of methods to stay up to date with the best music and most anticipated releases.  

1. Social media
Following your favourite artists and bands on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook will ensure that you are constantly in the know about what’s out and what’s coming next. Artists promote themselves and their music this way as it’s the easiest outlet to connect with their fans.  

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5 Social Media Secrets for Indie Musicians

Today, social media is the cornerstone of your music career. It’s what lets you stay in touch with your fans and easily notify them with exciting news. With all the social media guides out there, you’d think no one remembers one of the key behavioral aspects to being human - socializing. I know, it’s hard to find a balance between social and promotional - afterall, you still need to sell your show or record. Here’s 10 secrets to help you find that social media balance.

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Fans To Add Social Music Game To Indie Artist Facebook Pages

Doing things changes things. Let’s do something about real indie music discovery on Facebook. Let’s enable every indie artist to have their own “Candy Crush” kind of Facebook game that focuses fans and their friends on playing the artist’s music?

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Facebook For Musicians: Getting It Wrong, And How To Do It Right

Hey guys. Today I wanted to talk a little about the social giant ‘FB’. How to promote your music on Facebook, and why the majority of musicians are using it in the wrong way. That’s right; A lot of people aren’t using it right! Furthermore, a lot of musicians have unrealistic expectations about what Facebook should be used for. You’ll know if this is the case if:

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How Do You Get Someone to Read Your Email?

I love this meme. I can still hear the AOL sound clip in my mind saying “You’ve Got Mail!” Back then, email was such a phenomenon (especially through AOL), that a film plot with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan was built around the concept. Not long after, email became so common and inundated with spam that most users end up ignoring most messages that come in.

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10 Steps Ever Artist Must Take to Promote Their Tour

Do you have a tour or one-off show coming up? Let’s talk about how to promote it.

Now, I understand that there are many debates on where the responsibility of promoting lies (some argue the venue/promoter, some argue the artist). Those debates aside, let me say this: the time and money that goes into strategically promoting your shows will always provide a good return on investment. Who doesn’t want to gain a reputation as a hard-working artist willing to do nearly whatever it takes to make the show a success?

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How to Get More Fans on Facebook

During a consulting session earlier this week, I was asked “How do you get more fans on Facebook?”

I began by talking about the usual techniques: advertising the Facebook page, better cross-promoting with other sites, increasing engagement, etc. However, the more that I thought about the question, the more I realized it was the wrong question. Many artists are constantly looking for ways to increase the number of followers on their Facebook or Twitter. They even buy fake followers to do so. But the bigger question isn’t amount how to get more fans on Facebook, it should be more about how to get more fans, period.

When you are staring at your Facebook fan page and are thinking about how to increase the number of likes, think about the bigger picture: how can you increase the number of fans. Who cares if you have a large number of followers but no one buying your music or attending the shows? When you increase the number of genuine fans, your social media metrics automatically increase.

So how do you get more fans? Many of the important thoughts about this are covered in The Best Social Media Site for Bands as well as in How to Develop a Hardcore Fan Base. Enjoy 

Are you engaged?

From BRASH! - A Music Marketing Blog

Getting involved with your following

When I speak of being engaged, in a Marketing perspective it doesn’t mean to “Put a ring on it”. As we all know, you can be engaged with people by becoming involved whether its in a business aspect or a relationship.  As an artist, you should want to have engaging conversations with your fans, interested media outlets, and industry professionals.  This will help you to expand your brand and exposure in the industry.

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Harnessing the Power of Facebook to Build Interest in Your Band’s Website

So many startup bands have websites that remain unseen. So you might ask yourself “why have a band website?” Well, the answer is that a band website is not a standalone marketing outlet for your band. These days, any band that hopes to be successful needs to fully involve social media in its online marketing plan. One of the best (ok, the best) ways to get your band online is through the use of a Facebook page. Of course, you probably know that. But what you might not know is how you can support your band’s official website (and web store) with a Facebook page. The two mediums can go hand and hand to bring you new fans, and added income.

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How to Use Facebook Events to Promote Your Shows/Tour

If you’re like me, you’re bombarded with Facebook event invitations everyday. Most of them are for events out of town and I end up blocking/ignoring the people or pages that continue to send this spam out. However, every once in a while, I get a great reminder of something: an old friend playing a show in town, a birthday party, a wedding, and so on. It’s not all bad. So let’s talk about how you can use Facebook events properly to promote your gigs. Follow these steps:

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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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Fans Are Like Friends – So How Do You Keep Your Friends?

One of the biggest challenges for a band or artist is to attract, engage and retain fans. When considering this challenge it appears there are clear parallels with the way we manage the relationships with our friends. So how do we maintain our circle or friends, and how can we apply these principles to attract, engage and retain fans?

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