Untitled - The All Access Group

Transcription

Copyright © 2011
All rights reserved – Kelli Richards, The All Access Group, LLC
14510 Big Basin Way
Suite 246
Saratoga, CA 95070
www.AllAccessGroup.com
Photo Credits: page 7, 65, kentoh/Bigstock.com; page 11,
Photosani/Bigstock.com; page 14, 29, 41, 42, 48, 55, 67, Michael
Darcy Brown/Bigstock.com; page 28, mipan/Bigstock.com; page
30, WizData/Bigstock.com; page 38, andres/Bigstock.com; page
44, 69, buso23/Bigstock.com; page 52, VicZA/Bigstock.com;
page 53, Patrick 1958/Bigstock.com; page 56, Inq/Bigstock.com;
page 57, mwookie/Bigstock.com; page 61, kgtoh/Bigstock.com;
page 71, NexusPlexus/Bigstock.com; page 73,
maigidesign/Bigstock.com; page 79, nmedia/Bigstock.com
2
http://www.AllAccessGroup.com
Special thanks to Gerd Leonhard and my colleagues at
The Futures Agency – I look forward to many years of
disruptive leadership and influence together! And to my
amazing team, Chief Strategist, Chad Barr; VP of Client
Services, Sandy Schmidt; VP of Operations Dori Etter;
Branding Guru, Libby Gill, and my Copyeditor, Mary
Agnes Antonopoulos.
Dedication
3
Introduction
Social Media Marketing: The New Backstage Pass ................ 7
Contents
Chapter 1
Bridge Over Troubled Water:
An Overview for All Social Media ........................................ 11
Chapter 2
Teenage Wasteland: MYSPACE, Don’t Count Them Out .... 13
Chapter 3
Face Toward the Sun:
Facebook Continues Global Domination............................. 19
Chapter 4
Tweeter And The Monkey Man: Twitter................................ 27
Chapter 5
Video Killed the Radio Star:
Using YouTube as a Social Connection ................................ 35
Chapter 6
Blogging ................................................................................... 41
Chapter 7
Pump up the Volume: BlogTalkRadio................................... 47
Chapter 8
Just a Link in Your Chain: Linkedin....................................... 55
Chapter 9
E-marketing and E-Newsletters.............................................. 61
5
Chapter 10
Meet Me Halfway:
Meetup Groups, Live Event Networking............................... 67
Chapter 11
An Overview of Four Direct to Fan Services ........................ 73
Conclusion
Final Thoughts ......................................................................... 79
More About Kelli and
How to Connect ...................................................................... 81
Appendix A ............................................................................. 85
6
T
he landscape of how audiences are built has
completely, thoroughly changed in the last decade –
in fact, it has redefined itself more than once. Being
malleable enough to “grow” with the flow can mean the
difference between big successes or devastating failures in
the music and digital arenas. All of us, whether we’re artists
or authors or thought leaders, must recognize that, in order
to succeed, we must also think and act like CEOs and
marketing mavens.
Introduction
Social
Media
Marketing–
The
New
Backstage
Pass
Knowing how to navigate the ever-changing, ever-growing
field of social media becomes its own tapestry and can
definitely feel like a full-time job if you’re not careful. This
ebook is designed to provide an overview of the top ten
social networks and a brief look at how to maximize your
presence in order to engage your best audiences – and
hopefully to turn them into brand advocates and your own
personal sales force.
As you use this ebook, remember that an engaged, loyal
audience is your endgame. How you find that audience is
by consistently sharing content – how you engage them is
consistently baring your soul – no kidding. In today’s world
of uber-connectivity, audiences want more than they ever
did. They’re not satisfied with a great product any longer,
whether that be a song, a show, a book, merchandise. Now
7
Introduction
Social
Media
Marketing–
The
New
Backstage
Pass
they want to be connected to you as an individual, and
whether they’re right about this or not, they believe they’re
entitled to it. So while it’s okay to choose not to go that
route, just know that your competition is happy to step in,
open their kimono, and eat up your market share (and your
lunch). In the recent words of industry thought leader, Bob
Lefsetz, “At first you pay your fans, then they pay you, it’s
not the other way around anymore.”
Quite simply, in today’s world, Direct-to-Fan marketing is
what every artist and band should be doing, whether they’re
signed or not, but it takes a lot of time (plus a decent
amount of know how, to be honest). At its core, D2F allows
artists to keep a higher percentage of their own sales,
compared to the old business model where labels,
distributors or even iTunes take 30% or more.
Truth be told, if the connections are built with some
good boundaries in place, there’s no reason not to reach out
and touch your audience. Done correctly, it’s just a win /
win. You give them more access, and they, in turn, want
more and more of what you produce.
One good safe way to create this connection, and to stay
ahead of your audience’s trends, is through inquiry –
another is by providing “special” back-stage content and
allowing them to comment or give feedback. A simple
“thank you” here and there, or better yet, a free offer in
response for their time, will both be worth their weight
in gold.
In a recent discussion on All Access Radio with Jeff
Brandstetter, the co-author of the highly acclaimed book,
“The Music Business Explained in Plain English,” he talked
about the future of the music industry and where social
media would fit in:
Kelli Richards: Jeff, what do you think the future of
distribution is going to look like in say, five years, and how
8
much of an impact do you think on-demand digital
distribution will have?
Jeff Brandstetter: It’s interesting that you’re asking me
this question, Kelli. As you know, eleven years ago I was
asked this exact same question on a panel about the future
of the music industry. I think people tend to accelerate
adoption faster in their minds than it actually occurs.
I think the reality is that we will still see physical product
around for a while, and there will still be revenue around
physical product for a long time… I think what the
landscape will look like in 5 years is that content creators
will fast become the hub. Right now everybody is chasing the
distribution outlets du jour… because they see the largest
numbers in terms of traffic going in that direction…. Indie
content providers don’t need huge numbers of their own
content to recoup their production budget, and that’s what
they should be most interested in. Where are they going to
maximize their revenues? As long as they’re passing their
content along to third parties, and essentially giving them all
of the rights, wholesale, to distribute it, and buying into that
sell of, “You know, you’re a content provider. Don’t worry
your pretty little head about this. We’ll take care of the
marketing, promo and distribution. You just focus on
making more content.” As long as they buy into that, there’s
no rational reason to believe that the outcome is going to be
any different than it’s been up until now – which is that the
vast majority of them aren’t going to make any money.”
Kelli: I don’t want to live in the way back machine, but
that was one of the main impetuses, as you’ll recall, for
Todd Rundgren and I crafting Patronet fifteen years ago.
The goal was to really encourage artists and other content
creators to take the reins and go direct to their fans with
their brands – and to see themselves as a brand and, frankly,
to model 80 / 20 where they were making the majority of
Introduction
Social
Media
Marketing–
The
New
Backstage
Pass
9
Introduction
Social
Media
Marketing–
The
New
Backstage
Pass
the money – to a smaller audience perhaps, but with fewer
middle men.
Jeff Brandstetter: No doubt about it, it was a good
model
Kelli: So, Jeff, how important is buzz? Do you think it’s
vital to a label that an artist has a social media platform and
following – or is having a great sound still the number one
driver to getting signed?
Jeff Brandstetter: I think the two go hand in hand. I
want to believe that, on the audio side, having a great sound
– or a great product whatever vertical you’re talking about –
is still then number one driver. Now if you’re talking about
getting signed – getting picked up by a major label – you’re
talking about the distinct minority of artists who actually get
picked up by a major. But when it comes to social media,
disintermediation is happening on the promo side, but it’s
not happening in the terms of the monetization. What I
mean by that is that just because you’re able to promote
your brand using social networking doesn’t mean that you,
as the artist, are actually reaping the lion’s share of the
benefit of that.
Kelli: Unless of course the only way somebody can buy
your CD – or one of the ways – is through your website,
where the vast majority of the proceeds are going directly
into the artist’s pocket, I think most fans would want that to
happen. Given the choice, I think if they knew that they
could support the artist by buying direct, more would do so.
And that’s why it’s important for an artist to sell their music
and to collect email addresses on their website, in addition
to having a social media platform to promote from.
Jeff Brandstetter: That’s exactly right.
(To hear this entire interview, please visit the Resources
Page on Kelli’s Website.)
10
Y
es, these times are a changin’. Social media is literally
your bridge from one reality to another. Unlike actual
products (CD’s, merch, vinyl – yes, I said it), social
media allows fast and easy digital distribution – and that
means content ownership.
Chapter 1
Bridge
Over
Troubled
Water:
An
Overview
for
All
Social
Media
Let’s take it from the top. All social media networks will
begin with your profile. There are standard pieces of
information that you should have at the ready, whether
you’re an artist, an author, a band – anyone who produces
content. It’s likely that you already have a social media
presence. I would use this checklist MONTHLY to give each
one a strong overview / audit and make sure it’s complete
and current.
1. A picture paints a thousand words. Have a current,
gorgeous headshot. No question, it’s vital. If you’re in
a band, use a group shot, obviously.
2. Have a folder of other great, compelling photos
handy for easy uploading.
3. Have a few choice videos easily available.
4. This vital information will be asked for over and over,
have it available and current.
11
Chapter 1
Bridge
Over
Troubled
Water:
An
Overview
for
All
Social
Media
Email address for your accounts
Name
Bio about you or your team or band (have this prewritten to cut and paste - a big time saver)
Website / URL
Link to products
Link to your blog
Link to your email sign up page
Label info, if applicable
Genre (always a potentially tricky one to answer, so
have it ready ahead of time)
5. If you have songs or other promotional materials you
want on the site, you’ll need those handy for the set
up process as well.
For many social networks, you’ll also have the
opportunity to upload your blog or to create events. You
“should” be walked through those options during set up,
but you might not be. So take the time to search the site
itself for as many options as possible before you start, so
you can have your information set up and prepared to
upload or copy and paste. Also, set up a separate email
address just for social media profiles and connections or
inquiries. It keeps unsolicited traffic down – but be sure to
check it every day – you never know when the next great
collaboration might show up, and you don’t want to miss it.
12
W
e hear
a lot of
noise
about MySpace
being dead in the
water, but for bands and other artists, there’s no reason not
to be there and every reason to do at least the minimal to
pump up the volume and find your following. For the sake
of argument, I’m going to focus this section on musicians
and bands, but it is just as applicable for any artist with
content – such as a writer, speaker, etc.
MySpace is a great place to build an audience, advertise
gigs, get gigs, sell cd’s and merchandise and basically engage
your audience. Like most social networks, MySpace Music
Pages can be set up to host songs, pictures, biography, gigs,
updates, blogs, friends and comments. The reason it’s worth
being in there is that it’s got a huge presence of other
musicians and artists – and if you’re looking for music
lovers, you go where the music is.
The MOST exciting news about MySpace is that you can
now attach your MySpace Page to your Facebook Page
through a simple app. So if you’re there already, this is a
fantastic way to use everything you already put into place
without spending ten hours to move it over or mirror it on
Facebook.
This is literally breaking news – so let me break it down
for you. According to Sam Wick, the head of marketing and
programming, “Every artist has a MySpace Page, so they’ve
already published their content into our system. We believe
by allowing artists to use an app that feeds into Facebook, it
reinforces the need to post content to MySpace. It also
makes it easier to manage their digital identity.”
Basically what this means is that, acknowledging the
current world domination of Facebook, MySpace has created
Chapter 2
Teenage
Wasteland:
MYSPACE,
Don’t
Count
Them
Out
13
Chapter 2
Teenage
Wasteland:
MYSPACE,
Don’t
Count
Them
Out
a Facebook app that lets artists port their content from a
MySpace profile to their Facebook pages. You simply search
for “MySpace Music App” on Facebook and click “Add to My
Page.” That’s it. This presumes you have a Facebook Page
already, of course. (You can also access the app through
MySpace – Click here.) Once completed, your MySpace
content will show up as a tab titled “Music” on your
Facebook Page, complete with all your songs, albums,
videos, photos, blogs, posts and events.
In fact, when fans listen to your tracks, the player opens
as a pop-up, so even if the listener navigates away from your
page, they can continue listening. You can also create
customized, clickable marquees and edit the theme of the
app so it matches your MySpace Page (customization is
executed on the MySpace end of things).
It’s always a good idea to carry your brand imagery and
verbiage through to all of your networks whenever and
wherever you can.
With nearly 14 million bands on MySpace, this is a fast
and easy way to port over all of one’s music and tour dates
to Facebook and capture both audiences!
Profile Tips
Setting up a MySpace music
account is simple and fairly quick.
All you need to do is go to
www.MySpace.com and in the light
blue bar across the top click the
music button. Then go the button
on the far right “for artists.” (Or
you could just click here.)
Once you have your account set up, you simply make
yourself a layout and start adding friends. Then you’re on
your way to global domination. Kidding. Then you can begin
14
the slow and methodical process of constantly loading
content and building your audience. You begin this journey,
obviously, by adding your music. I recommend looking at
other bands’ profiles to see what they do right (or what they
do wrong) and learning from them.
It’s good to keep a few simple etiquette rules in mind
as you go forward. This is, after all, where you turn into a
CEO / master marketer. Keep the rule-breaking for your gigs
and live events / performances, if you must.
Trust me. Avoid the temptation to look like a party
animal.
And skip the impulse cuss like a trucker.
Definitely be sure to set up your profile through the
MUSIC page function. A music page allows you to upload
a selection of your music and it will be listed on genre pages
– an excellent way to reach fans searching for new music. If
you make the mistake of setting up a standard, normal
profile on the social networking part of the site, you will
definitely reduce the opportunities for new fans to discover
you and your work.
Your profile is customizable, like any HTML page. If
you’re HTML savvy, you can create your own style sheets to
tailor it. If not, simple go to your favorite search engine and
type in MySpace Layouts; you’ll find plenty of information
and scores of free template layouts.
Tips & Tricks: MySpace allows you to have a main photo
on your page and up to 4 other images in the music player.
You can upload additional photos, but they can only be
viewed after a fan clicks the ‘View My Pics’ link. If you want
to embed additional photos onto your main page, you can
use a free service like Imageshack.us or Photobucket.com,
which provide you with HTML tags to paste into your
profile’s code.
Chapter 2
Teenage
Wasteland:
MYSPACE,
Don’t
Count
Them
Out
15
Chapter 2
Teenage
Wasteland:
MYSPACE,
Don’t
Count
Them
Out
Friends, Fans and Followers
Although you may be connected in a variety of ways
already, it’s always a good idea to multi-connect with your
audience. One easy way to do this is to allow MySpace (or
any social network) to scout through your email contacts
and send an automated invitation to everyone. You can also
send friend requests via your page when you see a site you
like. Once someone accepts a friend request, your page will
be featured on their “friends” list – and theirs will be on
yours. This is a big audience booster. You can decide if you
want to reach out to all musicians or to bands who have
some sounds in common with you, or if you want to let
your list grow organically – there are good arguments to be
made for both approaches. And once you’re featured on
their pages, their audiences have the chance to discover you
and your work.
Updates and Posts
16
Being active is the key to success on MySpace (and any
social network, for that matter). If you add new material,
photos and tour dates to your site often, you’ll keep your
followers interested and coming back to see what else you’re
up to. If your business is music, be sure to load songs
regularly. Remember that it’s great to allow fans to follow
your process, so why not upload lyrics, poetry, videos of you
struggling to get a riff just right – all of that is an invite to
hook up “back stage” so to speak, and will go far in the way
of fan loyalty. Blog about new projects you’re working on,
add photos, ask for advice on your next song or title anything you can do to add something new to your page
will help keep your audience engaged. (Do be sure to
copyright and protect any and all work that you put out in
public, of course.) Uploading your music not only allows
music lovers to listen to your creations, but also lets them
add your song to play on their profiles – a sure way to reach
bigger and bigger audiences.
Use the bulletin board regularly to make announcements
or run contests – these get sent to all of your connections
and fans at once. It’s a place to announce shows, new
releases or other big news you have – even new
merchandise or a new single. You can also use the bulletin
board to bring people to your page by announcing when
you have added something new that might be of interest,
like a new blog or radio interview that featured you.
Remember that there’s a huge win in getting your audience
to sign up for your email list, so that’s an announcement to
run at least once a month.
Leaving a comment on a follower’s page is an effective
way to promote something because all of that person’s
connections will be able to see the update. You can post
info about shows or new music (or just leave a friendly
message to build the connection). You’ll want to use this
sparingly and appropriately so that you do not annoy the
contact and / or damage your brand. Nobody wants to get
spammed to death, of course. And when someone adds you
as a contact, take the time to comment on their page and
thank them – invite them to visit your page often for new
songs, gigs, and pictures and to sign up for your email list.
By placing a comment on other profiles, you are subtly
inviting anyone that sees that comment to visit your profile
as well. This is a great way to expand your reach and build
your audience.
Chapter 2
Teenage
Wasteland:
MYSPACE,
Don’t
Count
Them
Out
Groups
MySpace Groups is a solid way to reach like-minded
people who are not your friends (yet). There are groups for
all genres of music, as well as industry focused and music
business groups. You can join a group by logging onto your
17
Chapter 2
Teenage
Wasteland:
MYSPACE,
Don’t
Count
Them
Out
page, choosing “groups” from the drop-down menu and
clicking “join” when you see one you like. You’ll then be
able to post updates on the group message board, add news
and updates, and join discussions. A good way to discover
new fans and engage a wider audience, and remember that
peers are great teachers, and this is a place to find them.
Case Study
Indie artist Ingrid Michaelson is a great example of a
MySpace success story. Her music has aired several times on
One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy, with her song “Keep
Breathing” featured in a huge way during the 2010 Grey’s
season finale. She was also featured in an Old Navy
commercial, among other places. In a recent interview
Michaelson shared how her big break happened through
MySpace.
“I came across the artist profile of a [now] friend of mine
named William Fitzsimmons. He’s had a pretty good
MySpace following. From the beginning, he’s held steady. He
put me in his “Top 8” [friends], and he wrote a whole thing
about me, like “Check this girl out — she’s great.” And a
music supervisor found me through him. That’s how I got
Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill. Now it’s snowballing. So
I find that aligning yourself with great artists helps, because
that [music supervisor] would never have found me if I
wasn’t on William’s page.”
“…Get into [an informal] community of other artists that
you admire … but nobody who’s really huge, because they’re
not going to even do their own MySpace anymore. Find
people who are like-minded or who you think are really great
and [who] think you’re really great, and create communities
— like how I found William. You don’t have to sit around
and wait for the music industry to find you. You can use
MySpace to find it yourself and create things for yourself.”
18
I
t’s fairly obvious why
Facebook is a win for any
small business owner –
and make no mistake, as a
musician or artist, that’s an
identity that you need to
embrace, big time. To begin
with, by population alone, on
publication of this ebook Facebook would be the third
largest nation in the world, so the numbers are definitely
there. It’s also extremely easy to use. But it’s the ancillary
programs and apps that make a Facebook Page sing like a
Les Paul guitar. First of all, for newbies let’s clarify that you
should put up a page as soon as possible, but do not use
your “profile” as your home. The primary reason is the fivethousand friend limit. That might sound like a lot – or
certainly enough – but once you get going, the hope is that
you’ll add another zero or two to that number and build an
amazing audience and army of brand advocates and fans. So
go for the Fan Page right out of the gate. Fan pages have no
limit on how many friends you can have, and they have a
ton of great ways to feature your music and build relationships, capture email addresses, and if you’re savvy enough,
you can even set up a store and sell your music and merch
right there on your page.
Chapter 3
Face
Toward
the
Sun –
Facebook
Continues
Global
Domination
Fan Page(s)
My best advice is that once your personal profile is up
and filled out as completely as possible, including pictures,
videos, all vital information, and the appropriate links to
your other social media, change your settings to “friends
only” everywhere you can. That will discourage people from
sending you friend requests when they find you – and
hopefully, instead, they will connect with you through your
19
Chapter 3
Face
Toward
the
Sun –
Facebook
Continues
Global
Domination
fan page, where you upload all of that content a second
time. If you have a band AND want to brand yourself as a
solo artist, simply put up two fan pages – again with as
much content as you can in order to solidly build your
brand and attract as much attention (and connection) as
possible.
There are a limitless abundance of applications and
ancillary programs, so I will offer just a few that I have
researched and find to be successful for artists and
musicians. Like I said, you can get so involved that you can
actually create a store on Facebook and sell directly from
your Fan Page. If that would be a win for you, there are an
endless amount of resources, help pages, and even vendors
who can set that up for you and your band. Just Google it
and get started.
In the meantime, here’s a brief overview of the simpler
“getting started” apps and opportunities for artists, bands,
speakers, writers and other content providers to work with.
Facebook + RootMusic / SoundCloud =
Fanbase Love
There are a number of ways to maximize a band or
artist’s Facebook Page, but by far, my favorite way to pimp
your profile is a combo-meal of RootMusic and
SoundCloud. Unlike the earlier segment on MySpace, this
segment on Facebook Fan Pages is very technical, so be
prepared. I won’t go into everything you can do on these
two apps, but definitely invest the time to take both
tutorials and embrace as much as you possibly can. A
rockin’ social media presence and a strong platform of fans,
plus a consistent outreach will go far to make you
marketable to your audience and to labels and
collaborators.
20
The 1-2-3-4 How-to on RootMusic and
SoundCloud for Facebook
Sign up for the pro version of RootMusic (at publication
of this ebook, it’s a buck ninety-nine — $1.99 — a month,
definitely well worth the investment). This will allow you to
customize your page and create a rockin’ banner. You can
also easily add events and gigs, including all the details of
the event and ticket cost as well as a link to where fans can
buy tickets. You’ll also be able to segregate your own posts
from those of fans – and even stream your twitter feed and
blog updates.
Next, sign up for SoundCloud. This is an easy-to-use
player / service with an elegant layout that lets you to
upload music. It generates a playlist of your music and
displays it on a player that visitors access and use seamlessly.
This will allow you to have your library of songs discovered
and shared by potential fans and friends exploring new
music. Your songs are also easily shared almost anywhere
on the web with SoundCloud – including being easily
embedded on your website.
Next, add the “BandPage” application. (Go to
http://Facebook.com/bandpage and click “add to my page”
– super easy.) Go back to your Facebook Page and find the
RootMusic Tab and drag it to somewhere after the ‘Info’ tab.
You should also click on the ‘wall’ tab and go to options (it’s
in a text box to the right usually). This will change to a
‘settings’ button, where you can then choose the “Default
Landing Tab for Everyone Else” and choose the ‘BandPage’
tab. I know this is very specific, but it will allow your page to
be seen in its entirety, even before someone chooses (or
doesn’t choose) to click the*like* button.
Definitely remember to register your user name. You do
this by going to http://www.facebook.com/username.
Chapter 3
Face
Toward
the
Sun –
Facebook
Continues
Global
Domination
21
Chapter 3
Face
Toward
the
Sun –
Facebook
Continues
Global
Domination
Choose VERY carefully, however, as it cannot be changed –
ever. You’ll need to have the minimum number of fans
(likes) in order to register your name, so don’t be alarmed if
you can’t do it the day you put it up. Once you hit the mark,
go back and register your name.
Mobile Messaging for Facebook
There are many options worth exploring in each of these
arenas regarding Facebook, but I’ll suggest one or two in
order to simplify this discussion and help you get started.
When it comes to engaging your fans, anyone who’s
involved in the direct-to-fan discussion will tell you that
getting your fan’s email address and mobile phone numbers
is the best opp you’ve got. By collecting that contact info
through a sign-up form, artists can create effective
campaigns through e-mail and mobile promotions. A great
ancillary program you can attach to your Fan Page is Mozes,
a leading provider of mass promotional text messaging,
powering the mobile marketing of some big, well-known
artists, such as Rihanna and Kings of Leon. It won’t cost
your users anything additional to join your “mob” and
receive texts (other than their normal text fee from their
carrier), but there is a fee for you, the user. It can be as low
as $10 per month for a very simple campaign.
You’ll need to actually request a quote through their
plans and pricing page. There are a myriad of plans, but the
simplest will allow you to create a self-service platform for
engaging followers and driving sales. You’ll also be able to
run mobile sweepstakes, distribute mobile coupon codes
and broadcast trackable links to online storefronts and sales
pages. There are higher levels of service with more
applications and fan outreach options as well.
22
Email Sign-Ups
Email sign-ups are predominantly handled through an
integration of a Fan Page widget that is created through
email or newsletter software. The list of providers on the
email marketing front is long, and for the most part, very
reputable. I would suggest you choose fairly carefully, since
migrating your list from one service to another is
nightmarish. I’ll provide a list here and a few suggestions,
but I urge you do some research based on your team’s
specific needs. Almost all offer a free trial.
I-Contact.com
ConstantContact.com
VerticalResponse.com
MailChimp.com
ChampionSound.com
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You can also use shopping cart services that offer emailability as well, like 1ShoppingCart, but their email
capabilities are not as good, and they tend to be more
expensive. They’re also not easy to learn or use, so beware.
More important than which service you choose is to
understand the process of how you engage your fan and
entice them to hand over their email address. The simplest
way to accomplish this is obviously to ask – and offer free
downloads of your music. Another course to consider is to
engage them through a survey or contest. Or invite them to
a “backstage” event JUST for signups.
Building a following on Facebook is not so hard – but it
does take a consistent, multi-platform effort. To begin with,
be sure to have a widget installed on your website and blog.
To find out more about using a Fan Page or “like” widget, go
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to http://developers.facebook.com/docs/guides/web.
Be sure to include social media buttons / widgets on all
of your email signatures and newsletters. Remember,
content is king when it comes to social media. The
more great content you put out there, the more you can
count on your own audience / fan base becoming an
army of brand advocates that posts about you and
shares your content on their own walls, etc. As Bob
Lefsetz said recently, “Worry about world domination last.
This business has been topsy-turvy ever since MTV. Build
towards success. Don’t make a big splash and then descend
into obscurity!”
Facebook Advertising
Don’t discount the ROI on Facebook Ads. The key to
being successful with ads is to know the demographic you
want to reach. You can get as specific as gender + age + zip
code + another musician they might like that’s in your
genre and whether or not they have a dog. (Okay, I’m
kidding about the dog, but you can get pretty damned
specific when it comes to who will see your Facebook ads.)
With all of those criteria going in your favor, plus a realistic
budget, your “likes” (and sales) can increase really quickly.
I would suggest running ads for only two or days at a clip.
The click throughs dramatically fall off after that window of
time. And remember, there’s a branding win just for impressions as well, so ads are always good, even if you don’t have
a big budget and / or don’t get a ton of click throughs.
Updates and Posts
Because your endgame is always a loyal fan, and the path
to that endgame is contact, be sure that your privacy
settings always allow your people to comment and post on
your wall. Be sure you (or someone on your team) makes
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the time to respond every time someone comments on a
photo, video, discussion, update, etc. – and certainly if they
comment or post about your music or a gig. This is
engagement that you should actually be seeking every day,
so definitely post inquiries, surveys and questions as often
as you can without seeming desperate. Ask for your fans’
feedback as naturally and as often as you can. And check all
of your walls every day and remove any contests, apps, gifts,
games or other BS that you don’t want clogging up the
works. (Checking all of your walls also includes event
invitations you may have posted.)
You can automate part of your update process by setting
a feed from your Twitter account to your Fan Page. There
are dozens of apps that do this – the one I recommend is
one of the many apps called Twitter. You can click HERE to
find it easily.
If you have a blog, connect it to your Fan Page and invite
all of your contacts to be fans. The application I like best for
this is called “NetworkedBlogs” and can be found at
http://www.facebook.com/networkedblogs. You can also add
the Facebook Follower Widget to your blog itself to increase
your exposure and audience connection (and showcase how
many blog followers you build over time).
Remember, engaging your fans is the name of the game –
and the more you do it, the better. One way to accomplish
this is to use a live chat app in conjunction with a video
feed. Live chats allow musicians to webcast video of
themselves responding to questions that fans can pose
through a text-based chat room app. This provides an
intimate “face-to-face” interaction with fans and engages
them effectively (as far as time and expense is concerned).
Ustream‘s free and powerful Facebook app is one to
consider. Ustream features a banner prompting users to
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“Click here to become a fan and RSVP for the next webcast,”
as well as offering a comment box fans can use to talk to the
artist or band, which even publishes their comments into
the feed.
Believe me, this isn’t everything you can – or even should
– know and do in order to have a rockin’ Facebook
presence, but it is a good start and a pretty decent checklist
of takeaways.
Case Study: Eliza Doolittle
(Courtesy of MusicAlly / Sandbox)
We loved the Eliza Doolittle photo booth
which her team has taken around with her
on tour. It’s a great crossover between the
real and digital world. The photo booth
goes on tour with Eliza and groups of fans (or individuals)
are able to have their photo taken in it. These are then
uploaded to Facebook the next day. The photos are a good
way of coaxing her fans over to her Facebook page and
getting them involved. It’s worth noting that tagging has
been disabled on the photos (due to a user experience
problem). However, her digital team further incentivizes fans
to *Like* their picture, along with leaving a comment, by
running contests and giveaways. Those who do these things
get the chance to bag one of 20 tickets to an Eliza show at
Alton Towers with JLS, The Saturdays and McFly. The
concept isn’t entirely new - bands taking crowd shots at gigs
have been effective ways of doing the same thing. Recently,
Polydor’s Sunday Girl did something similar when she
toured with Ellie Goulding. However, in this case, as it’s a
little more personal, Eliza’s team should see a second burst
of viral activity from this when some fans inevitably begin
to use the images as their main profile picture or in their
own personal albums on Facebook.
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Y
es, Twitter is a big
marketing tool for
anyone with digital
content to share, and
wouldn’t the Traveling
Wilbury’s have loved this
way back when? There
are four main reasons
that Twitter rocks social media: Portability, Audience, Feed
and Links. Let’s start with portability, which leads right into
audience participation. With just a few clicks and a quick
confirmation, you and your band / team can update your
Twitter account with a quick text message from your mobile
phone. This makes the “right-now” voyeur aspect of Twitter
very attractive to fans and friends who want to be intimately
close to you as an artist. From what you eat for breakfast to
choosing your next band member or sharing the process of
designing your latest riff or cover art, your audience can
now be invited into your personal step-by-step reality show.
One way to maximize this potentially 24/7 contact with
fans is to engage them with inquiry – such as, “Creating
out our new flash drive – thinking of shaping it like a
guitar – any other ideas out there? Free CDs for the
best five.” Just in case you’ve been on vacation for the last
three years, the downside of Twitter is that it’s SHORT. Very
short. Your message can only be 140 characters. To make
that come to life for you, the above example is 128
characters. Add an RT and a link and you’re done. (RT is
shorthand for “retweet” which is how you request your
followers to pass it on to THEIR followers. This is usually
done with a repeat of your own twitter ID, so keep your ID
as short as you can. Every character eats one of your 140
when it’s retweeted.
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You can use one of several link shortening services to
accomplish shrinking your links, by the way, which will help
you stay in the 140 limit. Bit.ly is my favorite because it
allows you to measure the CTR (click through rates) on the
link itself in order see if your tweet was effective and
inspired your audience to actually click through. In fact,
consider using different Bit.ly links for each social network
to track where you are most effectively reaching your
audience.
Keep in mind that there is a margin for error if you
connect your Tweets through to your other networks with
an RSS feed or other application. Some networks offer a
multitude of choices to create that feed, with a variety of
subtle differences. Facebook has over a dozen commonly
used apps to craft a feed from Twitter to your profile /
pages. I have two personal favs. The first simply feeds tweets
(click here to check it out). It’s easy and effective. The other
is called Selective Tweets, and it will only feed through
tweets that you choose for Facebook. You do this by
designating those tweets with the code #FB anywhere in
the 140 character tweet.
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http://www.facebook.com/selectivetwitter (Tweets that do
not have the #FB code will not be fed through to
Facebook.)
The downside of setting up an automated Twitter feed to
your other social networks is this: If you’re measuring your
marketing effort by tracking the CTR (click-through rate) on
your links, your Tweets that connect through to other
networks will throw that measurement off. In other words,
the link you set up for Twitter will show up on Facebook if
that tweet flows through (or Linkedin – or your blog –
wherever the feed goes). So just keep that in mind.
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Profile Tips
When you set up your profile,
try to create a Twitter Account with
short ID that is A) Easy to
remember and B) Branded to you,
your music or your band. This
sounds fairly easy until you see
how many names and IDs are
already taken. And again, you want
your ID to be short in order to encourage your audience and
fans to RT and pass your messages on to their own followers.
Going viral is always the goal, and making it easy to pass
along a message (i.e., keeping your ID and even your
messages short) is a win. Hopefully your fans and / or
followers will literally repeat your tweet along with your ID,
and you can track these on twitter by clicking @mentions on
your home page. Just as an example on the size limits, my
own ID is @KelliRichards. This eats up 13 characters of the
140 total if someone wants to RT a message I sent out. (Feel
free to follow me by the way.)
Note: Create a complete profile – so you’ll need your
website (or blog) URL, your picture, and a few words about
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Chapter 4
you or your band for your profile setup. There’s not much
room, but go for it anyway.
Tweeter
And
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Man –Twitter
Updates. Tweets and Posts
Whether you’re on Twitter already or not, it’s worth
spending some time to think about your campaign. Stop
and consider your messaging themes. (If you have old blogs
or articles, you can use those for content – or consider using
lines of lyrics from your songs.) Definitely use links to
generate more contact with your fans – such as a link to
your Fan Page or to your email sign-up form or of course, to
your merch pages or live gigs and ticketing venues. Twitter is
great, but very limited, so engaging your fans and contacts
elsewhere is a win.
One exciting aspect of Twitter is that you can use
ancillary programs to create a strong presence, such as using
SocialOomph to set up tweets ahead of time and remain
vibrant even if you’re on tour or working on a new project.
You can sign up for an account with Social Oomph HERE. It
will also save you from logging in and out of Twitter all day
to send your messages. Remember to tweet all events you
have planned – and even events you attend. The professional version is less than $30 a month, a good investment if
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you’ll be using Twitter as a key contact route to your fans.
Be sure to respond to followers as much as possible –
even a retweet of a message you posted deserves a quick
thanks. That habit will go very far in building brand loyalty
and an army of fans and advocates. See the case study at
the end of this section to get a better understanding of this.
Flying High with Friends, Fans and Followers
Like all your other networks, be sure to put your Twitter
ID everywhere you can, such as your email signature,
website and blog, OTHER social networks, and even nonnetworks where you might have profiles, such as I-Like,
I-Village, Yahoo Groups and Linkedin Groups that you
belong to, etc. If you’re interviewed on the radio or for
print, sharing your Twitter address is easy and often
memorable to listeners. You can move them to your other
networks from there.
You can also use Twitter itself as a source for followers.
You do this by making a list of keywords or other groups /
artists that you believe your potential tribe might follow. For
instance, if you’re a classical pianist, you could go to the top
of her Twitter page, click on FIND PEOPLE, and then enter
keywords like “pianist” or “classical” – or even the names of
popular current pianists and then follow all of those people
who FOLLOW the list you come up with. Another good key
word is always the location of where you will be performing.
Local tribes are super effective. Finally, remember to follow
the movers and shakers – the thought leaders in the
industry – label executives, bloggers, music journalists, etc.
Here is a very brief list of Bloggers, podcasters and zines
to get you started. Do more than follow these people; be
sure to use your time to create some real connectabilty
wherever you can. (I’ve included a longer list in Appendix A
at the end of this ebook.)
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http://twitter.com/rnrgeek
http://twitter.com/coverville
http://twitter.com/fave
http://twitter.com/weheartmusic
http://twitter.com/indiefeed
http://twitter.com/cc_chapman
http://twitter.com/billpalmer
http://twitter.com/jeffhinz
http://twitter.com/wellroundedradi
http://twitter.com/zaldor
http://twitter.com/MikeyPod
http://twitter.com/rubyfruitradio
http://twitter.com/cybster
http://twitter.com/indieradiochatt
http://twitter.com/fascinated
http://twitter.com/DprShadeOfSoul
http://twitter.com/KelliRichards (hey a little shameless self
promotion never hurts!)
Real-Life, Real-Time Examples: Adam Lambert
and Hip-hop Artist Chamillionaire
To take a closer look at how some artists actually use
Twitter, let’s look at Singer Adam Lambert of American Idol
fame. Adam Lambert literally tweets random thoughts on
everything from his music and day-to-day life to his
thoughts and experiences with show business and other
artists in general. Likewise, hip-hop artist Chamillionaire
chats with fans directly over Twitter, creating a one-on-one,
real-time dialogue. He also frequently posts on Twitter and
Facebook about other interests, creating another thread of
connection to fans who share those interests. For instance,
he’s a big basketball fan, and solicited fans’ opinions about
the NBA all-star game. The point is that even if you don’t
have a machine behind you, you can apply 21st-century
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rock star principles to engage audiences and keep them, like
both of these artists have done, very successfully.
Chapter 4
Case Study #1 – Dresdon Dolls
Tweeter
And
The
Monkey
Man –Twitter
For this case study, I simply want to share a recently
published story by Amanda Palmer of the Dresdon Dolls.
This story goes directly to the power and even the
monetization possibilities of Twitter. I’ll paraphrase it here.
About a month ago, Amanda was home on a Friday
night. She’s an avid user of Twitter, and a fan of the direct
line of communication with her fans and friends. She had
seen its effectiveness and used it to gather crowds of up to
200 fans with only a day’s notice to come out and meet with
her in public spaces – where she would play ukulele, sign,
hug, take pictures, and hang out and connect with fans. This
went far in the way of creating a tribe of fans and brand
advocates, of course.
By using a hashtag, Amanda was able to take a
conversation she created on Twitter that Friday night and
become one of the top trending topics of the day. (The way
this works is that you can assign a hashtag (#) to a topic,
and if a ton of people start tweeting and including the
hashtag, the topic will climb the trending chart. BIG
credibility win if you can do this.
Amanda took the conversations that were going on
around her hashtag and live, in the moment, created a Tshirt around it. She had her web guy put up a sales page,
also in real time, and tweeted it. Of course, the mob then
began ordering the T-shirts (which she literally designed with
a sharpie in under an hour). She used a slogan that one of
the mob suggested, which adds even more connectability, of
course. (“DON’T STAND UP FOR WHAT’S RIGHT, STAY IN
FOR WHAT’S WRONG”). By the end of that Friday night,
Amanda had sold 200 shirts. She shared the story on her
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blog the next day and sold another 200 shirts. Total: 400
shirts times $25 each. Not bad.
Of course, this is built on an already strong Twitter
following, but the example is still a pretty powerful one.
Case Study #2 Katy Perry –
After the release of the new Katy Perry single E.T., her
digital team worked with hashtagart to produce a mosaic
of Katy, made up of 20,000 fan pictures. In order for a
photo to be featured, fans needed to tweet #KatyET or
login using Facebook. The mosaic was started on March 21,
2011 and was completed in just 3 days. Three days, 20,000
fan photos. Not bad.
Fan mosaics are a fun way of making fans feel closer to
the artist and can also be an effective way to create trending
topics and raise awareness of new happenings. The finished
mosaic can even be sold as merch afterward to raise further
revenue.
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O
bviously
YouTube
is a key
component to
any artist’s
online
presence.
Without it, quite frankly, you’re likely to be dead in the
water – or at least miss a key opportunity to create real
connection and huge brand recognition, as well as a pretty
decent source of revenue (explained later on in this chapter).
To begin with, YouTube is consistently used by a huge
market segment as an at-will music player, in fact, more than
all other online sources combined. It’s also one of the best
ways to run your website’s search engine optimization
through the roof. If you have a YouTube account, you may
know some of these insights already, but know this: They
always bear repeating in the interest of a solid audit of your
online activity.
There’s no better way to “sell” oneself and one’s products
than face-to-face intimacy. And the only thing better than
video is a live gig. In fact, taking into account how tricky
venues and staging can be, a video can be better than a live
event as your emissary to sales and “face-to-face” fan
relationships.
Streaming videos are also super easy to create share on
social media sites. The press of a button allows your
followers to embed your latest live gig, in-studio footage, or
interviews into their blogs, websites and social media
activity. (Can you say viral?) Don’t worry about producing
Gaga-like quality YouTube vids either – there’s a lot to be
said for the very intimate invitation that’s created by
approachable, informal on-the-go, unstaged, unrehearsed,
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unscripted videos – whether they be of your gigs or just of
you and your band jamming out at a practice.
Rock Your Profile
The space you have to work with is not as large as you
might find on other social networks, but you can get in a
good, short paragraph about who you are, what you’re
about, and your genre or style of music. Use your name
(and the name of your band) in the profile paragraph, and
use as many of your keywords as possible. Be sure to
choose your category carefully (um, that would be
musician). Upload a great picture of yourself or your band –
it humanizes you to your audience. Customize your channel
to match your brand as much as possible, and be sure to
include links to all of your other social media sites and your
website.
Tips and Tricks: Turn on Active Sharing. This will actually
show your name next to videos you are watching (live) for
30 minutes. Other users can click on your profile and, in
turn, you’re your channel and watch your videos.
Videos and Posts
It’s easy to post videos of your gigs and events, of course
– and even rehearsals. But what definitely sells are those
“behind the curtain” peeks into your process as an artist and
even direct-to-viewer messages. If you’re still building a
following, remember to lead off and close with your crucial
information (name, band, website, Twitter ID). Then go on
camera to share your message or upcoming event, etc. Keep
your videos short. After the fourth minute, it’s fairly likely
that you’ve lost your audience, even if you’re Steve Tyler
himself.
Time yourself if you need to, and if you’re into that
fourth minute, consider cutting out. If you’re well under two
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minutes, perhaps there’s something vital and interesting you
could add – or just bust into song. This isn’t just for SEO, of
course, it’s also to add credibility and intimacy with your
viewer and to show your chops. To create that million-dollar
connection if you will.
It’s worth knowing that Google recently created an
indexing feature for YouTube. This means that all of the
audio and verbiage on your videos is indexable and
searchable, so what you say definitely matters. Those vital
bits of info are strong markers to the Google search engine.
Be sure to use the tagging feature and add your vital info
there as well, and put it in your video’s title as well. In fact,
your name and band must be in the title of the video to be
sure that you will be found in a YouTube search. Their
search engine works primarily on title, so if your name is
not there, you’ve missed the opportunity to be found. It’s
AOK if your title is super long – use as much space as
you’ve got.
Take the time to post bulletins in your channel. This is
basically your announcement board. You can post updates
on your events, video projects or anything else you’re
working on. You can, and should, leave comments on other
users’ channels, bulletins and videos. It’s definitely
acceptable to leave a comment and include a link to your
video. Remember, like all social networks, YouTube is about
building relationships, so you want to post and respond just
like you would anywhere else.
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The Pied Piper – Always be Building Friends,
Fans and Followers
Post short videos regularly. Try to build a following! You
won’t necessarily find that “followers” number on YouTube
itself, but you will see it through your Twitter followers,
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Facebook friends and fans, etc. Once your tribe makes their
way, through your link, to your YouTube page, you want a
large and amazing library of videos to engage them and
keep them coming back over and over. YouTube is a place to
go big or go home. Use it or lose it. Get the picture?
Share share share. This is an easy portal to sharing your
videos. With a simple click of the SHARE button, you can
push your videos out to Facebook, Tweet a link through
Twitter, and copy the html code to easily post it to your blog
(and anywhere else you want, including web pages, your FB
Fan Page, your BlogTalkRadio page if you have one, etc.).
It’s a good idea to announce new videos to your email list
and through your social media outlets as well, and definitely
take the time to reach out to bloggers and music journalists.
Getting featured on a top blog by a well-respected source is
one of the quickest ways to go viral and reap big rewards
(and fans). You can also create playlists on YouTube that
include other people’s videos. This is a fast way to turn that
person or band into a friend and build some reciprocity.
Show Me the Money –
YouTube as a Revenue Source $$$
A very cool aspect of
YouTube is that artists
can actually apply to
partner with YouTube
and literally make
money every time
someone embeds your
music and / or plays
your videos. A few rules:
You must create original
videos suitable for online streaming (so keep it clean and no
violence to speak of). The income stream is created by
38
allowing relevant advertisements to be displayed with your
videos and / or by making them available for rental via
streaming.
You have to apply and be approved by YouTube, but you
do get to keep all the rights to your music and vids, plus
build fans, showcase your brand, and make an income. Go
to http://www.YouTube.com/musicianswanted for more
details and to apply. If you’re interested in this program, it’s
very important to be building a community on YouTube
itself because one of the main criteria for approval is the size
of your audience. The other main factor is the quality of
your content, so like all aspects of what you do, producing
great work should always be at the core of it all.
Case Study #1 Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber anybody? Okay, I wouldn’t say that the
Beebs is the only – or even the best – example of a YouTube
success, but it does make you smile with irony and shake
your head, right?
As featured in this month’s Music Ally / Sandbox, the
best resource for music industry and digital breaking news,
it is worth noting, that in the case of Justin Bieber, there’s
been some serious controversy between the Beebs and his
own label. Bieber’s own personal YouTube account was
actually blocked by UMG, using YouTube’s ContentID
system, for copyright infringement. Yes, they said Justin
didn’t have the right to showcase his own videos and music.
(Huh?) UMG did upload the vids to its “official” Justin
Bieber Vevo channel, but Bieber himself then opted to put
the video in question onto his Facebook page. He was
quoted by Forbes as saying, “No one keeps my music from
my fans. Nobody.” You can see more on this issue at
http://bit.ly/BeeberFever.
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Case Study #2 YouTube by The Streets
Head of digital at Atlantic UK, Jack Melhuish, talked
Sandbox through the campaign. “In a lot of ways this has
been a specialist campaign as there hasn’t been a huge
amount of mainstream visibility, “ he says. “We’re always
cautious of doing fantastically creative things that don’t
translate into sales. But we could see a familiarity and a
resonance around his digital fanbase very early on.”
Melhuish said that YouTube was a key element in the
campaign, with Skinner’s channel on the site having already
generated nearly 20 million video views over the last four
years. The Computers and Blues campaign began several
months ago, with fans submitting questions through
YouTube and Twitter, with Skinner posting freestyles based
on the themes. “YouTube, in a good way, became the focus,”
says Melhuish. “He understands that YouTube is a primary
point of engagement for music.”
This followed through with an interactive YouTube video,
which used a Choose Your Own Adventure-style format,
allowing fans to plot a route through more than 20
interlinked videos. Having mooted the idea with manager
Mayhem, Atlantic was chuffed when, three weeks later, it
was presented with “very creative, very inventive” videos to
be stitched together. In just four days, the interactive film
notched up nearly 100,000 views on YouTube.
40
A
n important note on this section. I am going to avoid
discussion of SEO for two reasons. One, it is its own
science and doesn’t really have a place in this type of
ebook; and two, Google is changing how their SEO function
works, literally. It will now incorporate one’s social media
“grid” – and it is much more sophisticated than a simple
page raking based on keywords. It is going to be something
completely different, as far as search engines go, than it had
been previously. So if you are going out to learn about SEO,
be sure that whatever you’re reading or studying is VERY
recent and takes this into account. Having said that, tagging
your blog is still important and a simple win, so do use your
tags and keywords well. To see a quick and simple
explanation on this, go to my blog at
http://www.allaccessgroup.com/?p=1014.
Chapter 6
Blogging
Okay, on to blogging. It
doesn’t matter who you
are any more – whether
you’re an artist, a band,
an A&R rep, or some
college kid trying to
build a rep before you
even have a brand –
whoever you are, you need to have a blog. Done well, a
blog has limitless advantages toward building your brand
and your fan base.
Remember, you don’t have to write your own material –
you can sometimes, if not always, use other articles from
online sources, like ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com or
another online shared article source that you admire – if it
is NOT through a shared article server, where the SHARING
is clearly defined, be sure to get the writers’ formal
permission to re-post someone else’s material. Always add
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an intro paragraph and a closing paragraph of your own so
that YOUR contact info and message are the first and last
thing that readers see. This is obviously an important win
for your brand.
Post your events to the blog as well so your followers will
be constantly updated, in as many ways as possible, as to
what you’re actually doing – think more than gigs here.
Think meet and greets and maybe even rehearsals.
Remember, any way to engage your fans is the win you’re
looking for.
It’s important to feed your blog through to your social
platforms also – it creates traffic back to your website, builds
followers, and creates buckets full of brand recognition. If
you don’t have a lot of time to write, you can also feed
through your YouTube videos by copying the HTML code
on the “Share” button and pasting them onto your blog.
Video blogs rock, big time.
Profile Tips
Here’s a really cool thing to
know if you’re not particularly tech
savvy and haven’t set up a website.
You can let your blog work as a
pseudo website if you don’t have
one, can’t afford one, or if you’re
transitioning your group / genre
and not ready to update your
website yet. You can set up a blog for free at
www.blogspot.com or www.wordpress.com. Wordpress
definitely has better SEO and a ton of widgets and options
– and can be turned into an entire website and store, but
you’ll need to take the crash course. If you need to keep it
super simple, go for Blogger. If you do use your blog as a
pseudo website, once you’re set up, don’t forget to add your
42
complete contact information into the “about me” section.
This should include your website (if you do have one),
email, social media links and phone numbers, plus your
business description. Separate those lines with <br> (which
is html code for a return). Make sure that it lines up ahead
of any other info you have. That contact information needs
to be super easy to find.
Chapter 6
Blogging
Posting and Sharing
Don’t get bogged down with the writing process itself. If
you’re not a great writer, your blog will be effective even if
it’s only two paragraphs once or twice a week. Always
include complete signature info (again, your name, band
name, websites, social media buttons, etc.) – it never hurts
to give readers more options to easily reach out to you and
support you. Remember to hyperlink to your event invites,
past blogs, to your social media groups and profiles, your
YouTube channel, everywhere – link, link, link.
Multipurposing content is the meat of the blogging task.
Think of your blog as the trunk of a tree. Coming out are
branches. One is your ezinearticles.com presence (where
you’ll post your blogs as full-length articles if they’re good
enough). Another is MySpace. Another will be Linkedin
Groups (where you can post 1 paragraph of your blog 2 or 3
times a week as “discussions” – an important way to reach
out to industry executives as you build your platform). Then
read your blog into your BlogTalkRadio or other online
streaming audio portal (that’s another branch on your tree).
Finally, think of the leaves of that tree as your Tweets. (You
can divide your blog into a ton of 1 or 2 sentences that
become a “discussion of the day” on Twitter.) These will be
your “altruistic” tweets that will set the stage for your one or
two “sales” tweets. Be sure to announce each new blog on
Twitter as well, with a link and a request for ReTweets.
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Finally, my point about multipurposing content is that you
can, and should, do a lot with your blog material. Don’t just
post it and be done. That’s like creating a magnificent
painting and hanging it in the closet of an empty house that
nobody will ever visit. Make your content work, and make it
work in as many ways as you can. This will also help you cut
down on the amount of time you spend on social
marketing.
The 1-2-3 to Friends, Fans and Followers
While your blog is NOT a social network, building friends,
fans and followers is a sure way to engage your audience and
build your platform. Posting it in your key “audience
relationship” spaces is vital to this end. And always asking
for comments and thanking for comments is vital.
Feed your blog through to Facebook. An effective way to
do this is through the NetworkedBlogs application on
Facebook. This can be found at
http://www.facebook.com/networkedblogs. You can also add
the Facebook Follower Widget to your blog itself to increase
your exposure and fan / audience connection. To do this, go
with the widget verification so that you’ll SEE your followers
on your blog and simply follow the instructions carefully.
Build followers from Facebook. Each day, open the blog
through NetworkedBlogs and invite the maximum number
44
of people to follow your blog. (Right now it’s 8, but it
changes.) Do this ROUTINELY to build your following. And
you can go through the process more than once and invite 8
people at a time, several times in a day. (So just to solidify
the idea, if you did that three times, you’d have 24 people
invited.)
Definitely put your blog on Linkedin. Just go to your
Linkedin Profile and click edit. If you scroll down just a
little, you should see applications. One of those applications
will apply to your blog style (either Wordpress or Blogger,
etc.). It’s very easy; unfortunately, however, there’s no way to
build followers on Linkedin, but it is good to have your blog
there for branding and credibility purposes.
Remember to copy and paste your blog into your
MySpace page also, and any other space where you have a
profile that allows space for a blog.
While your blog itself is not a social network, it does
create discussions and feedback. So be sure to check for
comments (on all of your sites), and definitely make the
time to respond to anyone and everyone who has a
comment or who passes the blog on through their own
Facebook page, MySpace or Twitter profile, etc. Those are
your brand advocates, and building that army is super
important to your fan base.
Finally, if you are a good writer, make a pitch to guest
blog on a few spaces or newsletters where your market
niche hangs out.
Chapter 6
Blogging
45
W
hen it comes to social networks, one of the most
underutilized but amazing for artists and
musicians is BlogTalkRadio. For musicians
especially, BlogTalkRadio is one of the most effective and
easy-to use platforms
out there to share your
music and your
message, to build your
fan base and to
increase your branded
recognition. It can take
a little time to build a
following for your live
broadcasts, but the fact that you can build a library of your
recordings (at no cost) is huge. It has the added benefit that
your shows can be easily downloaded to podcast for
listeners to enjoy later on (so don’t be disheartened if you
have no live attendees the first few times you broadcast).
Listeners can call in live or conveniently listen online.
Depending on the strength of your already-existing platform
of fans, BlogTalkRadio could be a super win, as far as
audience participation and brand building are concerned.
You can also apply to iTunes to have a podcast channel
which feeds your shows through directly, with no further
work on your end. A huge win.
This is one platform where you will need to do the
tutorials so you can run the back end, but trust me, it’s a
valuable system to learn and easy to learn to use. If you
plan to run the “one-man” show, without a live Q&A with
the audience, you don’t even need to use the back end –
simply calling in to the host number will broadcast you live.
If you have a guest, or wish to take audience questions or
comments, however, this is essential, so definitely invest the
time to create a knowledge base and comfort level. You can
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Talk
Radio
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even have a live chat session going while you broadcast –
another way to engage your audience.
Consider turning on the speakerphone and broadcasting
you and your band as you perform, riff, practice, write …
the sky is the limit to creating fan engagement on this
network.
Profile Tips
Like all of your online spaces, be
sure to set up a complete and
compelling profile. This is how
people will find you and your
group; it’s also good for SEO
purposes, sending your audience to
your website, product pages,
MySpace, and other social
networks.
Because this is a network that is not as familiar as some
others, here’s the literal how to in order to help you get
started. Go to BlogTalkRadio.com. Once you’re on the site,
click Register (on the top right hand of the page). As you set
up your profile, you’ll see that you can choose a “Display
Name” – this is vital. Be sure to choose a name that
identifies you and / or your band or music. At this time, this
cannot be changed, so be sure you’ve given it a lot of
thought. Consider using an email address that you set up
just for social media purposes. Check the “I want to host my
own show,” as well as YES for the BlogTalkRadio newsletter
(definitely one of the best in the industry). Once you have
confirmed your registration, you’ll have an opportunity to
add your other social networking sites and a description for
your show. You can also add a video and some photos as
well, and you can also add up to five photos for every show
that you do, individually.
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Tips and Tricks: Set up your Radio Show right away! Be
prepared with the date, time and vital information when
you go to set up your first show. Be sure to click on and
change the duration button, as it defaults to 15 minutes. I
recommend that you keep your shows to no longer than 45
minutes, at first. The shorter the show, the more people will
attend and download. (In fact, the free version of
BlogTalkRadio allows only for 30 minute broadcasts.) You
can upload start-up music for your show if you like, but I
recommend NOT doing so until you have the hang of
things, unless the music IS your show – you can also have
other songs set up in the queue to feature throughout. (It’s
easy to start talking once your show begins and forget to
wait for the music to queue up.) Remember, choose a date
and time you can do WEEKLY to build a following. Nothing
works as effective as consistency.
BlogTalkRadio (and any streaming online radio) is a
strong way to build a buzz around your brand and your
band. Don’t worry about what to say; you probably have a
lot more to talk about than you realize. You can talk about
your own experiences, host a private gig, or even interview
your band or other friends in the industry. Or do all those
things, in a rotating platform, to stay interesting and fresh.
One thing worth noting. holding guest interviews to half an
hour is not necessarily easy, so if this is a format you love,
consider using the pro version of BlogTalkRadio so your
shows can be longer than 30 minutes. Also, if you use the
free version, you can’t do live shows at prime time.
In the beginning, take the time to script your show, at
lest loosely outline what you want to cover with a few bullet
points or create a cheat sheet of things you want to share or
ask your guests in case you go off topic or lose your place. If
you’re really not sure what to start with, you can go through
old blogs or other interviews someone has done with a
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Talk
Radio
guest and use them as a guide or a script. You can also
simply have a great intro and three songs that you want to
share, then ask for audience questions or remarks. If you’re
doing a live Q&A show, consider having a few questions
“planted” (set up with friends or fans ahead of time), just to
be safe.
Another win is that having guest speakers builds a closer
relationship between you and your guest, so if you want to
collaborate with a great musician, songwriter, band or
producer, this is one way to begin or solidify that
relationship and discussion.
Be sure to get permission from your guest to use the
show for marketing purposes and even to download into a
product. (It’s polite to allow them to do the same, of course.)
Other reasons to have a guest speaker are to mix up your
content, make your show more interesting, and especially to
create joint venture opportunities and turn THEIR audience
into YOUR audience. After all, your speaker will want their
fans and followers to hear the show as well, so it’s fair to
expect them to promote it to their various lists and social
media outlets. This provides you much-needed exposure to
new listeners. Have an approved set of Q&A in place at least
a day before your call, and if they are also a musician, you
can upload their music as the lead-in for the show.
I’m going to be more technical here on the “how-to”
than I have on other networks, just because BlogTalkRadio’s
a somewhat of an undiscovered treasure. I strongly suggest
you take the tutorials that are available on their website (see
the help tab to access these), but this chapter will give you
some “get started” instructions.
When you’re ready to host your show, simply log in and
click the MyBlogTalkRadio button at the very top, right
hand corner of the page. Then click the MyAccount button.
(This is also how you will add new shows or edit those you
50
have coming up at a future date, should you need to.) You
will see a button called My Switchboard. Once you go in
there, it is fairly obvious how you will conduct your show.
Some things to keep in mind are that you and your guests
will need to call in 5 minutes early to do a sound check and
make sure you can hear one another clearly. VOIP and cell
phones are notoriously difficult to depend on for clarity, so
always suggest a landline to your guests.
Your call-in number and HOST CODE are on the left of
your switchboard. You can unmute (and mute) callers on
the right by clicking on their microphone symbol by their
phone numbers. If you have a guest calling in, you will need
to know the phone number that they’ll be calling in from,
so you can open their line accurately. (You can imagine how
difficult this can be if you have 25 people listening in live,
and a handful of which are calling from the same state or
area code as your guest.)
Remember, if you will be the only speaker and you don’t
plan to take questions live from your listeners, you don’t
even need to be near a computer. You can simply call in by
phone, enter your host code, and voila!
You can also engage your fans on another level by
clicking the Start Chat Button. This adds another facet to
your call and allows guests who are listening via the web to
pose questions or comments to you and your guest. So your
chat is a space where callers can enter questions and you
can either type your response, or announce their question
(and your answer) on the broadcast – a very sexy feature for
your audience connect-ability.
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Talk
Radio
Radio Friends, Fans and Followers
BlogTalkRadio actually has a spot on their home page for
helping you to promote your show. Simply hover over the
HOME button on the top of the page and click HELP. This
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Radio
52
will give you a page featuring BLOGTALK 101, FAQs, and
MARKETING, as well as some other useful pages. Allow
yourself an hour or so to surf this information and do the
tutorials involved. I realize you may be overwhelmed
creating great content and working with your band and
team and running your gigs – but if you’re not also a
marketing maven, then you’re quite possibly missing the
end game (audience building).
If you really embrace BlogTalkRadio, it is one of the most
interesting, easy and fun ways to build your brand and your
audience. Remember to also send an email announcement
to fans for every show – or a newsletter with links to the
upcoming month, etc. You can also create an “Event” on
your other social networks (such as Facebook, etc.) as well as
an announcement on your Blog and Twitter page with a link
to your Show. Remember to use a shortened Bit.ly link so
that you can track its effectiveness. http://bit.ly
Once you’re on the air, feel free to ask business partners
and / or venues you’ll be performing at if they would like to
sponsor your show. This can be a good source of revenue for
you. It is also a way to create a Joint Venture – simply ask
another BlogTalkRadio host to swap sponsorship with you.
That would mean that they announce your band and your
show at the top of theirs, and you do the same for them.
After your show has been broadcast, you can push it out
onto your various online portals, such as your Facebook
Profile and Fan Page, your Blog, Twitter, etc. with a simple
link. Remember that ALL sponsorship should be approached
from the other person’s point of view. The WIIFM rule
(What’s in it for Me). That’s what the other party is listening
for, believe me.
You can also put these audios up again and again, as
your subject matter or music becomes relevant to various
groups of people or current events and issues. After a time,
these shows become a long-standing library that your
audience and client base can refer back to. You can also very
easily download your audios, use one of many easy
software options, like Jing or Microsoft Movie Maker to add
a slideshow, and then post portions of them onto YouTube
also. Keep in mind that YouTube videos should not be
longer than five minutes, however, so that they can be
utilized and shared on other networks – so you may want to
edit and use only portions of your streaming radio shows.
My team uses a free audio editor called Audacity, but
obviously, someone in your group will be versed in audio
editing.
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Talk
Radio
Show Me the Money
Finally, you can
download your content,
edit it, burn it to CD’s
and SELL THEM. They’re
a great calling card to
hand out – but they’re
also great background
info to sell at concerts,
etc., etc., to uber fans
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Talk
Radio
and friends. Use them as fodder for contests and giveaways
too.
The end game with social media (and anything you do) is
not money though. It’s always fan engagement, and any
streaming radio is a fantastic way to create an online library
of your story and your sound that you can use in many,
many ways to build this. BlogTalkRadio has the added
benefit of being free on some levels, of course.
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Chapter 8
D
epending on what you do and how experienced you
are around social media, you may or may not see the
wisdom in being on the Linkedin network. But make
no mistake, the industry leaders in your field, and the
reviewers, bloggers and print media writers are most
definitely there – so this becomes a valuable link in your
online chain – and, believe me, that chain reaches all the
way from you to your fans. In fact, there are seventy million
users on Linkedin, and 37 percent of those are making more
than 6 figures. So while your listeners and fan base may not
be looking for you on Linkedin, you can find some amazing
connections there – and successful collaborations – along
with some fully funded fans, followers and even brand
advocates and sponsors for your merchandise and events.
Just
a
Link
in
Your
Chain–
LinkedIn
Profile
The Linkedin profile is simple,
when compared to Facebook, but
actually has a lot to offer, although
in comparison fairly stagnant and
inflexible in its delivery. To begin
with, post every project you’ve
actually produced so far. This could
include CDs, live events, published
music, etc., and certainly every award, if you have won any.
Also under experience, be sure to feature any of the more
notable collaborations you’ve been part of – this is
definitely the place to name drop. You can also attach your
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Just
a
Link
in
Your
Chain–
LinkedIn
blog and your Twitter stream, as well as any testimonials
you have (although you need to request that those be added
“live” to your profile by the specific fan or colleague). If you
have any slideshows or PowerPoints of your gigs available,
you can also add those through Slideshare. If you’re looking
to stand out in your field and gain some attention, these
can also be forwarded to your first level connections by
opening the blog or slideshow and clicking the share
button.
Even though you hope to be a huge star someday, where
your name is all you’ll need to get that nod of recognition –
for now it’s always helpful for other people to be able to
associate your face with your background, so do add a
profile picture. It also makes it easier for people to
introduce themselves at events. Finally, be sure to customize
the link to your profile – this can be your name, your group,
an album title. Do follow the two rules of naming, however,
which are: easy to remember and easy to spell.
A few words on names and branding. I just want to put
my two cents in as a thought leader in the music industry
for over twenty years and say that the name-game can really
be a roadblock for artists and bands. While a name is more
important in our industry than others, the truth is that if
your product rocks, people will buy it and will support you.
Whatever you call
yourself and / or your
band, the truth is that
names do not generate
clients. Marketing
generates clients – and
WORK generates clients.
Even if you have to give
your work away – keep working. I don’t mean to de-value
yourself or your music, obviously – but do stay in front of
56
your fan base. Offer to give free concerts or downloads to
anyone who will let you. In the end, it will be amazing how
far this kind of networking goes to build fans and revenue.
Okay, the final word on this is that yes, it matters what
you call yourself but if you don’t fill whatever your sites are
with amazing content, you can simply call us LATER. The
best names don’t matter without the best stuff.
Linking Up – Friends, Fans and Followers
Chapter 8
Just
a
Link
in
Your
Chain–
LinkedIn
Here’s the technical how-to on building a good chain of
connections on Linkedin. You can absolutely use Linkedin to
search for, and even contact, the leaders in your field. Go to
People in the box on the upper right of your Linkedin
screen. (It’s a dropdown box, so it may say Groups, Inbox,
etc., depending on where you are in the Linkedin realm.)
Click the dropdown to get to People. Then click the
“advanced” button on the right. Enter a few key words, a
title, or by clicking “location” you can enter a geographic
region by zip code. This is a great asset if you’re hoping to
find writers, bloggers, reviewers or even radio hosts in the
areas where you’ll be performing who can cover your event
or interview you ahead of time. You can further narrow
your search by choosing an industry, but remember that
reviewers may or may not choose entertainment – if their
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a
Link
in
Your
Chain–
LinkedIn
market is broader, they could choose writing or publishing,
etc. So think outside the box.
Once you complete your search, you can “float” over the
contact’s information, and some of these will allow you to
send a message (do NOT send inmail – you only have a
handful of those to use on the free version of LI, so save
them for your most important outreaches). If you get the
option to send a message, go for it. Send the intro piece you
wrote about yourself and ask for five minutes to connect
about your work or your band – or just leave your intro
piece to speak for itself. If you do need to regularly send
Inmail, which is Linkedin’s way to contact people you do
NOT know and are not connected to yet, you will have to
pay for a higher “pro” level of service on Linkedin. At some
point in your process, this may be something worth doing
for a month or two, in order to reach out to the top contacts
in the music and media worlds – or whatever your niche
might be.
Updates and Posts
To make great connections in a broad way, join as many
groups as possible in your niche. (How to: go to Groups and
search for groups with keywords relevant to you and your
group, if you have one. Again, think outside the box. This
could mean writers and bloggers if you’re looking for online
coverage – it could mean a group focused on a specific
place where you’re going to be performing.) After you do
this, post a note about yourself as a new discussion. This is a
two or three-paragraph introduction about you, your band,
your events, gigs, style – whatever you think will compel
other members of that group you’ve joined to stand up and
take notice. Be sure to always end anything you post with
your COMPLETE contact information, including website,
58
social media links, email and phone number. At the very
bottom, include a PS line. (It’s proven that people read the
PS line, even if they read NOTHING else. So not using a PS
line is like leaving money on the table.) Include a PS with a
general thanks and a link to your upcoming gig, product
launch, or BlogTalkRadio channel or broadcast.
Monthly, at least, go to the groups you have joined, and
start a new discussion and post a question, commentary, or
event – if it’s appropriate to the group that you’ve joined.
Do this for ALL of your groups. Be sure to choose a
compelling subject line, by the way. It doesn’t matter what
you write, if nobody opens it, so this is vital. Discussions get
distributed by email to most group members as well, so post
late in the afternoon to be featured near the top of the daily
email digest. Join other discussions posted by other
members when you can. Sharing from your heart and riffing
on music and writing is a great way to get attention and be
noticed by the industry bloggers, etc.
You can also feature yourself by answering questions on the
Q&A board – or asking them to get input from other
Linkedin members. This can be especially helpful around
tech questions. You reach the Q&A board through the
“more” button on the menu and clicking on “Answers.”
Finally, although it’s unlikely you would reach a huge part
of your fan base through Linkedin, consider using the event
invitations feature to post your events and gigs and
distribute them to your first-level connections, especially
after you make those connections to the leaders and media
moguls in your niche. You can find this feature under the
“more” tab on the top of your navigation bar.
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Just
a
Link
in
Your
Chain–
LinkedIn
59
I
an Rogers of TopSpin recently said in an interview we did
(on my BlogTalkRadio show, All Access Radio) that
almost no artist should be out there selling their music
for a 99 cent download. That the email address of a fan or
listener, or better yet their cell number for mobile
marketing, in order to build an actual relationship with that
person, is exponentially more valuable. No matter how you
slice it, having an email newsletter (also called an ezine) is a
Chapter 9
E-Marketing
and
E-Newsletters
must in today’s world – and this is especially true for artists
and musicians. Email, after all, is the primary and most
effective communication for most people today. We rely on
it for business and personal communications, for
information and even for our social lives. We even distribute
information this way. Think about it. How many links to
events and podcasts float through your email? So here’s
million-dollar question (literally). Are YOU sending out an
amazing newsletter to engage your fan base? If not, why
not? If you take the extra step to segregate your list based
on location, it’s a great way to regionally announce gigs and
other events (like meet and greets, for instance).
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E-Marketing
and
E-Newsletters
Here’s the reality around all social media and especially
email and mobile marketing: It’s very likely that your fan
base actually WANTS to connect with you. They want to
know where your concerts are, how to get your latest
merchandise, and inevitably, to have that warm, fuzzy, oneon-one connection. By effectively sharing and opening up
your soul a little bit, you can accomplish all of these things
and hopefully build a viral army of brand advocates who do
a large piece of your marketing for you. You’ll want to reach
out at least monthly to build a strong connection. Consider
sending a long version once a month and short versions
(more like a postcard update with event / gig info) once or
twice a month as well.
Remember, as Ian Rogers went on to say in our interview,
your list is your goldmine. It’s how you reach out to your
fans and invite them to participate in your journey and your
dream. So don’t send them meaningless crap or affiliate
nonsense. Make every single email blast or message useful
to them and mind-blowingly attractive.
Another Amazing Case Study: Mail Chimp –
MailChimp is a web-based marketing application that is
simple to use and breaks down the email campaign process
into four very manageable sections; building your list,
designating the campaign, the sending process and the
tracking process. You begin by setting up your account, and
then creating your email list. It’s all right in front of you on
your MailChimp “dashboard” tab. Fill in the details on the
list relevant to your campaign and a few basic preferences –
then save. Each step of the process rolls out subsequently,
and exactly this simply. MailChimp even provides an
opportunity to buy “inbox inspections” which lets the user
view the campaign in over 30 different email clients. Once
62
you’re confident everything looks okay, you simply hit send
and begin tracking the opens and click throughs. MailChimp
offers a plethora of tools under the ‘Reports’ tab to support
this effort.
Mailchimp’s increasing popularity is cemented by user
figures of more than 500,000 with 20 million emails being
served a day. These figures reflect the environment that
MailChimp has created for digital marketers at all levels of
experience. There is also a wide range of helpful tutorials
and an efficient support team. MailChimp offers the tools
required for a successful e-marketing campaign to be
developed and managed. Now all you need is something
worth emailing about…
What you put into your newsletter is completely
subjective, but I will make a handful of best-practice
recommendations.
Keep it short. Nobody has a lot of time any longer. If you
do need to include something longer than a couple of
paragraphs, have a “read more” link that goes back to your
blog or website, where the entire, lengthy, article can live.
You can also use a picture with a “click here to see my
video” link.
Pull back the curtain! What your fans really want is
something special. Something more. Something just for
them. So why not give it to them? Share something
personal that you offer to them – a story from your
childhood or an experience you had recently on the road.
Invite them into that all important behind-the-scenes, who’s
really behind-the-curtain at Oz moment.
Remember the WIIFM rule. (That’s “What’s in it for
me?”). Your audience may want to support you, but only if
it’s on their agenda and close to their hearts. The more you
do to create THAT bond, the more successful your
connection to your army of brand advocates will be.
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and
E-Newsletters
Let’s talk about the service options for email marketing
and how some of them work. This is a little bit technical, but
super important to spend some time on before you sign up
and start to build an email list. Once you do choose, it can
be hell to transport your list to a different service. Some,
would require that your list actually sign up again.
1) Double Opt-in:
This is an email service where you upload your email list
and they, in turn, must click-to-approve their participation in
your newsletter after receiving an announcement that they
have been added. A double-opt in also means that you that
after you compel people to sign up (usually by offering a
free song or other giveaway) and they do so, they then have
to go to their email and click to approve their participation.
A lot of potential members to your list – about 30 percent
on average – do not go through with the confirmation, for
any number of reasons, which is definitely a 30 percent loss
of contacts n your end.
Like I said, you can upload your whole list to one of
these services, if you have a list, but must then generate a
note explaining that they need to click to approve in order
to get your future emails / newsletters. Some popular
examples of email services requiring double-opt ins are AWebber and One Shopping Cart. These are great if you will
need the “store” feature to sell merchandise, but again, with
30% not confirming, your list definitely grows more slowly.
2) Single Opt-in:
This literally means that once someone is entered into
the email list, they do not need to do anything further to
confirm their participation. Some popular forms of single
opt-in are MailChimp, Constant Contact or I-Contact. (Most
of these services offer free trial periods, which is great.)
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E-Newsletters
These services are fairly simple and offer many easy,
ready-to-use templates for beginners. If you have a BIG list
from a 3rd party list-building opportunity, or if you collect
email addresses at your gigs (which you should always do),
this could be a good option for you. Almost all email
marketing systems allow you to set up auto-responders,
which is very cool. An auto responder means that once
someone signs up for your newsletter, they get an email that
welcomes them and highlights aspects of your band,
website, products etc. In fact, you can often set up a series
of these auto-responders to KEEP your list engaged, that will
automatically roll out over time. Giving a link to a different
downloadable track or a new video each time is a great way
to keep them engaged.
As I’ve touched upon, switching from one service to
another often takes time and is not easy. If the new service
you’re moving into has a double-opt in, you will have to
entice your entire list over and compel them to sign up and
confirm. Although avoiding this is best, if you do have to
switch providers, be prepared to do the best thing you can.
My best advice is to keep two lists and plan to spend some
serious admin time for a month or two. As your fans opt IN
to the new service, be sure that you opt them OUT of the
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E-Newsletters
old one. And send your newsletter to both lists as you go
thru this effort. You might have a great list, but getting them
to RE-opt in, well, let’s face it —- people are busy and they
get a lot of stuff in their inbox. So just be prepared.
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M
eetup Groups is a very cool idea, a great social
network and a terrific way for an artist or group to
seriously engage their fan base. In fact, for artists
and musicians, I would take the risk to say this is the most
important network for you to be on. Here’s why:
Meetup.com is literally an online portal where participants
actually arrange to meet at live events (for instance, concerts
and fundraisers, meet and greets, merch events, rehearsals,
etc.) The list is limitless. Let your fans and followers know
about this opportunity for them to meet each other face-to-
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Meet
Me
Halfway–
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Event
Networking
face and build their own community around your work.
There are bands that have stayed extremely effective during
tough times with exactly this kind of community effort –
one success story on that front would be the 1980’s icon,
Duran Duran. In fact, once you click off of their home
page, you enter the very successful Duran Duran fandom,
where each individual band member maintains a blog also –
a great way for each of them to build a fan network and
their own brand. Worth a look.
A solid testament to the success of Meetup.com,
SoundCloud (which I think is a great resource for bands and
artists), has its own Meetup page and over 70 local Meetup
groups globally to encourage a community among their
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users. http://soundcloud.com/pages/Meetups. Once again,
I can’t say it enough, there’s no better way to “sell” oneself
and one’s music, band or brand than face-to-face intimacy.
Let’s face it, Meetup.com and BlogTalkRadio have an
added benefit over other social networks in that they actually
produce AUDIENCES. And unlike the random nature of
Facebook, Twitter and other more “traditional” social
networks, we know that the participants on Meetup.com at
least intend to leave their house once in a while. You might
not see the soaring numbers that you can build on Facebook
and twitter, but connections on Meetup and BlogTalkRadio
are more than followers – they are investing their time in
your products. So to begin with, it’s a different level of
connection – a stronger and more intimate one. And because
of that it can be a more qualified audience.
Here’s the How-to. Meetup works a LOT like an online
group. To begin with, you set up a profile, build fans and
followers (members) and can then message all of your
members with updates and gigs / event announcements –
and you can have ONLINE meetings or virtual events too –
not just live meets. (This is a great way to announce new
videos or your BlogTalkRadio interviews and gigs.) In fact,
be sure to invite your Meetup Group members to all of your
events (whether you are a member of someone else’s group
or if run the Meetup Group for your own band). If a group
you belong to doesn’t allow you to email the other
members, ask the owner if they’d be gracious enough to
share your event with everyone.
Pump Up Your Profile
Once you sign up for Meetup, you’ll be asked a host of
questions to help you define yourself. Definitely do this and
do it well. Remember, you don’t just want to think about
what you want, but what keywords would your best fans
68
would use to lead them to you. This is a networking effort,
after all. Where would your audience be? What are their
interests? The keywords you use to describe your Meetup
Group will, on the other end, be matched to keywords that
Meetup participants use in their profiles. So pick wisely.
Joining Groups
Join a few groups and attend a couple of events. (You’ll
see a big box at the top left of the page that says “Find a
Meetup Group.”) There’s no faster way to create a buzz than
to show up at a like-minded event and hand out some fliers
to upcoming gigs or meet and greets – or a few CDs. (If you
have a team, obviously you can delegate this and spread the
love.) I suggest choosing groups with large numbers, but
even a small group of your best brand advocates (fans) can
be a great way to market. Each group you join will ask you to
introduce yourself through their profile, so be prepared with
your bio handy – and ask for those interested in you to sign
up for your email newsletter. You can see clearly how social
media marketing becomes interwoven threads by now.
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Here’s the how-to from beginning to end on setting up
Meetup to make your life easy. The button to start a group
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is on the top left of Meetup.com. They’ll walk you through
the whole process – it’s super simple. Have your group
description written before you get there, just so you can
have it thought out and effectively written. As explained
briefly, the process of filling your Meetup group is amazing
and supported by the network itself. When you filled your
personal profile you were asked to define areas of interest.
Those areas of interest for other people in your area will be
matched with your group’s keywords when you start your
own group. Like the pieces of a puzzle, Meetup.com actually
passes along an invitation to join your group to anyone
who’s used those keywords within your defined region.
(There is a fee to own a group, but you can do it for about
$45 a quarter – definitely a good investment of less than a
buck a day.)
One thing you’ll definitely want to do is set up an auto
responder welcoming new members and pointing them to
your website, store, newsletter sign up page, Facebook page,
or even your event calendar. In fact, your calendar is a
secondary place where you will provide your basic
biography, group and product info, and where to find you
(other social networks, for instance). Definitely take it viral!
After you’ve got some momentum going, put the call out in
an email and/or blog post to challenge your mob to support
you and invite their local friends and connections to join
your Meetup and go to your gigs. Make it a routine to
recognize those fans / friends who do so to encourage more
people to get involved.
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Promote it! Like all groups, you should promote yours.
Send a Facebook event invite out for all of your Meetup
activities and get togethers. Then, be sure to send a link to
join your Meetup through all of your other social media
efforts (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., etc.). Not all of
your members have to be local, especially if you are – or
expect to be – touring any day soon. Going to Madison
Wisconsin for a gig? Set up (or change) the location of your
Meetup to that zip code and start promoting it anew to
build a vibrant fan base in that region! Cross-networking is
super important by the time you’ve got all of this in place.
For instance, set up a Twitter hashtag for your Meetup
group (i.e. @KelliRichards and #OnStage). Give people a
handout at each Meetup with the account, the hashtag and
all the presenter’s/participants Twitter accounts and ask your
members to tweet about the event.
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Be sure to send out emails in advance of your Meetups
that are formatted to look different from the one’s send out
automatically by Meetup (as busy people will often tend not
to read those). Schedule these with your other emails and
newsletters in mind, of course. Remember, your list is your
goldmine – don’t abuse them.
72
Q
uite simply, in today’s world, social media based
direct-to-fan marketing is what every artist and band
should be doing, whether they’re signed or not, but it
takes a lot of time (plus a decent amount of know how, to
be honest). At its core the value of direct to fan is
unmistakable. Quite simply, D2F allows artists keep control
of their process and a higher percentage of their own sales,
compared to the old business model where labels,
distributors or even iTunes takes 30% or more.
Chapter 11
An
Overview
of
Four
Direct
to
Fan
Services
Like all social mediums Direct to Fan is always evolving,
and often now can include measured marketing analytics
and shopping carts to give artists an even stronger hold on
their creative content, audience, fan base and revenue
streams. There is definitely a boatload of work involved,
however, even if it’s done through a third party. What we’ve
covered so far in this ebook is the 100% DIY version of
social marketing and list building. Several notable
companies, however, have created platforms to make the
D2F process quicker and easier for artists, allowing them to
focus on the rest of their process. I will cover four of these
services very briefly. I recommend that you click through
and visit each of them to make as educated a decision as
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An
Overview
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Four
Direct
to
Fan
Services
possible. Remember, since they all involve email services,
switching platforms is never easy, so you have to assume
that your first choice will be solidly where you build your
foundation.
Bandbox
Probably the simplest of these services, Bandbox is a
widget that an artist embeds onto their blog, website,
Facebook Page and other social media profiles which allows
fans to directly purchase digital downloads and order full
CD’s, as well as other merchandising. All of this is
accomplished without ever having to navigate away from the
web page in question. Remember, you’re much more
successful if you can engage your fan where they ARE,
instead of luring them away to somewhere else.
Although the service is free to sign up for and has no
monthly fee, Bandbox only pays you once every 30-days,
keeping a 10% fee on physical products and merchandise
(including CD’s). Digital sales do not garner this fee, but
credit card companies generally take 10 cents for every
download, so the artist is reaping about 90% of both digital
and physical sales, in the end.
Bandbox does enable you to set your own price for songs
and merch, which means you control your own store (and
fortune). In addition, Bandbox also gives you access to the
consumer data (e-mail and shipping address) in order to
monitor who’s buying your stuff. This is the golden ticket –
allowing you to reach out and contact that fan later on
down the road – with or without Bandbox. (It’s also great
for mobile messaging and geo-targeting fans when you’re
out touring.)
74
Topspin
Topspin allows artists to upload and manage music,
videos, images and other digital assets, as well as
administrate merchandise, fan clubs and even VIP
memberships. You can also book shows and sell tickets.
Although supremely effective, the Topspin platform is by far
the most sophisticated of those I have featured in this
chapter.
Topspin consists of 3 main components. 1) A retail
channel for social networks, websites and blogs; 2)
Promotional widgets to drive and track traffic; and 3)
Campaign management through integrated Google
Analytics E-commerce reporting. The embedded shopping
cart function also allows the artist to sell customized merch
bundles, at whatever price they set.
Topspin is also free, to some extent – having no monthly
user fee. It only makes money when the artist does, taking a
percentage of earnings that ranges from 5-20% — the
highest percentage from sales at the beginning of the
campaign, and tapering off from there forward.
David Riley from Good Lizard Media recently said, “The
real benefit of Topspin is to provide the technology that
enables artists to end the mass-market messaging efforts of
record labels. What Topspin cumulatively does will help
music regrow after years of mass marketing, lawsuits and
draconian restrictions imposed by the record labels that have
near ruined it. It unifies the digital marketing effort;
combining mailing list, store, widgets, data collection and
players into one cohesive database.”
If you have a global presence already in place, with fans
and a buzz building in other countries, Topspin is probably
the right one for you. It’s the only site that accepts
international currencies and allows you to fulfill physical
product shipments from any warehouse in the world.
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Direct
to
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Services
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Chapter 11
An
Overview
of
Four
Direct
to
Fan
Services
Topspin is also a great way to learn the basics of direct-tofan marketing, and their training is top notch. Using their
product can benefit the artist and the audience. If an artist
or group is super serious about using Topspin for the long
haul, I would recommend having a team member (or even
an uber fan that you turn into an intern) take the Topspin
certification course offered by Berklee Music Online.
Nimbit
Like Topspin, Nimbit is comprised of three parts,
Marketing, Direct Sales, and Business Management, which
are managed from one Nimbit dashboard. A big plus to
Nimbit is that they include digital and physical
fulfillment, which means you don’t have ship anything
to anyone, ever. Nimbit does not utilize a widget like the
other two platforms, but instead captures fans through email lists and sign-ups, into a customized storefront that
matches the look and feel of your website, so for branding
purposes, this is also a huge win. To begin with, however,
you have to be far enough along to have a website. But I
have to be honest, none of these platforms are really for
first-blush beginners.
Every time a fan downloads a track or purchases
something from your site, they automatically get added to
your e-mail list. It tracks each individual overall fan’s activity
for you, which allows you to foster a better relationship with
the “super fans” and allows you to sustain that all important
email relationship. Super fans can be a serious ticket to
success, as we all saw recently with the Nine Inch Nails
limited collection distribution. A few limited pieces were
offered at a very high price to uber fans. So knowing who
your uber fans are is a priceless bit of information.
Nimbit uses detailed analytics, click through rates and
geo-locating features which enable an artist to customize a
76
marketing campaign. This is great if you’re touring. Nimbit
is not free – but also not prohibitively expensive. It’s less
than $20 a month. It’s also super easy to use. They provide
general templates for email blasts with promo codes for free
tracks and downloads. Once you load content into the
Nimbit dashboard, you can instantly add it across all of your
social networks, blogs and website. Fans can instantly buy
tickets from your website or social profile too.
ReverbNation
ReverbNation.com is one of the leading marketing
platforms, currently used by over a million artists, as well as
managers, record labels, and venues. ReverbNation is
extremely comprehensive and provides web promotion, fanrelationship management, digital distribution, social-media
marketing, direct-to-fan e-commerce, fan-behavior
measurements, sentiment tracking, web-site hosting, and
concert booking and promotion. Their innovation is in
developing technologies that integrate the wide array of
distribution, marketing, and promotional functions used by
the music industry into one easy-to-use application —
helping any artist grow their revenues and fan base.
They also have a site driven streaming radio app. Very
cool. Well worth consideration.
Chapter 11
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Overview
of
Four
Direct
to
Fan
Services
77
I
doubt there are any old school musicians out there so
detached that you hear social networking and wonder if
there’s a vaccine for it. No matter where you are in the
process, however, I have a few words of advice.
Conclusion
#1. There is a virtual world out there, and if you’re not
active there, your real-world experience and success will
definitely suffer.
#2. Social networking is not going away. It is a big deal, it
is very inexpensive and it works. So at the very least, pick
one network to showcase your work and your band (or
yourself) and get in the game.
#3. Marketing is vital. Block out three hours every single
week to showcase your events and new work, to accept
friends and fans, and to respond to those who discover (or
rediscover) you.
#4. USE this book. Turn it into a marketing plan. Take
the tutorials for each community I’ve outlined. Learn the
basics of how to build your network and send event
announcements to your connections. Connection is
79
Conclusion
definitely the biggest ingredient to your success story in this
brave new world.
If you’d like to connect with me for further coaching
opportunities, please reach out to me at
[email protected].
80
Digital Media Trailblazer
K
elli Richards is a true trailblazer in the digital music
and media arenas with more than twenty years of
senior-level experience. With a unique talent for
connecting innovators in technology with creative leaders in
entertainment, Kelli guides her clients to create big visions,
make big connections and achieve big results.
More
About
Kelli
Richards
Get Kelli’s informational one sheet to learn more!
A highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker,
producer, coach and author, Kelli is the CEO of The All
Access Group. She and her team facilitate strategic business
opportunities in digital distribution between technology
companies, established artists and celebrities, film studios,
record labels, and consumer brand companies in order to
foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling
consumer experiences. Clients of The All Access Group range
from funded start-ups to Fortune 100 companies dedicated
to creating innovative consumer-facing technologies in
digital music and entertainment. They have included a wide
range of tech companies, musicians and celebrities,
premium content owners and distributors, and celebrity
event organizers.
81
More
About
Kelli
Richards
Connector of “Creative Disruptors”
Says Kelli, “At The All Access Group, we are most
comfortable working with what I call the ‘creative disruptors’
of the world. These are the mavericks who never settle for
the status quo, but constantly seek new and different ways
to deliver knockout content to an ever-evolving digital world.
We connect the disruptors, visionaries and innovators from
the worlds of technology and entertainment and facilitate
their partnership success.” Recognized as a digital music
and entertainment futurist and thought leader, Kelli has
broad and deep access to a wide range of established
musicians, influencers and celebrities. She and her team
possess unique expertise in a strategic process they call
‘Artist 360 Digital Delivery,’ where The All Access Group
leverages cutting-edge technologies to distribute an artist or
celebrity’s brand-name products directly to their fans. As a
part of this innovative package, Kelli conceives and produces
events based on forward-thinking “Concerts of the Future”
technologies that result in both richer artist to fan
experiences (before, during, and after concerts) and new
revenue streams for artists as a result.
Recognized Thought Leader
Prior to founding The All Access Group, Kelli served in
senior roles at Fortune 100 entertainment and technology
companies, including Apple Inc., where she launched
Apple’s earliest focus on music and drove all music initiatives
during her 10 years with the market leader. She also served
in senior-level executive capacities at EMI Music as an A&R
exec, and Silicon Graphics (SGI) where she helped launch
Silicon Studio, the company’s entertainment division. She
developed PatroNet, the first Internet-based artist
subscription service with rocker partner Todd Rundgren in
82
the mid-90s – and helped to launch the entire digital music
revolution.
A frequent
speaker and panel
moderator at
digital music and
entertainment
industry
conferences
globally, Kelli is also an acclaimed talent producer of various
music events and projects. She co-produced a celebrity
fundraiser event to support the UN’s “Adopt-A-Minefield”
initiative featuring Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stephen
Stills and hosted by Jay Leno. Additionally, she was a 20-year
talent producer behind the BAMMIES, and remains a longtime talent executive and co-producer of the annual Pollstar
Concert Industry Awards. Kelli has sat on the San Francisco
chapter of the Board of Governors for the National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), which is
the producer of the Grammy Awards. She holds a BS in
Business Administration and an MBA both from San Jose
State University.
She has co-authored two books, including the critically
acclaimed “The Art of Digital Music: 56 Artists,
Visionaries & Insiders Reveal Their Creative Secrets.” A
true renaissance woman, Kelli is also a Certified Integrative
Life Coach trained under best-selling authors and coaches
Debbie Ford and Alan Cohen. She lives in Cupertino, CA in
the heart of the Silicon Valley.
Contact Kelli today to learn more
More
About
Kelli
Richards
83
More
About
Kelli
Richards
Where to Find Kelli and How to Get on Her
Newsletter Distribution
Click Here to hear all of Kelli’s weekly interviews with
successful musicians, thought leaders in the digital music
space, and Leading CEOs. Sign up for Kelli’s Newsletter to
remain on the cutting edge of the industry and have
“All Access” to the best information and online
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Join Kelli’s Facebook Group
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84
http://twitter.com/aaronford – Senior VP of label relations at
Grooveshark.
http://twitter.com/adamcurry – aka the Podfather, is an original
MTV VJ.
http://twitter.com/adamleber – Britney Spears’ day-to-day
manager/resident rumorsquasher.
http://twitter.com/AirWharton – Dennis Wharton, executive VP of the
National Assn. of Broadcasters.
http://twitter.com/alejovillalobos – PD for top 20 Colombian station
La Mega.
http://twitter.com/alexanderljung – Founder/CEO of SoundCloud.
http://twitter.com/ashleycapps – Co-producer of Bonnaroo/president
of AC Entertainment.
http://twitter.com/aureobaqueiro – Grammy Award-winning producer.
http://twitter.com/Benjybenjy – Benjy Grinberg, CEO of Rostrum
Records
http://twitter.com/bensheffner – Billboard’s former legal columnist.
http://twitter.com/Bestbuycmo – Best Buy CMO Barry Judge
http://twitter.com/billyontheradio – Billy the Kidd, DJ at 106.1 KissFM Dallas.
http://twitter.com/bjeffrey – B. Jeffrey Grant, VP of promotion for
Verity Records.
http://twitter.com/boccountry – Brian O’Connell, Pres of country
music Live Nation.
http://twitter.com/BocheBillions – David Viecelli, Pres of booking firm
Billions Corp.
http://twitter.com/brainofjoacohen – Jonathan Cohen, music booker
at “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.”
http://twitter.com/brokemogul – Scott Vener, music supervisor for
HBO’s “Entourage.”
http://twitter.com/bunyan71 – Attorney Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s
mgr/head of Shady Records
http://twitter.com/charliewalk – Former Epic/Sony Pres.; now
chairman of RJW Collective
http://twitter.com/choitotheworld – Mary HK Choi, writer at
Style.MTV.com.
http://twitter.com/chopshopmusic – Alexandra Patsavas, Owner Chop
Shop Music Supervision.
http://twitter.com/ChristianClancy – Co-manages Odd Future, Frank
Ocean; mktg for Eminem.
http://twitter.com/Clighty – Chris Lighty, CEO of Violator
Management (50 Cent).
http://twitter.com/Combat_Jack – Reggie Osse, managing editor of
the Source.
http://twitter.com/coreythrace – Corey Denis, digital music consultant.
Appendix A
Twitter
List
of
Influential
Participants
in
the
Music
Industry
85
Appendix A
Twitter
List
of
Influential
Participants
in
the
Music
Industry
http://twitter.com/cyberlar – Larry Marcus, venture capitalist. Pandora,
Soundhound, RootMusic.
http://twitter.com/DannyDee – Head of Digipendent.com.
http://twitter.com/darylberg – Books bands for Fuel TV’s “The Daily
Habit. “
http://twitter.com/haynes_dave – VP of biz dev at SoundCloud.
http://twitter.com/davedelaney – Nashville-based digital media
strategist.
http://twitter.com/david – David Noel, SoundCloud community
evangelist.
http://twitter.com/dgglassnote – Daniel Glass, founder of Glassnote
Records.
http://twitter.com/digmusicinsider – Jack Isquith, former Warner Bros.
Records
http://twitter.com/discomaz – Marisol Segal, in biz dev, and a partner
at Rdio.
http://twitter.com/dizzyfeet – Nigel Lythgoe, exec producer of
“American Idol.”
http://twitter.com/djbunnyears – Eric David Johnson, Prod of music &
integration at DDB Chicago
http://twitter.com/dmitrivietze – Owner of marketing/Mgmt company
rock paper scissors.
http://twitter.com/dmitry – Dmitry Shapiro, CTO at MySpace Music.
http://twitter.com/doughertym – Mike Dougherty, co-founder/CEO of
Jelli.
http://twitter.com/dscheinm – Dan Scheinman, GM of Cisco’s Eos
division.
http://twitter.com/dsusla – Daniel Susla, Dir.
copyright/royalties/licensing at Sony Music
http://twitter.com/duncanfreeman – Founder of Band Metrics. Digital
music tech.
http://twitter.com/eldsjal – Daniel Ek, founder/CEO of Spotify.
http://twitter.com/elizabrooks – Owns marketing firm Str.ate.gy;
Napster vet.
http://twitter.com/elliottwilson – CEO, RapRadar; editor, RESPECT.
magazine.
http://twitter.com/emwizzle – Emily White of Whitesmith
Entertainment.
http://twitter.com/endino – Jack Endino, producer. Grunge pioneer.
http://twitter.com/ericbeall – VP of A&R at publisher Shapiro
Bernstein.
http://twitter.com/ericsnowden – VP of direct-to-fan creative & tech at
Atlantic Records.
http://twitter.com/ethank – Ethan Kaplan, former emerging tech exec
at Warner Music Group.
http://twitter.com/fionabloom – Operates lifestyle/marketing firm the
Bloom Effect.
http://twitter.com/frankdenbow – Programmer who builds stuff like
RandomGram,
http://twitter.com/replies Entrepreneurialism
86
http://twitter.com/fredwilson – Principal of Union Square Ventures.
http://twitter.com/Geespin – Geoff Gamere, Asst. PD R&B Power
105.1 NY & Top 40 WJMN.
http://twitter.com/gerritmeier – COO for digital at Clear Channel.
http://twitter.com/gewang – Co-founder/CTO/Chief Creative Officer of
Smule.
http://twitter.com/gleonhard – Gerd Leonhard, a media futurist.
http://twitter.com/guyoseary – Madonna’s manager.
http://twitter.com/hellomarko – Mark Montgomery, co-founder of
EchoMusic
http://twitter.com/hoff – Ross Hoffman, entertainment/sports
business development at Twitter.
http://twitter.com/Hopelessian – Ian Harrison, CEO of Hopeless
Records.
http://twitter.com/imnoah – Noah Dinkin, co-founder/president of
Fanbridge.
http://twitter.com/IAmRobStone – Rob Stone, co-founder/CEO of
Cornerstone/Fader
http://twitter.com/iancr – Ian Rogers, CEO of Topspin.
http://twitter.com/irvingazoff – Chairman of Live Nation
Entertainment.
http://twitter.com/jasonhirschhorn – Serial entrepreneur/digital
media exec.
http://twitter.com/jblogg – Jeremy Welt, Warner Bros. Records digital
exec.
http://twitter.com/jdenver – Joel Denver, founder of AllAccess.com
http://twitter.com/JeffRabhan – Chairman of NYU’s Clive Davis Dept
of Recorded Music.
http://twitter.com/JeremyHolley – VP of consumer/interactive mktg at
Warner Music Nashville.
http://twitter.com/jess – Jessica Verrilli, in corporate
development/strategy at Twitter
http://twitter.com/jimspotify – Jim Butcher, head of communications
at Spotify.
http://twitter.com/juliepilat – Assistant PD/music director at top 40
KIIS (Kiss-FM) LA.
http://twitter.com/justinerdman – Overseas digital mktg strategy for
Universal Music Canada.
http://twitter.com/justliana – Liana Huth of Madison Square Garden
Entertainment and Fuse.
http://twitter.com/karencivil – Blogger; also handles online marketing
for Young Money.
http://twitter.com/kellirichards – CEO of All Access Group, Coach,
Music Consultancy.
http://twitter.com/KevinLiles1 – President/CEO of Def Jam Interactive
http://twitter.com/kimblethenimble – Rich Masio, digital music
consultant.
http://twitter.com/lefsetz – Bob Lefsetz, consultant and pundit.
http://twitter.com/littleburger – Mike Keyser, president of black music
at Atlantic Records
Appendix A
Twitter
List
of
Influential
Participants
in
the
Music
Industry
87
Appendix A
Twitter
List
of
Influential
Participants
in
the
Music
Industry
http://twitter.com/lndsygblr – Lindsay Gabler, online community Mgr
for Universal Music Group
http://twitter.com/MarcusTGrant – Manager with Los Angeles-based
the Collective.
http://twitter.com/marcuswhitney – Co-founder/CTO of Moontoast
http://twitter.com/mark_mulligan – VP/research director at Forrester.
http://twitter.com/MarkGhuneim – Founder/CEO of WiredSet/Trendrr.
http://twitter.com/mattostrower – Artist relations/development at
Pandora.
http://twitter.com/mdave – David Beronja, host of Nashville Tech Feed
podcast.
http://twitter.com/mikecaren – President of Elektra Records
http://twitter.com/missinfo – Minya Oh, radio host on R&B Hot 97
New York.
http://twitter.com/mloatbmi – Marissa Lopez, asso dir. of Latin
writer/publisher relations at BMI.
http://twitter.com/motormouthmedia – Judy Miller Silverman at
Motormouth Media.
http://twitter.com/Nacionalista – Tomas Cookman. Owner of
Cookman Int’l/Nacional Records.
http://twitter.com/nathanhubbard – CEO of Ticketmaster.
http://twitter.com/N_C_B – Noah Callahan-Bever, editor-in-chief of
Complex magazine/network.
http://twitter.com/nestamusic – Robby Towns’ artist/music biz
consultancy.
http://twitter.com/nikhilshah – Co-founder of Mixcloud
http://twitter.com/omid – Omid Ashtari, an entertainment biz-dev
exec at Twitter
http://twitter.com/pakman – David Pakman, a partner at Venrock.
http://twitter.com/pepegarza – PD of L.A.’s KBUE
http://twitter.com/PerezHilton – Power blogger
http://twitter.com/PeteCashmore – Co-founder/CEO of Mashable.
http://twitter.com/Philschaap – Curator of jazz at Lincoln Center, jazz
educator.
http://twitter.com/pinkygonzales – Digital business consultant.
http://twitter.com/radiothom – Emily Delmont (former Googler),
SoundCloud people-ops head.
http://twitter.com/RepoJay – Jay Frank, senior VP of music strategy
at CMT.
http://twitter.com/richardtafoya – Co-founder/GM of Soundspike
Media; founded LiveDaily.com.
http://twitter.com/RichardXL – Richard Russell, founder/owner of XL
Recordings
http://twitter.com/robsantos1 – Rob Santos, VP of A&R at Legacy.
http://twitter.com/rociogutierrez – Co-founder of digital
marketing/consulting firm Digital Girl
http://twitter.com/ronaspaulding – President of Universal Music
Group’s Fontana Distribution.
http://twitter.com/Rosenbergradio – Peter Rosenberg, host of R&B
WQHT (Hot 97) NY.
88
http://twitter.com/ryanpitchfork – Ryan Schreiber, founder/CEO of
Pitchfork Media.
http://twitter.com/RyanSeacrest – “American Idol” host, radio
personality, mogul.
http://twitter.com/sandoCNET – Greg Sandoval, digital entertainment
reporter, CNET News
http://twitter.com/ScooterBraun – Justin Bieber’s manager.
http://twitter.com/sean_fennessey – Director of merchandising for
eMusic
http://twitter.com/sebastiankrys – GM of Rebeleon Entertainment;
Grammy winning Producer
http://twitter.com/siriusmills – Ron Mills, music director of Sirius XM’s
Hip-Hop Nation.
http://twitter.com/soundboy – Ian Hogarth, founder of Songkick.
http://twitter.com/spinaltap – Ted Cohen of TAG Strategic; former EMI
exec and panelist
http://twitter.com/StephenGHill – President of music and specials
programming at BET.
http://twitter.com/stevejang – Founder/CEO of Schematic Labs, maker
of SoundTracking app.
http://twitter.com/steviegpro – Steve Greenberg, head of S-Curve
Records.
http://twitter.com/stormewarren – Host of GAC’s “Headline Country”
http://twitter.com/tbquirk – Musician/artist Tim Quirk of Google
Music.
http://twitter.com/tconrad – Tom Conrad, chief technology officer at
Pandora.
http://twitter.com/tdandrades - Tony Dandrades, anchor of Univision’s
“Primer Impacto.”
http://twitter.com/tennesseewolf – Songwriter Shooter Jennings (son
of Waylon), Sirius XM DJ
http://twitter.com/terrymcbride – CEO of Nettwerk Music Group.
http://twitter.com/ThatEricAlper – Eric Alper, Dir of media relations
and label acquisitions at E1
http://twitter.com/thedoctorluke – Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald,
multiplatinum producer.
http://twitter.com/timechange – Tim Chang, partner at Norwest
Venture Partners.
http://twitter.com/timwestergren – Founder of Pandora. Digi-music;
streaming media.
http://twitter.com/toddmoscowitz – CEO of Warner Bros.
http://twitter.com/tomsilverman – Founder of Tommy Boy Records
and New Music Seminar.
http://twitter.com/ToureX – Touré, author/journalist and host of Fuse’s
“On the Record.”
http://twitter.com/TristanWalker – Head of biz dev at Foursquare.
http://twitter.com/Vlataillade – Vicki Mack Lataillade, founder of
Gospo Centric and B-Rite.
http://twitter.com/we7_clive – Clive Gardiner, VP of digital content
at We7.
Appendix A
Twitter
List
of
Influential
Participants
in
the
Music
Industry
89

Untitled - The All Access Group

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