This weekend was just gorgeous here on Vancouver Island. There are still a few piles of snow here and there, but it looks like Spring is on its way! It thought it would be interesting to talk about social media marketing when you are in a band. I have to say, I have seen some fantastic musicians who are playing for peanuts and have virtually no online presence. In this world we live in, we have to think about the community online when sharing our gigs, new releases, fun facts, etc. There is so much you can share about your day-to-day as a musician in really simple ways to gain fans and followers. This will just be the tip of the iceberg on social media marketing, but if you have not already started, you should!

First off get and Instagram account. If you have a smart phone you can do your promo anywhere you are. Or anywhere there is wifi, which is a lot of places. Instagram is a beautiful world of imagery. You can post photos, videos and highlights of your day. If you have a new event coming up with your band, you can share the poster with a link. Share your favourite coffee shop or how you like your tea. It may sound funny, but just these little things draw people in. You are probably thinking, how will they find me?

Well, you will need to create hashtags which are world that relate to what you are posting about.  Some examples would be:

#moonshinemollys  #moonshinemollyscountry  #socialmediamarketing #bandmarketing #beyondtheinstruments #countrymusic #vancouverislandmusic #instagram #facebook #beyourownboss

These tags are used when people are searching for things on Instragram. Thus drawing in people who are interested in seeing what you are posting. Getting fans and followers. There are more strategies for marketing yourself on Instagram, but this will get your started. If anything, I believe you should have a Instagram account.

Secondly, you should get a Facebook account and make a band page. This is not a difficult process, you just have to set it up and add your promo photos and information, with your website link if you have one.  On here you can set up a Bands In Town to then have your calendar updated when you add a show. Once Facebook is set up you can automate Instagram to post on your Facebook page for you. Ta-da!

Lastly, Twitter is a great platform to get your info out there. This too can be automated to help with your promo. Plus, this one is quite alive with ongoing posts if you are interested in sharing in realtime. If you are thinking that ” She is crazy, I am just interested in the music and have no time for this!” If that is the case, hire a friend or a social media marketer to assist you in your career.

There are definately times when I have forgot and did not post for a week at a time becasue we are learning new songs and it takes my focus away. I have a Monday moring plan that I sit down and schedule posts on facebook for the week, write my Molly Monday post, important dates for the week (birthdays, holdiays, etc),get imagery ready for upcoming posts, etc. That way I have it in my schedule.

This is just a small amount of information on this subject to help you those out there that are not on top of their social media marketing.  I hope it was helpful and I wish you all the best in social media marketing. If you would like any help, please connect with me.

Cheers and Happy Molly Monday Everybody! Cassandra