Articles to help you navigate the music business.

 

Giovanni Gallucci is a self-described "recovering dot.net programmer turned photographer, filmmaker, and online content creator” who shares his social media thinking in this new series. “Gio” has worked with TV’s Troubadour TX, Topo Chico waters, 41 Entertainment, AMP management, Hilton Hotels, be Music & Entertainment, and NASCAR among others.

 

 

Giovanni Gallucci was a hit at the “I Made a Record...Now What?”

music seminar sponsored by the Texas Music Chart.

 

 

 

4 Tips for Getting Fans to Your Shows with Social Media

By Giovanni Gallucci

 

Promoting live music requires merging offline and online marketing techniques. Here are some tips for what you should be focusing on when trying to get fans to your shows.
 
1. Sell Premium Tickets in Advance
Plenty of your fans will say they’re coming to your show but those who have pre-purchased a ticket definitely will. Look for ways to encourage fans to buy tickets early if you need to drive sales in a predictable manner. For instance, offer the first 25 ticket buyers a chance to go to the venue early on the day of the show and meet the band for photos and autographs during soundcheck. Another tip: bundle tickets with free downloads of your latest release.
 
2. Don’t Wait For Your Audience to Find You
Don’t be afraid to find your audience by searching hashtags of similar bands on Twitter and Instagram. Start the relationship yourself. You can also connect with fans in the comment sections of online music blogs and magazines. Reach out, but don’t spam and don’t beg.
 
3. Using Social Networking Correctly
Post your events and invite people via Facebook no more than two weeks before the show date. Repost new info about the event a week out, three days out, and on the morning of your event.  Waiting till the day of the show is too late for fans to plan.
 
Find fans on Twitter and ask them to retweet your posts using a hashtag with the name of your band. While most of your Facebook work should be done well in advance, Twitter is best used just a couple of days before the show and definitely the night before and the day of.
 
Also – make sure the venues you are playing at are promoting the show on their Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram accounts.
 
4. Pay Attention to Bloggers!
A few weeks before a show invite a few writers from music blogs devoted to local event listings like CraveDFW (http://cravedfw.com), Gorilla vs. Bear (http://www.gorillavsbear.net), Central Track (http://centraltrack.com), or Music Fog (http://musicfog.com) to your show. Send them a brief, well-written description of the show, a list of notable shows you’ve played in the past, links to positive reviews, impressive web/traffic numbers the band has on their own site and on social media accounts, and a web-ready professionally shot image of the band. Only submit to blogs that list/review shows that are similar to the genre of music your band plays.
 
One Last Thing:
Slow and steady wins the race. It only works when you stick to it, build your audience, and cultivate your relationship with your fans. Look at the fans who have followed Fort Worth’s Green River Ordinance. The group’s members realized how important the steady, organic growth of their fan base was to building a career in music and are reaping the rewards today.
 
In the following weeks, I’ll spend more time on each of these topics and give you some detailed tips on how be most effective in each of these areas.

-- @giovanni