5 HUGE Facebook Marketing Mistakes For Musicians – Avoid These!
Today we're going to look at some of the biggest mistakes you can make while marketing your music on Facebook.
Building a music career isn't all about social media, but it is an important marketing component of it.
In particular, Facebook is the most popular social media site on the web, and one that has huge potential for musicians looking to gain more exposure.
But the problem is that many musicians fail to separate themselves from others with their Facebook presence. They have no strategy, no direction, and no foresight.
And when you don't have goals, you are far more likely to make costly and unnecessary mistakes. There are plenty of marketing blunders you could make on Facebook, but here are five in particular that you should avoid.
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Contents
Mistake 1: Inviting All Of Your Friends To Your Events
Event notifications aren't quite as annoying and intrusive as they once were on Facebook, but it's still best to avoid spamming all of your friends with every event you set up.
First of all, you need to target people who can realistically attend the event or concert. If they aren't in the locality your show is being held in, then they're going to be annoyed that you even invited them.
This is especially problematic if you're going on tour, and you have dozens or even hundreds of dates you're promoting. What are the odds you're going to lose a few fans and followers if you keep inviting them to all of your shows? Pretty good!
Second of all, you need to make sure that the people you're inviting are actually interested in your event. In the past, I've annoyed people unnecessarily, because I thought they would be interested in the event I was promoting, but they definitely weren't.
This can either be a small offence or a major one depending on your execution, but if you're not targeting and segmenting your invites, then more and more people are going to start ignoring you.
Marketing Mistake 2: Using Facebook As Your Website
I'm sure this debate will go on for eternity, but I would strongly advise against using Facebook as your home on the web and publishing all of your content there.
I know that there are some people out there pushing website services because it's their job, but you'll have to trust me when I say that I'm making this suggestion for your own good.
I was recently asked what I thought about streaming sites, the ever-changing nature of social media, as well as YouTube Red.
I basically answered by saying that these platforms aren't your own. Someone else controls them, and they have the ability to change the deal whenever they feel like it. And guess what? They have been changing the deal as of late!
Do people actually visit websites anymore? That probably depends on who you ask, but if you're building on rented land, it's too late to complain when they make a change that has far-reaching consequences.
Focus on building your own platform.
Facebook Marketing Error 3: Failing To Build Your Email List
This is a marketing faux pas in general, and not one unique to Facebook, but if you're not collecting email addresses from your Facebook followers, why do you even have a presence on Facebook?
I don't care whether you're sending people to your site to sign up, or you're using tabs and apps on your fan page to encourage more signups. What matters is that you're doing something to capture those people before you lose access to your fan list.
Think about it. Facebook could decide to charge you for reaching more of your followers with your posts (oh wait, they already do that!).
Look, your email list is yours. You get to keep it. Plus, more people are actually going to be seeing your messages in their inbox. Facebook is fun, and it is a great marketing tool, but you shouldn't hedge your bets on them doing what's “right and fair” on your behalf.
Mistake 4: Not Choosing A Focus
Us musicians are often guilty of failing to choose a focus for… well… virtually anything!
We start a myriad of music projects we one day hope to get to. We get spend money on a whim, and make silly decisions that have no far-reaching vision.
What happens when we take that same double-mindedness into our marketing efforts? We confuse people, and we fail to attract more of them.
Your Facebook page needs some kind of focus, just like your website does. Otherwise, you wind up with a series of disconnected updates that aren't connected with each other in any way.
So what's the message you want to share with your followers, and why are they going to come to your Facebook page? Give some thought to that before haphazardly posting.
Mistake 5: Not Being Others-Focused
Your Facebook page is all about you, right? Wrong!
If you're not serving and adding value to your followers, then you're just a glorified salesperson.
Musicians do this all the time. They ask their fans to buy their album, come to their show, vote for them in a songwriting competition, request their song on the radio… on and on it goes.
There's always a time and a place for a well-placed call to action. But if that's your only strategy, you're not going to gain a lot of fans in a hurry.
What you need to do is foster discussions. Show how much you care about the people that choose to interact with you. Treat them like real people.
Your Facebook page is a place for your fans, not for you.
Final Thoughts
Please don't develop a dependency on Facebook or any other social media site. Do take advantage of them, but avoid making them the centerpiece of your marketing strategy.
Some of the biggest marketing mistakes on Facebook can usually be traced back to that “dependency”. Musicians camp out on the site, hoping that somehow they can appeal to the humanity hidden within the corporation if push comes to shove. More often than not, they can't.
Use social media to connect with people. Have real discussions. Build friendships. Your personal network is of much greater value than your social network.
P.S. Remember though, none of what you've learned will matter if you don't know how to get your music out there and earn from it. Want to learn how to do that? Then get our free ‘5 Steps To Profitable Youtube Music Career' ebook emailed directly to you!