Social Media; Brand Your Manners

Keep it simple; keep it organic. In the world of Facebook, business pages have limited exposure. However, we’ve all made that mistake when we post something mildly controversial and somehow the page reach sky rockets. Sadly, the attention our bands, venues, artists and other companies receive is not necessarily the attention we want people to associate us with. It takes so much positive to eliminate a negative. It only takes one negative situation to eliminate any good within someone’s mind. For example, you post something political. It can be something as silly as who your band is collectively voting for. Your band becomes associated with the beliefs of that party. You may have made the post in jest, or hastily, however once it goes out into the Facebook universe, or any social media universe, it’s out there. Despite your efforts to delete these notions, you may find there is someone always prowling beyond your doorstep. The reach in this case would be organic, however, the damage inflicted would take far more than one positive organic post to fix.

Your best bet in these situations is to make sure what you post you don’t mind being branded as collectively. Sometimes bands decide to pursue a religious perspective musically, while it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, you maintain your moral higher ground. Same applies to politics. Take your political stance, but understand, you will be branded in that belief collectively. Make sure it’s something you all agree on.

Personal opinion is great….on your personal page. One of the most important things people fail to remember is that a business page doesn’t just represent you personally. Although as a general public we are all greatly sorry to hear you and your girlfriend broke up, you can’t pay your bills, Billy Jim Bob got a haircut, or that you greatly detest your mail lady. However, if it doesn’t pertain to the brand or image, it’s best saved for your personal social media platforms. People follow business and band pages for information on that specific brand. Too much “watering down” in attempts to gain organic likes, shares and comments will result in exactly that, a watered down page that is known for it’s memes and shenanigans, not what it produces.

Limit over posting behaviors; but never let a day pass without a post. We all have that one friend who shows up in our newsfeed who posts every detail, every hour, and their entire agenda, while also filling you in on what they’re wearing or how great they look. Just so we are all clear on this, the workout will still count even if you don’t take a gym “selfie” (for the record I absolutely hate that word, from now on we’ll just not use it.) It gets tiresome. Although we can appreciate other people’s accomplishments and shortcomings, we can also appreciate an air of mystery.

We get it, you’re having a sale. While in human nature we need to see something more than once for it to genuinely stick, that usually means on more than one platform. If you continuously use only one medium for your advertising, you will miss an entire demographic of potential buyers. Whether this be for albums, merchandise, shows, gear, or anything really, this will stay true. It’s like when promoters say “Well I posted an ad on Facebook, I don’t understand why no one’s here!” …It’s because not everyone is on Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter. Those are the three big names in Social Media Marketing, but we easily forget the other forms of marketing. There’s physical marketing, which is flyers, handbills, anything of the tangible sort. There’s also digital marketing, which can include television, radio, podcasts, and the like. In order to have an effective marketing tactic, you should engage in all three platforms to find balance and success. The point being, stop over posting the same advertisements, with the same verbiage, with the same stock photography you found on google images. Mix it up a little bit.

Never argue with your fans, friends or colleagues on a social networking site. This is probably my biggest pet peeve for my clients. It’s simple, you can’t expect everyone to like everything you do or say. Not everyone loves your art, not everyone shares your artistic vision. Not everyone will love the way you run business, and some will praise you in other ways. They will compare, insult, degrade, question, and argue their opinions to the grave. It’s the internet. Prepare yourself for it when you post. Remember once you’ve posted something, it’s out into the internet galaxy, and that means whoever can read, or type may find it and voice their opinions. Remember the old saying our grandparents would say “Opinions are like assholes, everyone’s got one.” It’s so true, and once in awhile they’re shitty. That’s life. The worst thing you can do is sit on a status and argue your viewpoint to the bitter end, nobody wins when you do that. Infact, whether you’re found to be right or not, you may accidentally lose fans or followers in the process. One opinion leads to another, to another, to another. Voice your opinions and self respectfully and openly. Be human, but be a decent human being. At the end of the day, those fans, friends, or colleagues are who buys what you’re offering; and not everyone is obligated to do that. If you wish to disagree with someone, do it privately, and even then remember to still be respectful. Screenshots can come back to bite you in the ass faster than your vocalized opinion. If you do engage in a disagreement, just remember what you voice in reply to those who you message must represent your brand, or band equally.