Facebook Fail? How To Improve Your Music Ads & Shares

Happy Days Fonz Thumbs DownWhat’s a ‘Like’ worth?

Less than a share, if you agree with the latest marketer analysis, but plenty of artists are seeking the thumbs up across social media, with the king of social networks being the most vibrant hub of activity.

Facebook’s place in the realm of music marketing has topped my mind this past week for various reasons. It also seems to be a popular topic for you, with my 25 tips for a friendlier Facebook fan page being the most regularly visited piece here, so I thought I’d focus once more today on the platform everyone that loves to hate.

 

First Up, A Fail

In my opinion at least, this Facebook music advert that I came across recently fails in a few places. Take a look and consider the case for and against:

Facebook Marketing FailPros:

  • Relates to an existing listener passion point with the Dave Matthews link,
  • Integrates an easier call to action with the ‘Like Page’ button (although this is all Facebook, not the artist).

Cons:

  • No mention of genre, style, location, or some other bridge from Dave Matthews to this unfamiliar name,
  • Poor copy writing, with mixed calls to action (conflicting with like button) and awkward flow,
  • Immediate command (to an unfamiliar listener, remember) to buy the album… hold my hand before you grab my bottom, won’t you?!

So it’s easy enough to critique an unappealing ad, but what makes for a more effective Facebook advert?

First things first, consider your options…

 

The Difference Between Facebook Ads & Sponsored Stories

Although Facebook explains its advertising options to a limited extent, both the ad components and the layout of the site itself change on a (frustratingly) regular basis.

Adverts are more explicit statements about your page, often with copy that you write yourself with a specific goal in mind (such as the reader clicking a link or liking your page). They stand out from the usual flow of a user’s Facebook news feed and are labeled as “Sponsored” in the lower post details, both of which can make some people wary of their presence.

The onslaught of ever-evolving ad units since the site’s flotation on the stock market last year has created some resistance to clicking on (and therefore encouraging) obvious adverts, but you can still make some headway with them. For me, they provide the most direct, short and sharp shot into a potential listener’s social feed.

There are also various sub-types of adverts, from the simple “Suggested Page” option that is a basic accelerator for page likes, to promoting specific posts to reach existing fans (and their friends), in addition to the more customized ads discussed above.

Sponsored Stories are more integrated into the fabric of Facebook , showing off activity on existing content from your page rather than the direct copy that you can customize for an advert.

The bonus here is that they “fit” more naturally into the news feed and actions that people are already undertaking, such as commenting on a friend’s activity or liking articles they read, which lessens the resistance that comes from out-and-out adverts. This focus on engagement can be useful for those of you wishing to drive interaction even further on your page, although the content itself is selected by Facebook and you have less customization than you may require.

The other important aspect of sponsored stories is the connection that they make to friends of those you reach, for example “Joe Schmoe likes Band X”. Simply placing a familiar face or name next to an unfamiliar page can bridge the trust gap that paid advertising creates, hence the rising popularity of social media ad campaigns. If you’re trying to reach new listeners, connecting through your existing fans  and on to targeted friends of theirs can be a key advantage of a social ad.

Important Note: Facebook is changing rapidly at the current time and, at any point, distinctions between different types of ad unit may become blurred. Always check the ad preview to understand exactly how your paid promotion is going to appear!

The video below is tailored to deeper business marketing types but still has some valuable snippets for more advanced music advertising, if you’d care to delve even deeper.

Click here if you can’t see the video above.

 

Key Questions to Ask Before You Advertise Your Music on Facebook

Answer the following questions to understand what you direction you want your Facebook advertising to take:

  • What is my main goal from this advert? Examples may be increased page like, engagement, website traffic, music player spins etc.
  • Do I want to reach existing fans or new listeners?
  • Is the ad a standalone test, or part of a wider campaign?
  • What is my daily (or weekly) budget?
  • What is the “call to action” of my ad? (i.e. the step you want people to take and
  • What metric will prove that the action has been taken and can I measure it? (e.g. a Like, which Facebook will report to you, or a spin of a track, which you will need to monitor more closely yourself)

It can be tempting to just dive in with Facebook’s newer ad offerings, as they have plenty of “press play” options popping up alluringly in your page admin section. This simplicity is helpful but you will still benefit from taking some time to consider what you want from your ad spend, where it fits with your other promotional efforts, and how you will measure success.

 

Dig Deeper

This is really only the tip of the iceberg with advertising on Facebook. We can take in-depth looks at ad copy writing, split testing, ad optimization, cross-platform campaigns and results analysis, to name just a few of the areas that may be of use to enthusiastic music advertisers.

What I’d love to know is what level of Facebook ads you’ve undertaken as an artist and whether (and which of) these deeper topics are of interest to you?

Do you want to read detailed how to pieces or just “press play” on those easier ad options that Facebook is now inserting into your fan page?

Let me know in the comments below or e-mail me at [email protected] with your specific questions. I’m here to help!

April 5, 2013 by 3 Comments
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Next Steps Towards Your Virtual Merch Table

Take some notes

Time to review notes & catch up! | Image Credit: Internews Europe

As we close out the month and move into the next phase of Manning Your Virtual Merch Table, let’s take a second to recap and gather together what we’ve learned so far.

For any artists just joining us, this is a great time to catch up on the more conceptual posts, before we dive into practical examples and case studies during April.

This is where we’ve been:

Defining the 4 Ps Music Marketing Mix

Place & People: Finding your fans online

Product & Price: What to sell and how much to charge for it 

Promotion: Adding personality to your music marketing

 

Be a VIP

This month also saw the first Inner Circle newsletter go out, including a private link to bonus material reserved as a special thank you to subscribers.

Get access to that and future updates by subscribing here or entering your details below. You’ll have close access to both the material and, well, me, as I’ll individually check in with every new subscriber to see how best I can customize the series to your needs.


 

Next Steps

It’s all very well understanding the methods behind music marketing via a virtual merch table approach, but what about real world examples of how artists are implementing these ideas?

That’s exactly what I’ll be dedicating April to, unearthing case studies of independent artists using this approach (some unwittingly, perhaps) to build an online presence that nurtures listeners through to becoming lifelong fans.  The research for this is underway now, so let me know if you have any exceptional examples of musicians successfully marketing themselves online.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to sign up to the newsletter and pass this on to any artist friends who may find it useful!

March 26, 2013 by 1 Comment
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The Now & Then of Marketing Your Music

Gramaphone and vinyl days

Image Credit: djking

Just a little over ten years ago, the business of promoting your music to an audience was a very different animal indeed.

Certainly, Napster had hit and its impact was being felt to some degree. But the relative position, given the seismic shifts to come, was much closer to the heyday of major record labels, rather than the almost fully digital music world we see before us today.

The Lefsetz Letter is currently on a “Now & Then” kick, comparing various music and media approaches in a pre- and post-digital environment. This holds value  in music marketing terms as well, so here are my thoughts as to how it relates to the Man Your Virtual Merch Table series that we’ve been running.

 

Music Marketing in the Digital Era

Then

You had limited access to the mass marketing resources and distribution needed to reach fans. Signing a deal with an established label rapidly accelerated your visibility, via a few mass broadcast channels to fans.

Now

You have direct access to fans, limited only by the amount of time they spend online and the attention they pay to music. The cost is the time you invest, meaning that you need to choose the places carefully. Signing a deal with a more traditional company is no guarantee of success and needs to be done on your own terms (if it comes up at all, as investment in developing artists has plunged from these sources).

 

Then

Communication was to your audience and the channels limited. A certain distance from fans was to be expected, perhaps even aspired to, in order to maintain that “rock star” mythology.

Now

Communication is to your community and the channels are almost limitless. Distance from fans is impossible for all but the most enigmatic and talented of artists.  Direct relationships, collaborative efforts, and the art of asking are the order of the day.

 

Then

Recorded music was scarce and expensive, relatively speaking. Selling your record was the main focus of both marketing and touring, and listeners invested in the album purchase and built relationships with artists from there.

Now

Recorded music is abundant and inexpensive, often free. Selling a record, even a digital album, is the product of having built a relationship with listeners already, often on the basis of streaming music singles from your site or social networks. You need to think more widely about what routes and products you offer for fans to invest in you, the artist. From crowd funding an album before it iss fully conceived to purchasing a diverse range of merchandise, you develop relationships first, get the sale second.

 

Rules and RegulationsThen

Album cycles were the basis for promotional campaigns, usually on a record > press/hype > release > tour model. Release dates were widely anticipated, reviews and radio coverage important, first week sales and the resulting chart positions vital.

Now

Albums themselves may be passing into obscurity, with the format prevailing more for reasons of familiarity than necessity.

Lead time from recording to release is almost non-existent for independent artists, who can create music at home and release in the time it takes to upload a file. Single songs catch the attention (if you’re lucky) and build interest in subsequent releases, be they albums, EPs, or whatever the artist feels most comfortable with. Traditional release models are thrown out of the window, coverage is fractured and often to a niche audience via many small websites, charts are arbitrary as no one measure covers digital interest to any degree of accuracy.

 

Make Your Own Marketing Schedule

The final point there is a suitable one to leave you chewing on, as there are almost no rules right now.

New marketing standards and filters may well be developed in the years to come but, as it stands, the only limitations are those of your time and creativity. Traditional elements of communication to fans, press coverage, touring, and hype all remain key elements in raising awareness of your music, but the balance and structure of them is entirely up to you.

My recommendation is to experiment. Push the boundaries of what you’ve done before, be it pricing, promotional stunts, release format, or the type of press you approach to cover you. Move from a “why?” to a “why not?” mentality as you generate ideas to market your music, viewing traditional standards with suspicion and probing the potential of more outlandish promotional ideas.

What can you do to market your next release in a completely new way?

March 19, 2013 by 2 Comments
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Advergaming for Independent Artists

This is a guest article by Simon Walklate, co-founder of Bristol, UK based game developers The Motion Monkey. He is also a drummer,  former independent record label owner and music fan.

Learn Video Game Success!Having played in bands for years (and even run my own independent record label at one point) I know just how difficult – and potentially costly – it can be to get your music heard.

Successful musicians and bands have been licensing their music for use in video games for decades. It’s a great opportunity to expose music to potential new fans. In fact, I’m sure pretty much everyone that plays video games can remember at least one occasion when they’ve discovered and become a fan of a band via a video game soundtrack.

But what if you don’t already have a publishing deal and label support to help make these sorts of opportunities happen? Is there a way for independent artists to get involved?

This is where the casual games market comes in.

An Introduction to Advergaming

Free-To-Play, web-based Flash games are a massive source of entertainment for millions worldwide. It’s possible to commission custom games for marketing purposes (often called ‘Advergames’) and they’re perfectly suited to help get your music heard.

You could almost think of it in terms of an interactive music video for a track, with all the same creativity involved in production. A good game designer can either create suitable game concepts and visuals that complement the music, or help you develop your own ideas before producing the finished game.

You can include these custom games on your band website, as well as have the developer distribute the game to online gaming websites for possible inclusion. This way you’re also harnessing existing online casual gaming communities to get your music heard.

Motion Monkey Games

The Benefits of Advergaming for Independent Musicians

Advergames provide a number of advantages to artists over other forms of paid advertising they might use:

  • Direct exposure for the thing that matters most, your music - Having your music as the soundtrack to the game (or the game as the visual and interactive accompaniment to your music, depending on how you want to look at it) means you’re quite literally showing, not telling people about your music.
  • Takes your music to the people – Having a website, social media presence and your music on streaming sites is great. But you need to get people to those places to hear your music, which can be tough. With an Advergame you’re taking your music to the people, rather than waiting (and hoping) for them to come find your music.
  • Potentially huge worldwide exposure - Although there are no guarantees of specific numbers, the potential is virtually limitless. A great Flash game can get millions of plays (and sometimes even tens of millions). Is there another medium that has the potential for that kind of exposure for your music?
  • Drive traffic to your website – Advergames are a great source of traffic for websites. Links within the game direct players to your website to find out more about you and your music and ultimately help you build your fanbase.
  • Long term exposure – Advergames can continue to get huge numbers of plays over the longer term. It’s not unusual for them to keep attracting players years after launch.
  • It’s innovative – Because Advergames are still a pretty new way to advertise, that’s not yet in widespread use, it may help you stand out from the crowd. Been looking for that hook to get your press release noticed both online and with traditional media? This may very well be it.

Next Steps

The Motion Monkey LogoCustom Advergames don’t come cheap, but they don’t have to cost the earth either. Keeping it fairly simple is the key, and having a band of four or more members to split the cost, may just make it financially viable.

You should also be aware that The Motion Monkey are offering reduced rate Advergames for self-financed artists, so get in touch if this introduction has piqued your interest in this unique and creative marketing channel.

March 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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