I have discussed in many articles my views on using social media and networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as a means to get regular streams of new visitors to your website so you can continue to build your community and mailing list. 

The idea is that all these Web 2.0 websites are user-generated community portals where you can set up profiles and pages to showcase your music and your information. People, friends, and their friends, can become a friend or fan of your page, read and listen to your music and then possibly click on your web link to visit your website. 

I wanted to create a diagram that showed how I think this should all work, but came across one which looks even better than what I would be able to create. This diagram was created by Tom Williams of the Hit Singularity blog.

basic-social-media-strategy2

The chart above is brilliant, and although I wouldn’t alter it, I would point out that there are just too many tools that you would end up wasting all your time on them if you don’t plan it out accordingly and figure out what to do. My preferences are to use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to generate your traffic to your website and blog so you can build an e-mail list of fans.

What do you think of this diagram? Does it help you?

 

About the Author

Kavit Haria

adminKavit Haria is the founder of InsiderMusicBusiness.com. He writes and speaks on the topics of music promotion, music business strategy and music entrepreneurship. He's also a Tabla player.

17 Responses to “Social Media Strategy For Musicians – Facebook, Myspace, YouTube & More”

  1. Great graph, perhaps another goal should be “collect”, as in collecting an extensive email list / database of fans. This can be done in other places than just your website, and I use almost every platform I’m on, including widgets and the likes, to collect emails.

    It should never stop if you use these social platforms in creative ways.

    Again, great graph.

  2. Very informative !
    Thanks for sharing !

    Chuck
    chuckwhitemusic.com

  3. Thanks for the diagram Kavit – it’s always great to see a visual for a guideline. There are so many social medias available if you sign up for them all you can get truly bogged down.

    Managing even a FEW of them can be a time drain especially for those of us who still have a day job. I’ve tried to narrow it down to MySpace, Twitter and YouTube for professional stuff and then keep FaceBook a place for also keeping touch with far flung relatives and friends – more personal content not just music. However, I’ve found that time on FB is slower than the others bcz of all the html junk on there–and invitations to virtual coffee and all sorts of tests! Gah! Make them stop! Yet, alot of ppl seem to like FB so whatever floats your boat, right?

    Twitter has been great for time sensitive announcements especially if you use the phone feature! For example, I was playing a festival in June that was supposed to be rained out and it was great to post blue skies and my exact location from my phone! So those who Twitter too saw the latest news on that. When I Twitter, my MS and FB see the announcements as well since I’ve set it up to post there too. Luv it!

  4. As all of you can see in this chart, nothing there cost you a dime. Don’t be fooled by shady companies asking for hundreds of dollars up front to “Get you deals”. If they can truly get you a deal, they get paid from their pre-determined cut of the money you make on said deal.

    NEVER PAY UP FRONT. It gives them no insentive to do their job.

  5. The diagram above is definitely helpful to beginner musicians who would like to get their music out and perhaps the word out about updates and how to go about doing anything in between. I also feel it was helpful for those more experienced musicians who perhaps have a small fan base and a few of these tool sites, but are more-so just fishing in the dark with them and hoping for something to happen. I do use these sites to promote my music but I belong to the second category. It was nice to think of it as more black and white and to plan my use of these sites out more to my benefit as opposed to just making the site, putting music on them, and posting dates. As blogging becomes more important and vital to spreading the word about a musicians dates, releases, and promos, keeping your fans updated is very important because there’s always someone else trying to get their attention. I think this is a great diagram and alot of musicians could definitely benefit from it,

  6. yeah but you forgot the most important thing…………. the music and musicians need to be worht while and of subsstance. There is tons of garbage out there that just has great promo. Learn your craft and be appreciated as a player of your instrument.

    Mike

    Studying Jazz Drumkit and George Mason University

  7. studying music not spelling worth* substance* also I respect and thank the diagram above but…. more emphasis on practice and true musicianship.

  8. The diagram was informative and so was the email. I didn’t realize there were so many things involved to create a web presence.

  9. Kavit!!!
    You are great!
    I’m learning all I can – so much info!
    So I’m off and running – your info on the video is so specific and helpful that I feel empowered. I know I’ve been needing a website and mailing list but I don’t know how to do it other than paying someone else. Now I know exactly what sites to go to!
    Thank you!
    s

  10. Great article. The benefits of social media can’t be underestimated for musicians. As a few of you have mentioned, there are companies out there that require you to pay upfront fees for promotions. I would encourage you all to take a look at http://www.cfsrevolution.com. We are a company that guarantees a certain number of incredibly targeted followers/fans. With a system like this, it really is up to the musician to have a good product to offer because we do a fantastic job at targeting the people that are the most likely to buy and get into your music. We have proven our methods out successfully many times, and have yet to have a client that hasn’t drastically increased their sales.

    Just take a look or inquire for more information and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with what you see.

    Ben Anderson
    CEO
    cfsrevolution.com

  11. I think it’s a great diagram. The problem that I’m having (which is a good problem)is getting fans to convert over to my website blog instead of my myspace blog. I have hundreds hits on my myspace blog but I’m trying to convert more people over to my site.

    Any thoughts anyone?

    http://www.TyeBanks.com

  12. [...] Kavit point out in a recent article, there are some good strategies for using the various social networks to get attention. Better yet, [...]

  13. [...] article was re-published from Insider Music Business @ http://www.insidermusicbusiness.com/blog/social-media-strategy-for-musicians-using-facebook-myspace-... Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)SoundCloud MediaSocial Media 101 – Part 4Joystiq [...]

  14. Great diagram, but it highlights a big issue, as you say Kavit, which is that we musicians need to spend more time on our music and do the sort of publicity that perpetuates itself. 30 minutes at the end of the day on publicity is about all I have the time or energy for after a day in the studio! So devising a way of using a site as a kind of ‘portal’ feeding out to all these other sites is the way forward, I think. Fanbridge is beginning to get hip to this – now you can update your facebook, myspace and twitter all from one place, which does save a lot of time. I have to say I’ve considered a street team as a good way of achieving publicity, as there certainly isnt time to do it yourself!

  15. Thanks for the information. There are too many options trading strategies available. We need to test out all strategies and evaluate the techniques and measure them on the long term.

  16. [...] Social Media Strategy For Musicians – Facebook, Myspace, YouTube & More | Insider Music Busine…. [...]

  17. Online Marketer
    June 23rd, 2010
    7:48 pm
    Online Marketer

    The diagram is good but now dated with the slide of MySpace.
    Make sure that you hire someone who can keep up to date so that you don’t have to. Sure, many of the tools are free but the time and expertise to use them effectively for talent promotion isn’t.

    That’s why labels spend so much on marketing and PR.

    As for Musician above – that’s an idiotic concept. People expect to get paid for their work, they aren’t on commission. This is where talent agents and online marketing diverge. The best online marketers also know brand and reputation management – and are worth what they charge. Your results are proportional to the investment. Generating the highest ROI is the name of the game.

    Getting nothing for free? ANYONE can do that.

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