HOW FAMILIAR DOES THIS SOUND?
Book a gig.
Create a Facebook Event.
Share it on social media.
Post it on your website.
Share it on social again….
Book another gig.
Create another Facebook Event.
(you get the idea).
For most of us, by default, that’s our entire promo strategy. Honestly, that’s all we have time to do in a given week. In some ways, we’re so conditioned to think because there are so many people on social media, that should be enough!
According to a study done by MusicWatch, 90% of the 3.7 billion social media users engage with music or musicians – by viewing videos or posts featuring musicians, liking or sharing a musician’s post, discovering music or sharing music.
Unfortunately, we are not living in the classic film “Field of Dreams.” No matter how awesome our music is or great our stage presence, just because we build it, does not mean they will come.
With that amount of traffic online also comes a hefty competition for people’s attention. So while you should definitely have a social media strategy on social, don’t underestimate the power of search engines.
The ability to be where your fans (and potential new fans) will be looking for entertainment this weekend should also be an important part of your marketing tool box.
Mobile searches for “things to do/activities” + “near me” saw a 6X increase over the last 2 years.
++ “Live Music Near You” Alerts via Gigmor
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
As I mentioned last week in my interview, my band hit the scene prior to Facebook and social media really being “a thing.” We were forced to be creative in how we promote shows. Some of that included offline tactics, while others included finding out where live music and other shows were already being listed.
Here’s the thing: Your live show and your music need to be heard and there are fans out there waiting to be entertained and inspired by exactly what you have to offer.
Let’s take a minute to explore some sites — other than Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter — that you should consider adding to your promotional strategy. Before we dive in though, a quick Q&A.
Q: Should you try to use all of these sites?
A: Probably not. Some of them might even aggregate into one another, so take some time to look into that.
Q: Should you do a little research, especially on your local level to see what sites list live local music?
A: Yes. Again, this is not to replace your social strategy, but to expand it. If you don’t have time to do anything other than a Facebook event, that’s fine. Create the event, then delegate to a band member or family member to transpose that info to one of the following sites.
7 PLACES TO PROMOTE SHOWS
Here are 7 places to promote your shows/create events that aren’t social media…
- AllEvents.in – A widely-popular event aggregation platform
- Eventbrite.com – High-traffic ticketing website that seamlessly integrates with Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify
- Eventful.com – boasts the world’s most comprehensive selection of local entertainment content
- EventsNearHere.com – is designed to help people find or promote shows.
- Evvnt.com – a growing event marketing automation platform aggregating to 4,500+ event listing sites
- Nextdoor.com – considered the neighborhood hub for the exchange of helpful information, goods, services, and local events.
- Meetup.com – a platform for finding and building local communities
EVENTBRITE
Some of the event sites will allow you to add tags or keywords to help fans find you. We’ll use Eventbrite.com as an example. It’s one of Google’s most trusted websites, and has the highest domain authority of any ticketing site. You can also sync your Eventbrite gigs to Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
You will have 10 tags you can add when creating your event – use them! Here are some examples to spark ideas.
- Things to do in [your city]
- [Your city] events (or concerts)
- Things to do near me
- Live music this weekend
- Live music near me
- Things to do tonight
- [Your genre] music this weekend
- [Your genre] concerts this weekend
- [Your city] [your genre] near me
- What to do this weekend (or tonight)
Want even more ideas for tags to use? Consider predictive keywords to get ideas and find the most commonly searched terms in your area.
You can see this full post on our Instagram
Ticketing and event sites like Eventbrite help your event rank higher in Google searches. They can be a great way to promote shows online without spending money on paid ads on Facebook.
Just be sure to research their fee structure. Several of the sites will be free to join, but will take a % of ticket sales, or perhaps add on a processing fee.
Eventbrite Fees (US)
• Essential Package: 2% + $0.79 per sold ticket
• Professional Package: 3.5% + $1.59 per sold ticket
• Premium package: contact the Eventbrite sales team
• Eventbrite Organizer tickets at the door: $1 per sold ticket
• Eventbrite Payment Processing Fee: 2.5% per order
They also include a payment calculator. Put in your ticket price, choose your package, and pass on fees or absorb them. Then see how the ticket price changes.
Most sites will not charge if you have a free event and just want to get the word out. Just be sure to look under the hood before you spend time incorporating this into your promo plans.
PARTNER WITH YOUR VENUES
Lastly, don’t forget to partner with your venue. Ask the talent buyers, club owners, promoters where they list their events and entertainment. If they don’t, then you’ll still come off looking like a professional by asking the right questions.
Best case scenario you find out the specific local newspapers, community boards, or local radio stations they advertise with already.
++ How to Partner With Your Venue and Promote Like a Pro
++ Booking Bands on Gigmor with Your Talent Seeker Account
Even after you use Gigmor to book a great show with one of the 2000+ venues, your work has only begun. Now is the time to think (i.e. promote) outside the box. It’s already hard enough getting people to shows, don’t ALSO make them work to find the details. Obviously, you want to take care of the basics — your website, your socials, and your email list.
Once you’ve got those bases covered though, think about where your fans will already be looking for live music and entertainment — and be there when they get there!
———————-
Leonard is an avid fan of all things New Edition, an indie-focused booking agent, a frequent hi-fiver, and a certified digital marketer (yes, in that order). Since stepping off stage as a band manager/front man of a 6-figure party band, he launched Indie Band Coach with a mission to help indie bands reach more fans and book more gigs. When he’s not working, he’s most likely at a live music event, analyzing Marvel movies, or soaking up vitamin D at the beach with his wife and son.
Are you in LA/Southern CA? Join Indie Band Coach at an upcoming live marketing workshop.