I see more and more bands (indie or not) appearing on Twitter, and that made me think about how I would use it if I had a band myself. As usual, I’ll share my insights from the indie/Do-It-Yourself music industry point of view, but it could probably apply to mainstream bands too.
So, if I had a band, what would I use Twitter for?
- To give random news and updates about the band and his members.
- To send updates when the band is on tour. Many bands open a blog just for their tours ,but they stop updating after a few days on the road. Twitter is probably the easiest way to give quick and short updates (or share pictures, using Twitpic for instance).
- To promote your online presence: Myspace page, Facebook group or page, Youtube channel, Flickr account, etc.
- To interact with fans! Twitter is a great tool to engage with people. You could use it to know if people like your records or if they enjoyed your last show in their town. You could also ask them what they think of the lyrics you just wrote for a new song. Or you could answer their questions, it would feel more intimate than a regular interview.
- To organize or promote contests.
- To ask for help. There is something everybody who works in a Do-It-Yourself way is familiar with: asking for help! You need a place to sleep after a show when you are on tour? You still need to find promoters to book two last shows to complete your tour schedule? There is an online contest to get your band to play as a support act on a big stage ,and you want people to vote for you? Well Twitter might help you find assistance!
Good, now you know why you need Twitter. Second thing to do: find followers and people to follow. A good start would be using the search features from Twitter, I think it’s a very effective way to start. A good example of this is how I got followed by Peta2 and many other animal rights organisations on Twitter. They monitor animal rights related words (vegan(ism), vegetarian, ALF, animal rights, animal liberation, etc.) to find people who are concerned (the reason why they found me is that I have the word vegetarian in my bio and have many tweets about vegan food).
So, try to search “punk” or “rock” (or any word related to your band or music style) on Find People or Twitter Search and add (and why not follow) the people whose bio seem to match with your band and music. Another great idea is to follow record labels and other bands (looking at their followers list might also help you find new fans). Once you start getting people to follow your band, the list will grow naturally.
I had a Twitter account for my band, the last thing I would do is: engage with the fans and get them involved, they need to feel that you care about them. If you don’t do so, you’ll end up tweeting only about your band and your pointless self-promotion. So, @reply to people, direct-message them and retweet when you think it could interest your followers. It’d also be nice to mention who’s tweeting or who’s in charge of the account; people love to know who they’re talking to.
Does your band have a Twitter account? How do you use it? Feel free to share your insights and tips!