Creating your online presence and growing your fan base is not as easy as some make it out to be. If you were creating your Facebook page for your music five years ago, this would have been a different story. Few artists had band pages, and it was less difficult to get lost in the shuffle of massive social media notifications.
Today, though, you need to have a well thought-out plan if you want to see yourself build a high-quality page with an actual engaged audience of your fans.
So how do you do this? Let’s look at this six step plan that will help get you up and running and off to gather those ‘likes’ :
- Know your target market.
In business, you have to know your customer base before you go and open your doors. This also rings true as an artist for creating your Facebook fan base. There are nearly 1.5 billion users on Facebook. It is impossible for all of them to fall in love with your music. Even Taylor Swift has haters, and she’s seen as one of the most popular present-day musicians.
However, don’t discount everyone. You want to be specific, but you also want to be creative. What does this mean? While Taylor Swift’s fans may not be yours, it’s important to figure how to find more fans that will like your music. You can use Facebook ads to promote your music. When doing so, be sure to get specific on the types of people you’re targeting — not just age groups. What do they like? What do they dislike? Knowing little intricacies like this can help you expand your audience.
- Now understand how to ‘speak’ to them.
Ok, you have your audience. Now you need to start engaging them with the content you add to your page. You’ll want to keep three things in mind each time you post:
- Speak like your target audience – language is key.
- Think like them – try to approach the topic from their perspective.
- Act as they would act – research what causes and events are important to your fan base.
A great way to do this is by jumping in on a conversation or cause that your potential fans care about. Here’s an example (albeit a non-musical one): A business that sells used machinery lets their audience know that they care about heart health with a Facebook post. Since this topic is relevant to their audience, they create engagement. This human touch is what lets audiences know you’re worth their time.
You can also take a look at Facebook’s tip about how to create a two-way conversation. You want to garner a response from your audience and create dialogue. Comments move your content through the news feed more frequently so it is seen by more users.
- Track which content engages the most people.
Not every post you’ll create will see the same response and engagement, so keep track of what types of posts seem to attract your audience more than others. It will be an important way for you to discover what works for your fans and what doesn’t. Some ideas to keep in mind:
- Ask questions on your page. People love to answer easy yes/no inquiries or simple either/or choices. Just make sure it’s relevant to your fans.
- Photos give your audience something to look at. Keep them interesting and people will keep coming back.
- Fill-in-the-Blanks type posts help your audience easily weigh in, and keeps your content light and funny.
- Hold an exclusive contest, like a drawing for two free concert tickets for sharing your page. Keep it simple and don’t do it too often.
Now, I’m not saying you should pull a Kanye West here, and tweet controversial things just to get engagement. Instead, put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and create and post information that your audience will truly want to read and see.
- Content should be real, relaxed and relevant.
Keep your content relevant to your audience and relatable. You may not see results right away, but be patient. Don’t start spamming your page with promotional material. This will just annoy your users. You want to build a relationship that will last over time.
Make sure you foster that relationship with your fans by posting content that feels real to them. This will build trust, and they’re more likely to continue following and sharing. Once you’ve created this rapport, up your game and post more frequently about gigs and shows. If you’ve done it right, your audience will be hungry for more content.
- Be prompt.
Don’t just post something here or there — like twice a day on Monday, nothing until Wednesday and then three times on Friday. This lack of scheduling won’t help your audience recognize when to look for new content from you. Create a schedule and hold to it.
Be creative with your scheduled posts. This will help create a rhyme and reason for them. For example, you could do a ‘Music Monday’ post that highlights what you’re listening to that day. It could be a favorite song, band, or album each week. Then poll your audience — ask them what they are playing on repeat.
This is an easy way to keep the beginning of the week light and funny — and your audience will be more likely to tune back in during the week for more serious topics. In order to help you stick to your post schedule and topics, make a list in your planner to help you stay organized and on task.
- Be sure to measure and monitor your results.
You can’t make improvements or build off success if you don’t monitor how your content performs and measure its failures and successes. Be sure to look at your page insights and make notes. Know what kind of metrics, like negative feedback, you should be evaluating to improve your reach and engagement with your audience.
If you want Facebook to be successful for your band, you have to pay attention to what is being read, shared and commented on. If a post gets absolutely no engagement whatsoever, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad content. It just means you need to look at the types of adjustments needed to do better next time.
Now you have the tools to build and optimize your Facebook page successfully — so get out there and find your fans! It’ll take some hard work and dedication, but the little community you create will very much be worth the effort.
