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At 11:02 PM +0000 12/12/09, Matt Stevens wrote:
>On 12 Dec 2009, at 23:00, david kirkdorffer wrote:
>>
>>Sorry if this is a subject that has alrady been broached (and
>>beaten flat with your older brother's Ampeg SVT stack), but how are
>>you finding TWITTER as a tool to serve your music promotion and
>>sales needs?
>>
>>I've not had the best of luck from it so far... and you?
>>
>>David
>>
>>Twitter = undude
>
>Very useful for spreading the word about about Ustream gigs,]
These days, I spend as much (or more) time on Twitter as I do on LD.
So it's one of my primary forms of online interaction.
I'll agree with Matt; Twitter is extremely useful for promoting or
sending reminders about online performances. I've tuned in to a
couple of his that I wouldn't have known about otherwise.
Also, it's due to Twitter that I've jumped on to one or two of the
MoinSound sessions that Rainer hosts. If not for the Twitter
reminder, I would've messed up the time (again!) and missed them.
Twitter has also been a fantastic source of information that I
would've never come across otherwise. In a single day, I usually
collect more interesting links to resources than I'm able to sort
through. And I only save about a tenth of those that cross my
Twitter feed.
Additionally, and more to the point of the original post: I've been
able to hook up with a pretty good core group of people that I
interact with regularly -- not unlike this list here. And while it's
never a guarantee for anything, I believe I can safely say that
if/when I actually release something, I think I have the attention of
quite a few people that will listen, help promote, and perhaps even
buy it. Some of these are also heavily involved with the Netlabel
scene, so perhaps the chance might also exist to sign on to a
bona-fide release. Maybe....
IMNSO, the key to Twitter is the same as many new media outlets. You
can't just splattercast an announcement and then expect people to
come. You've got to work on building a community and interacting as
part of it.
I think I've said it here previously, but I believe the key to
surviving in this new and changing world is that you have to be aware
of this fact: people are not buying your product any longer; they are
buying you. You don't promote an object for sale. Instead, you
promote yourself by interacting and connecting with your audience.
Then, if your product dovetails with any interest to these online
friends and acquaintances, they'll follow-up with their wallets.
Just the same as here on LD, there are lots of releases that I never
would've been aware of (or acquired) had I not already had some sort
of online relationship with the artist.
Twitter is no different. However, it's not easy, either. There are
a lot of these online marketers that preach getting tons of followers
as a way to promote success. But if you look at all the followers
these guys have, they're all other marketers that are only interested
in bumping up their follow numbers. That's nothing more than an
online circle-jerk.
To be successful with Twitter, at least at the beginning, I believe
you have to try to actually connect on a personal level with the
people you follow. And that can be a lot of work.
But I'm still at a reasonably low level of followers too. So maybe
Matt or Steve or Zoe can speak more to the challenges once you get
past the 1000 follower mark. :)
(BTW, my Twitter ID = Dust_Bunnies )
--m.
--
_____
"bye-bye empire; empire, bye-bye"