5 Ways To Market Music With Facebook Interest Lists

Among the many recent changes at Facebook was the introduction of Interest Lists. Though this may not be the strongest tool in your marketing arsenal, it does have some potential uses that are worth considering for music marketing on Facebook. In particular, Interest Lists can be used to combine groups of feeds from band members, bands in a particular genre or bands from a particular locale for a combined impact.

Facebook's Interest Lists are a form of subscription that allow individuals to create what FB is describing as a "personalized newspaper, with special sections – or feeds- for topics that matter to you." You can find this option in the left hand column of links under Interests. Currently Facebook suggests celebrities of various kinds under Subscriptions but you can subscribe to combined feeds via Add Interests. You can also create a combined feed for others to follow via Create List.

When you create a list, you can do so by combining feeds from Pages, Friends or suggestions from Facebook. Once created, individuals who subscribe can go to the full feed via the Interests link in the left hand column. However, popular posts will also appear in the newsfeed of subscribers with the option to view the full list of new posts as shown here.

5 Ways to Market Your Band Using Interest Lists

1. Obviously Pages and personal accounts are best if you simply want to create a stream of news about you and your work. But if the members of your band all have separate accounts, one option is to create an Interest List that combines each individual account or Page to give fans a group subscription option.
2. If you identify with a particular aesthetic or local scene, you can create an Interest List focused on that aesthetic or scene that includes you. Then you can encourage other members to share the list with their fans.
3. In addition to encouraging your fans to subscribe to lists you've created or lists in which you're included, you can encourage them to create their own lists, such as "My Favorite Bands", and to be sure to include you. Then you can publicize their lists with an announcement in your feed which they'll certainly appreciate.
4. If there's a topic that interests you, for example, if you're a big fan of craft beers, you might create a list of pages from craft breweries. The list includes a heading with a link back to you, the list creator, and you can encourage beer lovers to spread the word about your list and extend your brand through your shared interest.
5. You can also use Interest Lists to identify target audiences for advertising. Though Facebook doesn't seem to have officially stated that as an option, given that they do allow you to target ads by Interests, Interest Lists should eventually be included in such options.

I don't believe that Interest Lists will be useful to everyone nor will they become the premiere approach to marketing music on Facebook. Nevertheless, they can be a useful tool in such strategies as creating an extended web presence that allows for additional forms of discovery that don't require high maintenance.

Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and music industry resources at Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.