7 Tips For Spam-Free Music Marketing On Twitter
Over at HowToRunABand.com, Chris "Seth" Jackson is in the midst of a series of posts that comprise a "Twitter Guide for Musicians." Having recently encountered some sad Twitter spam and subsequently reading a bit of a rant by Michael Brandvold, Jackson's post on the topic seemed particularly timely and yet timeless. Spam will be with us forever but periodic reminders may help the socially savvy improve their music marketing on Twitter.
Michael Brandvold recently shared his annoyance at tweeters who jump in on conversations with off-topic requests to check out their music:
"Would you walk up to someone on the street that you have never met, that is talking to someone else and say, 'Put these headphones on and listen to my music and then can you please tell all your friends about my music?'"
Honestly, sometimes people think this is a legit maneuver but it's annoying and it makes you look bad. On the other hand, it does clear some folks from the field who are subsequently ignored as are the links to their music.
As part of a 30 post Twitter Guide for Musicians, Chris "Seth" Jackson recently shared his take on Twitter spam titled "Avoid this Horrible Behavior at All Costs!." Be a good Web citizen and take it to heart.
7 Ways to Avoid Spamming Others on Twitter
Don't Introduce Yourself With an Ad
"Never lead with selling or promoting yourself. There’s plenty of time for that, and your introduction to someone is not it!"
Don't Interrupt Conversations
"When there’s a conversation going on on Twitter, and you just reply to all with a link to your shitty pop video, I just want to insult everything about you that made you ever want to become a musician."
Don't Stuff Your Tweets With Hashtags
"Another annoying behavior around hashtags is trying to make every word in your tweet into a hashtag."
Don't Send Ads Via Direct Message
"A direct message is really personal and should be about a private conversation between you and the person you are contacting."
Don't Use Hashtags In Your Bio
"When you overload your bio with a ton of hashtags and @usernames, it looks horrible, unreadable, and cheap."
Don't Broadcast, Engage!
"You promote your shows, and you promote your iTunes, and you promote your self in every way shape possible [but]…You never share something else from another band, blog, or fan."
Don't Make Untargeted Contacts
"Take a second and think before you contact someone to promote something. Find out what that person is about. Read their profile. Follow the link to their website and see what they are about."
The Bottom Line?
"The winning game is about building a great relationship with one person rather than spamming one thousand."
Be sure to check out Jackson's post for more and his Twitter Guide for much more.
Plus: Instead Of Building A Fake Following On Twitter, Why Not Build A Fanbase?
[Spam thumbnail courtesy dok1.]
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) blogs about music crowdfunding at Crowdfunding For Musicians (@CrowdfundingM). To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
Wow! Thank you so much, Clyde! I’m honestly speechless to see this on Hypebot! And I’m a bit jealous you made my post more readable, concise, and have a better headline. Haha!
Again, thank you! And I hope it helps curb some of the spam out there.
Just doing my thing. I appreciate your work and I’m glad to send some attention your way!
This is good. My thinking is, if it has to be explained then maybe they are in the wrong biz. We all fall short and are tempted to force the music but a recording artist and musician are not always the same animal. You have a lot of musicians being led to believe they are recording artists. Everybody I have worked with that has been successful has that certain natural quality and ability to draw and engage without having it explained to them. I suppose there is a learning curve but hose who are cut out for it will figure it out by looking to other artists who are successful.
That didn’t sound right…. I meant that they’re a lot of musicians being led… not implying that “You” are doing it… lol
Love the advice! (and guilty as charged in some cases)
You can’t avoid spam as long as you show to them that your site is free for spamming. I assume there is a studying bend but hose who are cut out for it will determine it out by looking to other performers who are effective.