#Musicians: Creating a community for your fans

Building a fanbase is really about building a community. Here’s how to build yours.

A guest post by THE ORCHARD of The Daily Rind.

Now more than ever it’s important to use your platform to amplify voices and causes that are important to you and the community. Fans now want to support artists whose beliefs align with their own. It’s important to use music and the platform it provides to make an impact and support positive change. Whether that’s social justice, rights for women, LGBTQIA+, Trans communities, BIPOC communities, green initiatives or another uplifting cause, it’s important to understand how to appropriately address these topics on your social platforms. 

According to the Pew Research Center, 80% of Americans say social media platforms are effective for raising public awareness about political or social issues. About two-thirds of Americans believe that social media highlights important issues that might not get a lot of attention otherwise and that social media helps give a voice to underrepresented groups. 

If you’re attempting to create a safe and authentic community for your fans here are some thoughts to keep in mind.

Key Questions To Ask Yourself

Before making a post, responding to comments, or making a statement, be sure to ask yourself: 

• Am I speaking on behalf of a community? Do I identify with that community? If not, see tips on how to proceed below.
• Am I excluding or stereotyping a community based on my words? Am I truly listening to a community’s feedback, or coming from a defensive place?
• Could my comments be seen as negative towards a certain community? Am I communicating authentically in a helpful way, or from a place of guilt?
• Based on my previous statements and opinions, could this be seen as hypocritical of me to say?

What Are You Saying?

First look into what you are posting or reposting. Is this something you support or believe in? Make sure it first aligns with your personal beliefs before moving forward. Secondly, what does it mean? When posting or reposting, think about the context. Does this support a cause and amplify others? If so, keep going!  

After you’ve determined what you’re trying to say, one of the most important things you can do is fact check. Fact checking ensures you’re creating a safe community for your fans. Before posting, ask yourself if you have properly researched your point. Where is this news coming from? Has it been backed up by other sources or peer reviewed? Disinformation is constantly spread via social channels so it’s up to each user to be sure what you’re posting is based in fact.

Why Are You Saying It?

Now that you know what you are saying and have checked the facts, consider why you are sharing this. Do you feel confident or passionate about the subject? Make sure you are posting from an authentic space rather than feeling pressure to speak about a subject that you aren’t confident in. If you’d like to know more about it but not sure where to begin, try following related activists or organizations. Many credible and active organizations have social platforms, so it may also make more sense to reshare a post from an authority on the topic to continue uplifting their presence and message versus adding your personal voice into the mix.

How You Say It.

Creating A Safe & Authentic Community For Your Fans means creating a safe space to share your opinion as well as listen to others. You can do this by creating a positive, uplifting, and inclusive environment. Welcome conversation and different viewpoints. Before posting, it may be beneficial to run what you have to say by varied sources to make sure what you’re looking to communicate is being properly perceived. 

Don’t Just Say It, Do It

Take things to the next level! Don’t just “talk the talk.” Social Media activism is successful when online activism leads to offline action. Take action and encourage your followers to do the same. Some great ways you can do this is volunteer, donate to organizations doing the work, attend events, and support fundraisers. Consider partnerships with credible and vetted organizations to amplify the cause. Lastly as a global citizen, continue to educate yourself on issues that affect you and the world.