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The Underground’s Fight Against Facebook’s Forever-Changing Algorithms

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The underground scene has been in constant battle with various forces for many years, and especially so with mainstream culture. But now, it is facing another adversary — one that can appear too powerful and enigmatic to beat: Facebook.

Facebook has been a source of discontent for underground artists. The Quietus recently came out with an article bemoaning what the social media giant has been doing in “killing” the underground culture.

The interview quoted German composer Antye Greie-Ripatti, or AGF, who had some unpleasant experiences with the social media platform, such as an unauthorized artist’s page that was created without her knowledge. She also spoke out on the lack of user agency and individual privacy, as well as he homogenizing force of the platform which hampers her own way of communicating as an artist, a sentiment shared by other artists as well.

“When you log in to an artist’s page, Facebook gives you suggestions on how to ‘improve’ your ‘performance’. They give you tools and tips which make it look like they’re trying to help, but it’s just pushing you into this marketing mindset. I find myself caring about the response to a post, when I don’t want to. I want to focus on my music – that’s how I make a connection to the audience, first and foremost,” said artist Rrose as quoted in the interview.

One of the criticisms raised against Facebook is that while it is useful to connect to many people across the globe, it also inadvertently puts pressure on the artist to keep more than they need to  One example is Facebook requiring artist pages to respond to all the messages she receives, even though sometimes they are weird requests or inappropriate messages. Plus having to maintain multiple social media accounts like Instagram and Twitter simultaneously is seen by some artists as overwhelming and annoying.

Then there is the matter of “promoting” artist pages on the platform. Artists spend quite a lot to promote their Facebook pages to get a wider reach that their pages normally would not get. However, the expenses involved has made it difficult for many independent artists to avail this feature. And if they do, at times the money spent would not be worth as it does not often translate into profit.

There is also the matter of content in which Facebook’s algorithms tends to favor promoting content designed to go viral. This puts high-quality thoughtful content that lack viral elements to make it appealing at a great disadvantage as less people get to see well-thought of opinions instead of audience-friendly but fake content.

On the other hand of these complaints, independent artists find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The option of leaving Facebook is too much of a risk for them to take, especially that it is pretty the largest social media network in the globe and other social media networks could not compare to the scope Facebook already has.

“The once liberatory potential of the internet has dissipated into a mirror of inequality, with power massively skewed online just as it is irl,” Mollie Zhang of The Quietus . “As we surrender personal information and soak up dopamine hits, it becomes even more challenging to envision how independent artists can survive. Hopefully, as this conversation keeps moving, we can begin to figure out how the difficult people can continue making brilliant art.”

It is safe to say this is the hope of everyone else in the industry and beyond as well.

H/T: The Quietus

Impressions vs. Engagements: The Social Media Debacle For All Music Artists

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When it comes to social media, it is the goal of every artist to get themselves and their music noticed, and especially so whenever they have a new release or a upcoming gig that would benefit from getting as much attention possible.

But it would be naïve to think that one just needs to send blind invite or make random posts to reach as many people as possible via social media channels. Social media has evolved so much in recent years that number of followers alone is no longer enough these days to get traction. As such, two different strategies for greater social media mileage have emerged, namely, engagement and impressions.

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Social Media Developing Talented

How to Boost Engagement on Your Facebook Artist Page

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Facebook pages have proven to be essential social media tools for any artist to better engage their fans and reach a wider fanbase of new music listeners and appreciators. But if one thinks that having a Facebook page and posting new releases or events they will be at is enough to capture such an audience, the truth is that they are sadly mistaken.

Effective engagement through the Facebook page entails more than just posting. It also involves having the right strategies and mindsets to make it work. We will be sharing 5 of these strategies to help you out in your Facebook page engagement.

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5 Instagram Tips for Electronic Music Artists

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Instagram has become one of the most popular social media networks in use today. While the app seems simple at first glance, there’s more to Instagram than meets the eyes, and especially so for those looking to build and grow a brand that gets to the eyes of its intended target audience.

Today, we are sharing 5 important tips for electronic music artists to bear in mind:

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Growing Your Social Media Presence as an Electronic Music Artist

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We have always stressed here how important social media is for an artist to succeed in the music industry today. This is especially true in electronic music, where many artists, especially independent artists, have come to rely on social media to get their music released and be heard far and wide, not to mention using it to interact with their fans and the public in general on a more personal level.

But if you are a new artist or someone getting into social media for the first time, all this may seem overwhelming. You may also find yourself needing to catch up a lot considering that many artists have a more established social media presence than you have. Nevertheless, the potential is there for you to be successful with your social media efforts, and getting going now is always better than never starting. All it takes is to remember and follow the tips we will be sharing here.

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The Electronic Music Industry and Social Media Self-Destruction

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Social media self-destruction seems to be a trend in the electronic music industry as of late.

Ten Walls is perhaps the most known victim of self-induced career suicide, a result of homophobic remarks posted to his Facebook account just over two years ago. Despite a number of apologies, canceled gigs, getting rebooked and then dropped again and then launching a brand-new tour, he has yet to come remotely close to the level of popularity and career trajectory he was enjoying prior to his now infamous statements.

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Social Media Developing Talented

The Correlation Between Social Media and Developing Talented Electronic Music Artists

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In today’s society, Social Media plays a big role in people’s everyday lives as well as business. Social Media is also turning out to be an important vehicle for bringing to light the talent of new electronic music artists, through making them known to fans and promoting their brand.

Electronic dance music is over saturated, so you need to be clever when you are attempting to reach your potential fans, media outlets, labels and managers to pay attention to you. It is not enough for artists to keep posting their music on their YouTube or SoundCloud accounts over and over. It is not enough for artists to wait for their manager to make a move. Production Music Live explains why this is: “Your post isn’t just competing with another producer’s post – it’s also competing with a meme and a cat video someone shared. No wonder why the link to your music gets lost in this stream – it’s just not the most engaging post.” Artists need to keep this fact in mind in order to navigate the social media stream. Here are some factors that may improve social media standing and lead to developing the career of talented electronic music artists:

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The Correlation Between Social Media and Record Sales

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Before the turn of the century, when an artist recorded a song, you had to buy the music before you got to listen to it at will. The more record sales, the more successful the artist and the music was. People loved buying records; there was the vinyl LP, the cassette tape, the compact-disc and then the evolution of mp3s. While before you have to have a special player to hear the record you bought, today things are very different. Now you can just log on to social media or streaming sites and listen to the newest tunes.

But is there a connection between social media popularity and a track or album’s final sales? Check out the following graphs from hypebot.com to see the correlation between the two works:

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Internal Communication Tools To Keep Your Event Team Organized

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One of the biggest issues young and new promoters face is keeping their team synched and organized. Most of the time and out of habit, it’s easy to find yourself depending on online messengers and text messaging. While these are okay when you’re having a day-to-day normal conversation, you can never be dependent on these things when giving assignments and important information as you can lose track of valuable details and overlook due dates. We couldn’t stress how crucial communication is in order to increase efficiency and productivity amongst team members.

There are a wide range of internal communication tools available in the market right now but we have chosen 10 of the best ones to get you started in better organizing your event team, regardless of how big or small.

Email Over Verbal/Text/Unregulated Chat

E-mail is a trustworthy form of written and internal communication tool that almost everyone in the world uses. It is without a doubt better than verbal, text, or unregulated chat when dealing with business matters. As a promoter, you have to keep track of your daily-to-dos and follow up your team members on how they’re handling their assignments. Although a text message could do the trick, it is important to remember that text messages can easily get mixed up and you can result in lost details along the way.

Use of e-mails over Facebook chat or regular texting is strongly encouraged for a wide variety of reasons. With e-mails there is always a trace of every conversation you’ve had with your clients, event sponsors, and team members which you can later use for reference and/or legal purposes.

Slack

Slack is an exceptional online internal communication tool with a vast assortment of options and settings. It may not contain everything you’re looking for in a communication tool but it certainly is the best for group messaging and back-channel chat. Slack is real-time messaging, archiving and search for modern teams, with some added bonus features thrown into the mixture.

Enter Slack. “You don’t want your phone buzzing in your pocket all day,” says Hardie. “So you can just do it through Slack, instead.” Indeed, Slack offers all the functionality of texting, and more: The features designed to make the workplace more playful—GIFs, embedded songs from Spotify, custom emoji, funny replies from Slackbot—turn out to be equally fun with friends.

Asana

Asana is a flexible and well-designed online internal communication tool which specializes in workflow and task management. As a promoter, you can use Asana to keep track of your daily assignments and to-dos. It’s also a good way to keep track of your members workflow. It is far more productive than an e-mail and certainly better than any text messaging app, as it allows you to see progress for any project without scheduling a status meeting or sending an email, enabling teams to move work from start to finish.

You can check their pricing information here.

Facebook at Work

You want to stick to Facebook? Sure, but at least make sure you switch to Workplace by Facebook! Facebook has developed a new internal communication tool that is perfect for new and young promoters, following the same functionality utilized by the regular Facebook site while at the same time being specifically designed for the workplace.

We’ve brought the best of Facebook to the workplace — whether it’s basic infrastructure such as News Feed, or the ability to create and share in Groups or via chat, or useful features such as Live, Reactions, Search and Trending posts. This means you can chat with a colleague across the world in real time, host a virtual brainstorm in a Group, or follow along with your CEO’s presentation on Facebook Live.

We’ve also built unique, Workplace-only features that companies can benefit from such as a dashboard with analytics and integrations with single sign-on, in addition to identity providers that allow companies to more easily integrate Workplace with their existing IT systems. (Source: newsroom.fb.com)

Allo

Allo is an online chat application created by Google for Android and Apple devices. It is regarded as a beneficial internal communication tool by event promoters, producers, and even student groups. It is integrated with Google Assistant and does most things you would expect from a messaging application like sending pictures, stickers, and group chats. It also identifies you by your phone number or Google ID which make sit easier for your business contacts to sync.

Introducing Google Allo, a smart messaging app that helps you say more and do more. Express yourself better with stickers, doodles, and HUGE emojis & text. Allo also brings you the Google Assistant.

Spaces

Your easy way to figure things out, together.

Another Google application, Spaces lets Gmail users make a group via invitations and start conversations regarding different topics. You are also allowed to share links, videos, images, and even articles. One of the amazing features of this internal communication tool is that it allows you to browse through shared links without leaving the app. Mainly because Google has unified its services like Google Search, YouTube, and Chrome in this application.

Furthermore, Spaces allows a free flowing communication with lots of people in a group and lets you search past conversations with ease. Definitely better than text messaging! When someone shares a new message or file, a conversational view allows you to look at the entire group’s chat at that certain moment. In instances where you want to review past topics or conversations, you can use Spaces quick search feature to find what you’re looking for.

Workgroup

“Forget email, communicate and discuss your projects in real time, with all the right people.”

Workgroup is aimed towards professionals and people who converse and deal with multiple clients and businesses, thus the name Workgroup. It’s basically an application that makes group work communication effortless, faster, and more convenient through online messaging. While a lot of internal communication tools like emails and Slack are more popular, these could leave you with long chain emails with endless CCs and such. Workgroup saves you from such hassle.

Trello

An internal communication tool that organizes your projects into boards and cards. Trello is a great tool for promoters to keep your team and workflow organized. It has a minimalist but highly customizable interface, especially if you own a Premium Account. The drag and drop feature makes it fairly easy to use even for beginners, and you can arrange your cards by colors to specify its hierarchy on the priority list and represent groups. Trello also shows you what projects are being worked on and who are working on them at one glance.

On top of it, Trello’s Slack plugin is an excellent feature.

Trello lets you work more collaboratively and get more done. Trello’s boards, lists, and cards enable you to organize and prioritize your projects in a fun, flexible and rewarding way.

Google Documents, Sheets and Slides

Google Documents, Sheets and Slides are a free and impressive online suite of office applications which are accessible from web browsers and various portable mobile devices. All three features have an an elegant visual design packed with great features, enabling promoters to work effortlessly with their team both remotely and none, thanks to Cloud file sharing. You can also chat with your group members directly inside a document or add comments with their e-mail addresses, allowing for modifications, corrections and reference on the go and from anywhere in the world with internet connection. With Google Docs, Sheets and Slides it is easier to work together as a team with one document at the same time.

Google Docs brings your documents to life with smart editing and styling tools to help you easily format text and paragraphs. Choose from hundreds of fonts, add links, images, and drawings. All for free.

Dropbox for Business

Dropbox is well-known for its sharing and syncing features. Unlike the personal account, Dropbox for Business is integrated with additional security and amazing features, one of which is its unlimited version history cache. This enables users to recover past/lost documents. They also allow users to retrieve deleted files through their web application simply by clicking on the deleted items icon.

As a promoter, it is important to keep a record of all documents relating to your event planning and transactions. It is also ideal to keep records of past events that may deem useful for future planning. It also allows you to share your files with your team members and even people outside your team like clients and sponsors. Dropbox for Business makes saving and sharing documents easy as a breeze.

Securely share, sync, and collaborate

Dropbox Business is the secure file sharing and storage solution that employees love and IT admins trust.

For a list of Dropbox Business Plan comparisons, click here.

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Promoters, This Is How You Should Use Instagram To Sell More Tickets

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Instagram is without a doubt one of the strongest promotion tools on the Internet. With its easy-to-use and pleasing to the eyes interface, it is statistically the best and most used photo sharing platforms and apps in the world. As a promoter, you want to showcase your events and sell it to potential attendees — not just in your immediate market area but far beyond it also.

Instagram let’s you do that. The right picture or video paired with matching captions and hashtags allow you to pick up more ticket-buyers than you could have previously reached. But are you using Instagram as a marketing tool correctly? We have prepared a few tips to let you maximize Instagram to its full potential, with the aim of hopefully raising more ticket sales. Promoters, this is how you should use Instagram to sell more tickets:

Aesthetics

People scroll through Instagram not to read captions but to look at photos. If you captivate their eyes with amazing event-related photographs, then they’ll take the time to read your caption and possibly buy a ticket to your upcoming event.

Make sure to upload high-quality photos, and regularly post event posters to promote what is coming. As we have mentioned, Instagram users usually look at photos, so uploading your event flyers amidst other high-quality graphics promoting your event will let your followers and potential attendees know about it and lessen the risk of them scrolling right through it.

In addition, try to use less Instagram filters. You want to showcase your events to potential attendees, so the crisper and clearer your photos are the better. Most of the times, “Instagrammers” follow accounts that are artistic and attractive. So find out the aesthetics and branding that you want for your Instagram page and stick to it. It is important for your page to be consistent with your branding. See below for examples of well-branded and consistent promoter Instagram accounts, including Amsterdam Dance Event, Awakenings, CRSSD Fest and Movement Detroit.

Caption

Your photographs will capture your audience’s attention but your work does not end there. You still have to put a caption: it is the voice to your visual contents. Grab this opportunity to explain what your event is all about, what attendees can expect musically and non and relevant information on how they can purchase tickets. Depending on the particular post, you can share interesting selling points on the artists featured on your line-up or on the venue chosen for the event. It is also great to get your users engaged by asking them to tag friends where appropriate, or asking questions and inviting to leave comments on your post. The more engagement your photo gets, the more likely it is for Instagram’s algorithms to pick it and have it featured both at the top of the home newsfeed as well as the explore section.

Instagram cuts off each caption after a few sentences so be sure to put important details first, or at least something that attracts user’s attention enough so that they click to read more. Take note that you could use Instagram to sell more tickets but you have to price your event tickets correctly for a larger number of sales. Instagram does not allow for hyperlinking in captions or comments, but there are several ways you can ensure your followers still get to your ticket page — more of that later in the article.

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#HashtagIt

Hashtags have everything to do with how your events could get discovered through Instagram. So be sure to create an original hashtag for each of your events and let people use it when they upload photos in relation with your parties. The right use of hashtags can surely attract new followers and potential ticket buyers for your next event.

Aside from using original hashtags, use common hashtags that are trending and pertinent to your event and brand. You can view the top hashtags on Instagram’s Search and Explore tab and try to use at least three or more on each event promotion post that you upload. This will make your posts searchable thus attracting more ticket buyers.

It’s likely that once your account is built with enough followers you won’t find the need to use as many hashtags as you did originally. At that point using 4-5 works just as efficiently.

Use Your Bio URL Wisely

Since Instagram doesn’t allow clickable links on captions, regularly update your bio’s URL. Direct it to your most recent event’s page or ticket-selling website. By clicking on your bio’s URL link, your followers or guest viewers will be redirected to a page where they can find more in-depth details of your event and purchase tickets.

Add a short note on your caption to let your viewers know that they can buy tickets through your bio link. Below is our suggestion on how to go about this:

  1. Include a link to your ticket page in your bio. Using an original link works, but the use of bit.ly links can be effective in tracking how many people are accessing your ticket page from Instagram directly.
  2. Tell your followers in the photo captions that the direct ticket link can be found in your bio, but include the link anyways. If it’s easy to remember or copy, such as in the case of your festival name or a short bit.ly link, followers could end up simply typing it directly into their browser.

Instagram Ads

If you have a budget set aside for advertisements, consider create an Instagram Advertisement for your event. The idea is to target it adequately so that your posts end up being seen by potential attendees that do not follow you yet, inviting them to both follow you and to buy tickets to your event.

Instagram offers different types of advertising options including photo, carousel, and video. Photo Ads are featured with a small “Sponsored” logo on the top-right corner. You could choose different call-to-action options to go along with it like Learn More, Book Now, and others. This is a sure fire way to raise your event ticket sales and drive potential attendees to your site for ticket-purchasing.

For limited time ticket sales, Instagram offers Marquee Ads. These are single-day campaigns with assured impact and placement in the top ad area of Instagram’s feed. This type of format will showcase your event’s advertisement with different styles to the same user up to thrice a day.

The reason we suggest using Instagram Ads is that the platform features specific audience targeting through your Facebook page, which is connected to your account. This means you will have all the needed and required tools to reach your target audience.

 

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There are millions of Instagram users with new sign-ups each day and there are thousands of event promoters trying to gain the attention of potential attendees in each given market. There is no better time than today to learn how you should use Instagram to sell more tickets and start defining your own promotion style in order to stand out from the competition!

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