I received a message from an artist who wanted to learn how to engage with his listeners more effectively. He wanted to know what he needs to do to get the most out of his interactions. I'm no expert on interaction so I'm just going to speak from my experiences.
I think the main thing for musicians need to do is put out quality content. Good songs, informative blog posts, interesting pictures and anything that will give people a sense of what you are about. Doing this will get people a bit more interested in what you do and will increase the likelihood of people sharing your posts. Remember that people are more likely to check you out if you’ve been shared by their friends than if you post to them directly.
The artist also contacted me regarding what to do when people randomly add you on social media and instant messaging platforms. I’d say your number one asset in this regard is patience. Too often I hear artists complaining that people are trying to reach them and they don't have time do talk to fans. communication is a two way street so if you are trying to communicate with an audience with your music, be prepared for some of that audience trying to communicate with you. This back and forth communication is where the best artists succeed. If I send an semi-well-known artist I look up to a serious inquiry and they can’t take the time out over a few months to reply to me yet they’re constantly retweeting and sharing all their likes and shout outs, I no longer go out of my way to listen to their messages. They’ve lost a fan because they weren’t willing to find out what I was looking for. I can imagine it’s a lot more difficult when dealing with big stars they simply can’t get through all that mail. Think about the best businesses… Those companies usually have the best call center agents. They know how to help you out, answer your questions and resolve your issues. This is how customers get to fall in love with that company’s service.
At the moment I’m fortunate enough to be able to handle my own requests and interactions, but slowly I’m seeing the need for a more automated system for simple requests. I see the value of the human element of a direct reply from me though so it may take a while for me to hand that task over to someone else. Bottom line is: talk to everyone and always use patience because some of the requests are a bit weird.
I see a lot of artists trying to grow their audience, but I never hear people saying they’re trying to keep their audience. After you get that like or that subscribe, that’s when the hard work begins. You need to work at it to keep those ears open and those minds receptive. Give out free content and interesting giveaways to people that listen and engage with your posts.
After you get that like/subscribe/follow, don’t bombard your people. It's like trying to develop a relationship with anyone you care about. Give them a chance to discover what you’re about and let their interest in you grow through your actions. If you continually add value in their lives, you will see the desired result of engaged fanbase. I’ve been told that this approach is very passive and I don’t dispute that, but one thing I can tell you is that it works. When I’m not making music, I’m dealing with people as a Physiotherapist. I know how to make music, but I also know how to interact with people and I feel like I know what I'm doing. Try my methods for a few weeks and tell me what happens. If it doesn’t work for you then let me know.
SB
