What Do YOU Think... Do Brands Belong on Twitter?
by Madalyn Sklar
So it goes like this...
I'm innocently reading several blog posts and these two caught my attention:
* Do Brands Belong on Twitter?
* Why Brands ABSOLUTELY DO Belong on Twitter
Both articles provide an interesting take on companies utilizing Twitter to promote brand awareness. And it got me thinking about you, your music and YOUR brand on Twitter as well as other social networks.
Okay so by now you know I'm a big advocate for Twitter. I was singing its praises before most of you heard of it. I think it's a great way to communicate with your fans, friends, peers, etc.
What about brands? Do they belong on Twitter?
A resounding YES comes from me. Why? Because you, your music - um yes, YOUR brand - needs to be front and center.
As a musician, artist, creator... you are a brand.
As a business... you are a brand.
You need the help of social networks to penetrate your market. You need Myspace and Facebook. You need Twitter and ReverbNation.
I know some of you are shaking your head saying, "No, I don't need all these networks." I disagree because you have an audience at Myspace and Facebook that you will not find anywhere else on the web. And you can reach fans on Myspace that you will not find on Facebook and you will reach fans on Facebook that hate and never use Myspace. Then there's Twitter which allows you to update your fans like never before. You can post links to brand new songs, show photos from the road and let them know when you are hanging out at Starbuck's sucking down a latte while writing your next big hit. And don't forget your ReverbNation widgets you can place all over the web.
So bottom line... yes, get your brand onto Twitter as well as other social networks that benefit you and your music. Stay a step ahead of the game.
My Social Networks:
Twitter - twitter.com/gogirlsmusic
Myspace - www.myspace.com/gogirls
Facebook - www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24490452847
ReverbNation - www.reverbnation.com/label/gogirlsmusicrecords
OurStage - www.ourstage.com/go/girls
Ning - www.gogirls.ning.com
Post a comment with your social network sites. I'd love to check them out!
Rock on... Madalyn
Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach.com
Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 12 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.
Madalyn's Sites:
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com
http://www.gogirlsmusic.com
http://www.socialnetworksformusicians.com
So it goes like this...
I'm innocently reading several blog posts and these two caught my attention:
* Do Brands Belong on Twitter?
* Why Brands ABSOLUTELY DO Belong on Twitter
Both articles provide an interesting take on companies utilizing Twitter to promote brand awareness. And it got me thinking about you, your music and YOUR brand on Twitter as well as other social networks.
Okay so by now you know I'm a big advocate for Twitter. I was singing its praises before most of you heard of it. I think it's a great way to communicate with your fans, friends, peers, etc.
What about brands? Do they belong on Twitter?
A resounding YES comes from me. Why? Because you, your music - um yes, YOUR brand - needs to be front and center.
As a musician, artist, creator... you are a brand.
As a business... you are a brand.
You need the help of social networks to penetrate your market. You need Myspace and Facebook. You need Twitter and ReverbNation.
I know some of you are shaking your head saying, "No, I don't need all these networks." I disagree because you have an audience at Myspace and Facebook that you will not find anywhere else on the web. And you can reach fans on Myspace that you will not find on Facebook and you will reach fans on Facebook that hate and never use Myspace. Then there's Twitter which allows you to update your fans like never before. You can post links to brand new songs, show photos from the road and let them know when you are hanging out at Starbuck's sucking down a latte while writing your next big hit. And don't forget your ReverbNation widgets you can place all over the web.
So bottom line... yes, get your brand onto Twitter as well as other social networks that benefit you and your music. Stay a step ahead of the game.
My Social Networks:
Twitter - twitter.com/gogirlsmusic
Myspace - www.myspace.com/gogirls
Facebook - www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24490452847
ReverbNation - www.reverbnation.com/label/gogirlsmusicrecords
OurStage - www.ourstage.com/go/girls
Ning - www.gogirls.ning.com
Post a comment with your social network sites. I'd love to check them out!
Rock on... Madalyn
Copyright © 2008 Madalyn Sklar, IndieMusicCoach.com
Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 12 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.Madalyn's Sites:
http://www.indiemusiccoach.com
http://www.gogirlsmusic.com
http://www.socialnetworksformusicians.com
Labels: Facebook, myspace, ReverbNation, social networks, twitter
Madalyn Sklar is a music business coach & consultant, blogger, social networks expert and author. She has spent over 15 years helping independent musicians and music business professionals achieve greater success. Her motto is: working smarter not harder. She also founded GoGirlsMusic.com, the oldest + largest online community of indie women musicians.
"Madalyn not only gives me marketing strategies during our consultations, but she gets me thinking in a whole new direction."
"Madalyn’s high-energy, can-do attitude was the shot that I needed to get me going!"
"Madalyn has played a key role in helping me build a strong foundation for my music business."
"In just one session, Madalyn was able to answer tons of questions we had about the music industry and making a living as an independent artist."
I think Twitter is great for musicians that want to brand themselves and we definitely belong on here. But as far as corporate brands I'm not sure. I appreciate News updates being twitters but I find myself thinking when I follow a company such as a disk manufacturing company or postcard company that I am really just following to see if they post that they are having a sale on their product rather than getting an email from them.
Posted by
Anonymous |
2:29 PM
Hey Natalie, thanks for your comment!
I was pretty one-sided only discussing musician branding on social networks. I do feel it's very important. However, yes there are plenty of companies out there on Twitter, Myspace and Facebook. I don't have a problem with that. As a matter of fact I follow plenty of companies on these networks. It's a great way to be in-the-loop. But it about preference. You can choose not to follow a corporation on Twitter.
Here is Seth Godin's take in his blog post, Brands, social, clutter and the sundae at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/12/brands-social-c.html
Rock on,
Madalyn
Posted by
Madalyn Sklar |
9:51 AM
I just got onto reverbnation and twitter, because until now I always figured they weren't as popular as facebook and myspace, or as crucial a resource for a DIY musician.
How wrong I was...
I've linked twitter to both my facebook and reverbnation pages, so my status is updated to everyone at the same time, on all 3 sites. Since I've been changing my status (which I hadn't done much of when it was only on my facebook), i've noticed people comment back on my status quite often. Which proves, people DO read your status and pay attention to it! That's great news for a independent artist.
I've also just completed my website, with the help of a good friend, and we loaded it up with widgets from Reverbnation all over the place! It helps for consistency and simplicity to use widgets, because one you update them in one place, they update where ever they are on the web. So you don't have to waste time going to each social networking site to update your tour calendar, playlists, videos, etc. Using one widget for each of those, but on every site, is the way to go!
My personal opinion is bite the bullet and do the nitty gritty work at first to get your Artist pages set up on all these sites. You can continue to ignore them and tell yourself you are bypassing the hassle, but in the long run, you are really bypassing a great deal of benefits that could actual simplify your social networking experience.
www.twitter.com/valhallamusic
www.reverbnation.com/valhallamusic
Posted by
Anonymous |
2:15 PM
Hey Val, thanks for sharing your two cents. I agree on all points!
Take care,
Madalyn
Posted by
Madalyn Sklar |
5:58 PM