If you find Twitter baffling and never know what to Tweet don’t worry. We explore a few ways indie artists can use Twitter with minimal Tweet.
Twitter for Indie Artists
Twitter can still be an invaluable marketing tool for new bands and artists, even when you have nothing to say.
Signing up for a Twitter account is the easy bit, but sending a Tweet is another challenge. It’s a bit like trying to write a book, staring at a blank page with no idea where to start.
The best Twitter users have something to say or a clear focus, they know what they are talking about and stick to it. Unless you have this focus Twitter can be daunting. In reality, you probably already have a Facebook account which you update with frequent posts so trying to come up with something new to say can be tricky.
The easy option seems to be to publish the same posts to both Twitter and Facebook but that’s a mistake for several reasons, they are very different platforms, with very different audiences, which require different types of messages. Twitter is about personal conversations, while Facebook is more about broadcast messages which encourage mass engagement. Your biggest fans will get bored if they see the same content across all of your channels.
If you still have no idea what to say on Twitter consider using it differently. Think of Twitter as a research resource to find people that can help your career. Just because you find them on Twitter doesn’t mean you have to contact them on Twitter.
Twitter users are typically skewed geographically towards cities, and the media industries, so you’ll find labels, publishers, bloggers, journalists, promoters, radio producers, designers, film-makers, marketing agencies and of course tons of other bands and artists. Just the sort of people that could help progress your music career.
Here are a few ways to use Twitter without stressing about the Tweet.
Sign up to Twitter creating a bio, a profile and a profile picture so you don’t look like a spammer. Search for bands with a similar sound and look at who they follow then click on the most useful and follow them. (Focus on music industry contacts EG Bloggers, promoters etc)
Followerwonk
This website is Twitter’s best friend it allows you to search Twitter biographies. So try searching for ‘music journalist’ for example and see what you find. Look through the search results for names of the most relevant people. Try other searches EG ‘Music blogger’ and ‘Promoter’ Remember just because you find them on Twitter doesn’t mean you need to contact them on Twitter. You could try calling their company and speaking directly or asking for an email address to contact them. Why restrict yourself to 140 characters on Twitter when you can send an email including a biog, press release and links to your music?
Google News Alerts
Set up some Google News Alerts around topics that interest you and are likely to interest your fans. If you have never used News Alerts before – Google will look for articles that mention any keywords and send you a daily, weekly or as-it-happens update. (I recommend you set one up for your name as well – it’s a simple way to keep track of your press coverage). You could set up news alerts around other favourite established bands with a similar sound EG Radiohead, or around a topic like music photography, or the live music scene in your area, be creative. You can always try a few different ones and see what you find. So now with your news alerts in place you have a choice of interesting news stories to share with your Followers. Even if you just choose three articles to share a week it’s a simple way to look active on Twitter and start attracting people to your profile and your music.
Twitter Search
Twitter allows you to search for topics by hashtags or mentions of people. So try a search for #Unsignedbands and you’ll likely find a ton of Tweets. Some will be from bands, but others will be from organisations that work with and support new artists, all looking for new talent. It’s a great way to discover new opportunities including gigs, or radio play. Try a few other searches #MusicMarketing and you’ll find some useful free articles and tips to promote your music. Remember even without Tweeting a thing you can see access a wealth of useful information from people that are active on Twitter.
Retweet
It sounds simple but Twitter is designed around sharing content so when you find something interesting just hit retweet, there is no original thinking required.
So even by using Twitter in this most basic of ways you can still reach out and find useful contacts, and pull in new fans to check out your music – all this by using other people’s news.
