I did not like Twitter at first.
But when I finally grasped its value as a micro-blogging tool…I was converted!
Bands can really used this tool to connect with fans but you must respect it.
The First Commandment of Twitter:
Thou Shalt Not Abuse Thy Followers!
In a nutshell….don’t tweet crap! (AKA “Don’t be a twit when you tweet”)
People enjoy a good and VALID link or reasonable updates about your career…but don’t overdo it.
The secret to success in Social Marketing is this: Don’t waste the time of people who may be interested in what you do.
Focus your posts. Don’t tweet about what you had for breakfast…unless you are absolutely sure that it is worth mentioning (or pretty dang funny!)
Your reader’s time is the most valuable asset that you must respect.
Be funny…be informative…be challenging…but above all…DON’T BE BORING!
Make sure that everything you tweet will resonate with those who may be following you.
Otherwise…you become a spammer in people’s minds.
I believe in the 50/50 rule for Twitter—especially for musicians.
The 50/50 rule is that you should match every personal post about you with a post about something of general value to your followers…that’s not all about you.
Don’t be egocentric on Twitter…even if you are a star. (Your Facebook page is another story entirely)
If you understand your fans and followers, then it shouldn’t be hard to mix in things of general interest to them.
For example, if you are a band with a pretty strong U2 influence—then you may want to mix in tweets that have links to some cool U2 stuff etc.
The secret is to not just shine the light in your own face.
Again, it’s OK to tweet about yourself—just don’t do it every post!
Above all things…BE INTERESTING!
Use that camera phone. Personal tweets with pics are far more interesting.
What I like best about my iPhone is the ability to take a pic and fire it up to Facebook or tweet it if I so desire.
I personally believe that all personal posts/tweets should be accompanied by a photo of some kind. Photos add interest and…unless your tweet is such an amazing one liner—it should have a pic or link attached for substance.
Pics help explain your text and make it much more memorable and interesting.
Let’s say you are a band on tour and you pile out of the van for ice cream. Don’t tweet “Ice cream rocks on a hot summer day!” That’s boring and obvious. Take a pic of the guys goofing in the ice cream parlor and say “Major ice cream fest in Abilene!”
Attach the pic and you now have a tweet worth clicking on.
Social networking is a great thing for both aspiring and established musicians.
You just need to learn to walk the fine line between presence and pest.
I’d love to hear the thoughts of others about tweeting…especially musicians.
To be continued…
I agree with some of this..but I think the "tweet about breakfast" is a large part of Twitter's mass appeal. If you are not Tweeting properly you will know fairly quickly as you will lose followers. One man's spam is another man's chuckle.
A good way to check yourself is Twitter grader.
http://twitter.grader.com/
Posted by: Jamie Rowe | December 27, 2009 at 09:49 AM