Facebook was a large part of my promotions efforts to get people to the show. I experimented with a number of different ways to do it and eventually came up with a formula that worked very well. I realized that the best way to get people to come to the show was to get other people to promote it. Not me. So I enlisted 5-10 people to be event ambassadors for me. I turned it into a competition where the ambassador who brought the most people would get a special prize and recognition. I’m going to go step by step and show you what I did specifically on Facebook that produced the best results.
Naturally, the first thing I did was create an event page. Everyone knows what that is and how to create an event page so we won’t spend any time on this. If you’re not sure though, here’s a nifty video showing how.
Once you have the event page setup, deck it out. Include an appealing image for the event page. These days you don’t need a fancy graphic design software to create awesome designs. Just go to Canva. They have pre-made designs with high engaging font combinations that will make your mouth water. Plus, it’s free! If you need some photos or images go to Pexels or Pixabay for free public domain images. However, if you have an original image that you took and it pertains to your event, all the better. When you set up the event page, fill it with interesting tidbits and details about the event. I included bios, video footage, and photos of the artists I featured. Make a video specifically for the event. It could be a slideshow with a voiceover of yourself describing the event and sharing event details. Add the video on the event page as well. If you have a page full of interesting stuff to read, it could intrigue and convince potential guests to commit to going.
This step is very important and it is what helped me generate a buzz about the event. Strategically tag certain individuals on the event page wall with a question or something to get them to respond. The goal here is to get people talking about the event on the event page. That way when people you invited visit the page, they will see that there’s interest in the event. This is huge, because when people see other people talking about an event, it increases the buzz factor and it could sway people to attend to see what all the hype is about. This happened a number of times for my in the round events. The more people talked, the more interest it generated. An added bonus with this method is that when other people commented on event pages, it typically shows up in their friends’ news feeds. So not only does commenting make the event look cool, it also spreads the word.
Now that you’ve got your event page setup and buzzing, it’s time to bring in the reinforcements. As mentioned earlier, I enlisted ambassadors to help promote the show on Facebook as well as other forms of social media and in real time. I had a rotation of 5-10 ambassadors. I asked each of them to do several things….
- Post a comment on the event page
- Share the event on their news feeds
- Invite at least 10 people to the event
For event invites I would ask the ambassadors to send a personal message to each of the 10 people. I wrote a template up for them to use if they needed it, but the idea was to add a personal touch. How many times have you been invited to an event or have been added to a group without the person who invited you actually contacting you or at least giving you a heads up? I find that to be very annoying. How much more effective would the invite be if you took time to send a personal note saying why they would be interested? It would definitely give me a reason to visit the event page and check it out.
I also sent little tasks once a week to my ambassadors. Every week leading up to the event I would ask each of them to share one feature story about the event on their news feeds. Sometimes I’d have them share the same story across the board, other times I’d have them share different stories. These tasks only took a few minutes once a week and although they were small tasks, it really helped keep the buzz going every week to promote the event.
The great part about this particular series of events was that I wasn’t the only one on the bill. There were other artists promoting the event as well. I asked the artists to do some of the same things I asked my ambassadors to do. We were all making a collective effort to promote the event together. The place was packed every time.
Chose your ambassadors wisely! Try to pick ambassadors who have a large social network and who are already active on Facebook. If you chose people who don’t normally post things and who don’t engage with their friends, their posts about your shows will look suspicious and you might end up doing more damage than good. In my opinion, the best ambassadors are those that you are already friends with or connected to on some level. I wouldn’t advise to hire this job out. They need to be invested in what you’re doing in some way so that they will feel ownership and connection to you and your brand. Treat them well. Send personal thank you notes, gifts, and treats to keep them happy and willing to do it again next time.
To sum it all up, you can promote your shows on Facebook by recruiting other people to do it for you. Call them your events committee, show ambassadors, street team, or something fun. Get them excited about the event and try to get them to take ownership of getting people out to your show. Have them engage on your event page. Give them a prize and let them host a giveaway (relating to the event somehow) right there on the event page. They will probably post about the giveaway on their personal timeline as well. Be proactive in the things that they post by sharing prewritten templates, videos, and features with them so they don’t have to write it themselves. This way they can simply take a few minutes to share it without having to think too much. This method basically assimilates word of mouth. Get people talking about it and other people will follow suit.
How to Jumpstart Word of Mouth for your Music
Getting people to a show is not easy to do. Everybody’s so busy these days and we each have our own responsibilities. But remember, people are often looking for a way to escape their responsibilities for a few hours and you are providing that with your shows. With so many events on Facebook, you have to somehow make your show stand out. A lot of us musicians, just post the event and do nothing more. Rise to the challenge and go the extra mile. Use these tips and try recruiting your own team. Trust me, when you do you will see results. How do you promote your shows on Facebook? What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked for you? Post in the comments section and let’s grow together.
Liked this article? Check out these other posts I wrote about Facebook tactics here:
1. Save Time With This 3-Month Social Media Content Calendar
2. The Quick & Dirty Way to Boost Facebook Likes
3. How to Share your Music Page with a Like Button
4. 10 Easy Social Media Contests to Make Your Fans Engage
5. 3 Powerful Features to Use on your Facebook Bandpage
6. How to Stop Losing Visibility on Facebook
7. Are you Cool? How to be Popular on Facebook
9. My Most Popular Posts on Facebook
I love all the blog post you have put up!
Why thank you JD! I really appreciate you reading and being a part of the community.