We’re Rachel Hurley and Frank Keith IV, co-owners of the Sweetheart Pub. We’re music industry veterans with over 30 years of combined experience in the music business, having worked in licensing, talent buying/booking, label management, tour management, and more. Once a week, we’ll publish a new edition of this newsletter, where we’ll share some philosophy and actionable advice on all facets of the music industry.
What we’re thinking about this week…
Upgrading Your Social Media Strategy
I’ve been talking to my clients a lot about their social media strategies lately. While this does not normally fall under the umbrella of publicity, most independent artists don’t have someone on their team full-time that can guide them in the right direction. As much as I would love to stay out of the conversation completely, when you constantly see people creating for a result — rather than an experience — it’s hard to keep your big mouth shut.
I believe we have entered Social Media 2.0. The first iteration was just getting everyone on board, everyone finding all of their friends and their interests, and curating their feeds. The goal was to friend and follow every single connection you had. There was a certain gravitas to being super-connected.
Now, that seems to have changed. Personally, I delete more connections than I add these days. If a band page or a business profile (or even a friend) is not adding value, they get the boot. I have limited time and too much information. If every time I see your post I scroll right by, it’s time for you to go.
We all know by now that our feeds are throttled by algorithms that determine which content we see. Why would I continue to keep stuff that I am not educated or entertained by?
I think this is especially true when it comes to musician and band pages across all platforms. A LOT of musicians have settled into unimaginative and un-engaging posting habits. They use their channels solely to promote and never to connect. They don’t post about ANYTHING except whatever they are trying to get you to click on, watch, or buy. That’s COPYWRITING.
It feels like the equivalent of going on a date with someone who only talks about themselves — it gets boring fast. Psychology 101 tells us the best way to connect with someone is to let the other person talk and then REALLY listen and make sure they know they have been heard. That’s the good stuff. That’s how you create a fan for life that will invest their money in you.
“But I don’t know what to post about!”
That’s because you haven’t put any real thought into it. My social feeds tell a story about me. I post about things that I am passionate about and happy to discuss at length with people. It’s a mix of politics, my clients, my photography, my pets, my humor, and The Cure — all things that show people things about me rather than tell them, which gives people a more dynamic understanding of who I am. That’s CONTENT.
But most importantly, because what I post about is subject neutral — meaning not about ME — people are much more likely to jump in and engage. The age of selfies as content is over.
You may already be sharing this type of stuff on your personal feeds — but now it’s time to transition it to your fan pages. People want to know more about you but they want to figure out what they think on their own. Their conclusions will be much stronger than anything you will ever tell them.
It all comes down to what you want people to think about you. Do you want them to think that you know a lot about music? Show them by sharing your knowledge. Do you want them to know that you appreciate instrumentation or lyrical prowess? Then talk about that. Is social justice on your mind? It’s the perfect time to start that conversation. What are the things outside of music that make you who you are? Is it your faith, your fashion sense, your deep knowledge of film, painting, or cooking?
Share who you are outside of your songs and it will create a deeper relationship between you and the people that listen to your music, which will create a stronger connection and form a real bond between you and the listener.
— Rachel
...and now a comment from a client:
I did an experiment shortly after our Zoom call with some of the Sweetheart gang, which helped me solidify some things you had said (I trust you, but wanted to see it). I added a bunch of people I know (and some I don't) through music on FB.
In all I think I sent out maybe 60 friend requests, then I sat back to watch what happened on my feed. I had a feed FULL of spam. It was ALL SELF PROMOTION and re-posts from Instagram. Of all the artists I followed on their personal pages (and these are mostly people I know), only a tiny handful had posted something personal in recent months. Maybe. The journalists and bloggers I followed had a much more balanced approach and seemed sincere. The musicians, well, it was a very depressing turn-off. That was the final straw for me. And I just went ahead and let go of the old approach completely.
I have a ton to learn, but I feel SO RELEASED from the pressure of promoting my work. Reframing my thinking around socials has been a game-changer and I've only been implementing this new approach for a little over a week. I’m not drained from it anymore. I'm curious and learning all the time.
The Latest
Spotify launches Notable: “A new global home for songwriters, producers, and publishers”
Vevo launches Moods, an AI Tool for Emotion-based Ad Targeting
The case for sustainability as a priority for the music industry
56th Academy of Country Music Awards Headed Back to Nashville
A thread from our client Karen Pittelman (of Karen & The Sorrows) on Morgan Wallen:
…you can also read this via No Depression
S*** You Can Do Today
Part one of an upcoming series … self-audit your social media!
Frank’s band, Great Peacock, worked with a digital marketing firm in support of their last release. Part of the service package included a social media audit with tips for optimizing each platform, so we’d like to share some highlights with you…
This week: FACEBOOK
4-5 POSTS PER WEEK, making an effort to actively speak WITH fans in posts, not AT them. High-quality video content is king on Facebook, although not every post needs to be a video.
COMMENTS are one of the most impactful engagements algorithmically. In order to drive further reach and impressions, posts need to be conversational in nature. Make people WANT to join the discussion.
SHARES are just as impactful as comments; sparking a conversation with your posts will also drive this.
CHARACTER COUNT — Posts that contain 40-60 total characters (not words!) or less may earn up to 80%+ more engagement. The general rule here is short and sweet OR long narrative post — you never want to be in the middle.
STORIES — Use them (you can feed directly from Instagram and vice versa; the only time we’ll tell you to cross-pollenate on two platforms)
TABS — Use these! Customize them! Connect your store to sell merch, direct fans to subscribe to a mailing list, etc.
ABOUT section should list links to ALL social platforms and ALL streaming platforms
PHOTOS — Create albums to organize photos (live shots, photos with fans, artwork, etc)
Create PLAYLISTS to organize video content
COMMUNITY — Use this tab to connect with fans (on that note — consider creating a private fan group if you haven’t already — posts to members in a group essentially bypass the algorithm like an email list would)
HASHTAGS — Nope! Not really useful on Facebook. Posts with hashtags average around 70% less engagement than those without. Instagram & Twitter are where you should keep the ### rolling.
CHATBOT — We suggest engaging with fans by taking advantage of Facebook’s ‘Messaging” features and incorporating a Chatbot automatically (think of it as an automatic first impression)
…with all of this in mind, go forth and self-audit, dear readers! Figure out what you can improve today, and commit to improving in the long term.
TikTok of the Week
Phoebe Bridgers and Connor Oberst on Being Emo
Just for Fun
Liam Gallagher teases Oasis reunion: ‘It’s Gonna Happen’
Music Rookie Podcast
Best Practices for Musicians to Optimize Their Social Media Presence
Ever Wondered How Independent Musicians Get Their Music on the Radio?
New Podcast Music Rookie Focuses on the Nuts and Bolts of the Music Business
Have a follow-up question for one of our guests? Got a tip? Did we (*gasp*) get something wrong? Our line is always open -- hit us up and if we use your question or response in a future newsletter, we’ll give you credit and link your socials.
Thanks for sticking around! If you dig what we are doing, here are some easy ways to support us:
Forward this to a musician or industry professional
Subscribe to the $5 / month paid version
Follow us: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // TikTok // Spotify