Promoting events on social media follows a straightforward lifecycle: Launch your event, advertise tickets on-sale, launch an ad campaign, and push out a final boost about one week before your event kicks off. In between these stages, though, you need to contend with chunks of downtime. How do you maintain interest and create buzz?
The answer: Seek out (or create) compelling editorial content and share it on your social channels. You’ll keep already-excited fans engaged and garner new ones at the same time.
Think outside the box of artist interviews and song premieres (but don’t give up on those either — they’re standards for a reason!). Social media is casual and interpersonal, and the best editorial content embodies that dynamic. These tips will help you make sure that you’re keeping fans engaged — even during a lull.
Keep fans informed — and give them a reason to be excited
Perhaps you’ve booked an artist you truly believe in who hasn’t broken through to the mainstream. Or your headliner has made waves within a particular scene or genre, and you believe they have real crossover appeal — if only they had better name recognition.
Editorial content can help you fill in those gaps. Interviews, videos or long-form features are great for providing fans with key context – share a juicy excerpt in the caption of your post to encourage fans to read further.
If your (lesser-known) artist’s sound and vibe would appeal to fans of a much better-known artist, share a particularly juicy song and let fans know what to expect: “Fans of (better-known artist) will love this one.”
Be playful and keep “virality” in mind
Effective editorial content comes in many forms beyond features or interviews in blogs or magazines. In fact, because social media tends to be personal, intimate, and reactive, sometimes the best editorial content you can share has nothing to do with traditional music journalism.
In other words, think about what your fans will react to — and what might inspire them to share content on their own wall or feed.
Is your headliner notoriously outspoken? Perhaps they shared a controversial opinion (or “hot take,” to use the vernacular) on Twitter. Screenshot the tweet and share it across your own feeds. Or maybe they were photographed doing something silly or looking casual — in stark contrast to their “serious artist” persona, excellent fodder for social media!
The more likes, comments, or shares any content receives on social media, the more likely it is to surface in other users’ feeds. There’s certainly no secret formula for determining what makes something “go viral,” but pushing content that elicits a reaction — either positive or negative — will help you get there.
If you can’t find it, create it
Sometimes the content you’re looking for just isn’t out there. Perhaps your headliner is too new or too niche. Or perhaps they’ve received decent press coverage, but it’s too dry to make a splash on social media.
In this case, try creating your own! Contact your artist’s agency or management and see if they’d be up for a quick, breezy interview. Keep it light: Ask them about their favourite records, something they’re looking forward to seeing in your city, and what they eat while on tour. Or ask them in a quick 30-second improvised video while they’re rehearsing for a show.
Remember: Fun, personal, and relatable content performs best on social media. With that frame in mind, you’ll keep fans buzzing.
Looking for additional ways to keep fans engaged? Read our 2019 Guide to Video Marketing to discover insights from industry veterans.
