Mobile Technology and Indie Artists
Succeeding Where Big Business Failed?
By Tripp Underwood
In today’s overcrowded music market, everyone has a MySpace page and electronic mailing lists are a dime a dozen. Coming up with new ways to keep in touch with your audience is becoming increasingly more important. Mobile technology has been a marketing buzzword for years now, but so far few companies have been successful at tapping into the market’s potential. However, just because big business hasn’t yet mastered the art doesn’t mean indie musicians can’t find success with it.
Companies like Plunk, Pownce, Jaiku and Twitter (the best known of the bunch) are micro-blogging websites that take the social networking theme and gear it towards quick, on-the-go lines of communication, letting the user send out mass messages through text and instant messaging services. Not only is this a more direct form of contact than email, it helps you instantly reach more people - most notably those who have their phones in their pockets but aren’t glued to their computers. It’s a great way of establishing a more personal form of communication with your audience because it lets you reach them in a way they typically associate with friends and family.
Here’s how it works (using Twitter as an example):
• Get your fans to log on to the Twitter website and sign up to “follow you” (Twitter-speak for friendship acceptance).
• Your fans decide what format they wish to receive your updates: via text message, IM, email or all of the above.
• Using your phone or computer, you can send out quick messages or “tweets” (limited to 140 characters or less) and everyone who follows you receives the message almost instantly.
The portable aspect of these messages is the major selling point for musicians, because you can reach people instantly - not just when they feel like checking their email. When properly utilized, bands can use the instantaneous aspect of the technology to establish a deeper connection with their fan base - not only keeping them informed, but also making them more directly involved with the music. For example, a group can send a message to their fans an hour before they go on asking for audience input while they write their set list. They can also send a message when they get off stage, thanking the crowd for their enthusiasm and support. Doing something as simple as taking requests or thanking people via Twitter is an effective and easy way to communicate with fans, and it helps to build a stronger connection between artist and audience.
Mobile technology is also far superior to emails in time-sensitive situations. If your band is subject to a last minute venue change, or a canceling opening act screws with your set time, you could easily send out a mass mobile message from backstage and reach every one of your followers - a lot sooner than you could by sending out an email. Plus, because your messages go to handheld devices, important info like club names and directions are always at your fan’s fingertips, even when they’re out on the town.
While some musicians have begun using the services, few seem to have gotten beyond the rudimentary concept of it. R.E.M was one of the first bands to embrace the technology, but, according to someone who follows them, their updates are straightforward and boring (for example, letting people know what songs are being done at sound check).
Sending non-personal messages that read like a mass email undermines the whole purpose of the technology. Its ability to make people feel more directly connected to the sender is what sets the mobile technology apart. If it doesn’t feel like a casual exchange between friends, then it really is no better than a standard email.
Engaging folks on Myspace and Facebook is kind of like trying to talk to someone at a big party or bar. It's the thing to do/place to go and everyone in town is there. Twitter, on the other hand, is more like a chance run-in with someone at a coffee shop - it's casual and you can only say a few words since you're both in a hurry. Sometimes you just get a quick update, but sometimes - because of the spontaneity of the moment - you see a different side of people and more interesting information gets transmitted.Beyond creating this unique social environment, it's another great way to get your name out there. And it's insanely addictive.
-Bryan Rahija, guitarist in Durham-based indie outfit Bombadil
www.twitter.com/wearebombadil
I've found Twitter to be a magnificent tool for spreading the word about upcoming shows, releases, pictures, new videos and general info about myself and the bands my label promotes. I try to leave posts that have a conversational approach, as opposed to having an "advertisement" feel. People don't want to feel like they are always being targeted by ads. Make your tweets fun and include real life items and personal insight to keep people interested.
- Josh Preston, artist and co-owner of Nashville-based indie label Me and the Machine Records
www.twitter.com/joshpreston
We use Twitter to get the word out about our latest issue, online articles, music news, Performer events or whatever we're up to right now. It's much more straightforward than RSS feeds, MySpace or Facebook. We've been hearing about event organizers, bands, record label owners, bloggers and all sorts using Twitter to get the word out and keep people updated. And as a member of the music community that deals with many artists and styles, we can help spread diverse information - not just stuff about one band or genre.
-Leila Regan-Porter, editor of Southeast Performer Magazine
www.twitter.com/seperformermag
Because most micro-blogging sites limit the number of characters you can use in your messages, pasting web addresses with long URLs can be difficult. But Josh Preston of Me and the Machine Records turned us on to www.tinyurl.com, a great website that makes URLs more compact and thereby easier to include in character-sensitive messages.
Using the application, you can take an address that looks like this:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?ovi=1&mqma
p.x=300&mqmap.y=75&mapdata=%252bKZmeiIh6N%252bI
and condense it into this:
http://tinyurl.com/6.
It’s an easy way to shorten a URL for inclusion in the text of your blog. Give it a try! |
