# Social Media Promoting: What works and what doesn't



## gsilbers (May 15, 2015)

I thought this would be interesting to know. 
personal networking of course if key. still it would be interesting to learn.


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## Daryl (May 16, 2015)

I can't see any use for social media when running a composing business. Do potential clients really trawl though Twatter to find their next composer? I doubt it.

I guess that if you are writing music that you want to sell in your on-line shop, you may catch a few people who otherwise might not have bought your stuff, but I don't know enough about that side of things to have an opinion really.

D


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## Dean (May 16, 2015)

.!


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## gsilbers (May 16, 2015)

Daryl @ Sat May 16 said:


> I can't see any use for social media when running a composing business. Do potential clients really trawl though Twatter to find their next composer? I doubt it.
> 
> I guess that if you are writing music that you want to sell in your on-line shop, you may catch a few people who otherwise might not have bought your stuff, but I don't know enough about that side of things to have an opinion really.
> 
> D



i would guess it works as a reminder to direcotrs you have worked with before??
they see you scored a new sci fi recently and their new project is a sci fi one rather than the kids music you scored for them 5 years ago? then again, it depends where you network persnally. maybe its a small group with enough projects.


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## gsilbers (May 16, 2015)

hopefully this will open up more to folks who did something specific in social media that worked or didnt work. social media in general thoughts of its relevance is imo a different topic. 
think of it as it works, but inside that huge topic, the details of what works and what doesnt. 
like posting on facebook every detail of your life vs creating a facebook page and posting once a week with details of a music project. or tutorial etc. 
i dunno, depends on the end result. if you are composer vs library music. or sound designer. etc


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## SillyMidOn (May 19, 2015)

Hi

Not something I did, but Ryan Amon was found on youtube to score Elysium. The story is pretty well documented:

http://www.wired.com/2013/08/elysium-ry ... -composer/

One negative side I have found is that things I post on soundcloud often end up on people's own youtube videos (without me getting paid or being asked), so it's a toss between getting ripped off, and the off chance someone might "discover" you social media.


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## musicformedia (May 19, 2015)

Here's an article I wrote about this lately:

http://filmandgamecomposers.com/guides/ ... heyre-bad/

Yes, its one of those awful "10 things you shouldn't do" kind of articles, but I thought it was the right format to take for the article. 

I'm sure plenty of people will also disagree with me on some of the points in the article


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## Kralc (May 19, 2015)

Another annoying thing I'm seeing on Twitter, is people tweeting follower/unfollow/retweet stats. I really, really do not care. :| 

Also when people tweet "In honor of this new follower, welcome. Thanks for following @blah!" every time they get a new follower, like no.7 on Emmet's list. 
This is not a funeral. I'm sure half of those people are now considering unfollowing due to the fact their feed is now clogged with your thank you notes.


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## gsilbers (May 21, 2015)

musicformedia @ Tue May 19 said:


> Here's an article I wrote about this lately:
> 
> http://filmandgamecomposers.com/guides/ ... heyre-bad/
> 
> ...



pretty cool! thanks o=?


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## rgames (May 21, 2015)

I agree with Daryl that social media doesn't really do anything for you IF you're talking about working as a "name" composer in film or TV.

However, if you want to do library work then having 10 million views on YouTube can be a big help, I believe. And, of course, if you want to sell albums then social media is a must.

While I don't think there are secrets to success, I do think there are two things you DO NOT want to do if you want to promote your music:

1. Be the guy on Facebook who has 5000 followers but who gets no more than 5 responses to a post. That said, "Fake it 'til you make it" is a tried and true approach to a number of promotional activities. Further, there are genres (e.g. classical) where social media doesn't seem to be very active, so some big names have large followings but very little activity. So this one is not an absolute.

2. Be the guy whose Facebook and YouTube pages are loaded mostly with product reviews. That's an easy way to get views and drive traffic but it does nothing to promote your music. This one is an absolute.

rgames


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## gsilbers (May 21, 2015)

rgames @ Thu May 21 said:


> While I don't think there are secrets to success, I do think there are two things you DO NOT want to do if you want to promote your music:
> 
> 
> 2. Be the guy whose Facebook and YouTube pages are loaded mostly with product reviews. That's an easy way to get views and drive traffic but it does nothing to promote your music. This one is an absolute.
> ...



I'd like to focus on this statement. 

why do you think it doesn't work? you say absolute, seems there is more to it?


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## José Herring (May 21, 2015)

Nah don't listen to them. Social media is of the utmost importance these days.

Social media is a good way to do P.R.. As a matter of fact in this day and age it's probably the only way to do it. 

Use it to create good will, get into contact with people that you wouldn't necessarily have access to, ect... Spread the word about yourself.

What you don't do, is harass people for work via, twitter, FB, ect... Just get to know them and when the time is right you'll have a communication line already in place. At that point you can contact them in private via any route you have established. 

Another thing you don't do is think of it as a tool to get work, think of it as a tool to get to know people and make friends, support peoples creative efforts even if you're not involved, ect....


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## rgames (May 21, 2015)

gsilbers @ Thu May 21 said:


> rgames @ Thu May 21 said:
> 
> 
> > While I don't think there are secrets to success, I do think there are two things you DO NOT want to do if you want to promote your music:
> ...


Because musicians are brands (newsflash: the music doesn't really matter...) - your brand and your audience are inherently interlinked and audiences get confused when they can't figure out your brand. When they get confused, they go away.

Is your audience other musicians? If so, do product reviews - they don't care about your music.

Is your audience music consumers? If so, don't do product reviews - they don't care about the products you're using.

Whatever your audience (and brand), don't confuse them with stuff they don't care about.

rgames


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## gsilbers (May 22, 2015)

rgames @ Thu May 21 said:


> gsilbers @ Thu May 21 said:
> 
> 
> > rgames @ Thu May 21 said:
> ...



so what do you think about this:
https://twitter.com/junkie_xl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMt-oeozbPA&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMt-oeo ... e=youtu.be)
(in the context of this discussion)


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## gsilbers (May 22, 2015)

up


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