While I applaud people for trying to get the word out to get fans to come to their show, there are several reasons why this is not the right place to market your gig.
I do understand, however, that many musicians don’t know the proper way to advertise online, nor are they educated on reaching the right audience.
Although it’s easy to simply delete these posts and/or dole out some sort of restrictive punishment, I prefer to provide a resource that will offer guidance.
Hence, this article.
So first, let’s list the reasons why event invites are not permitted in the Group, than I’ll offer some suggestions on what you can do instead.
Why Event Invites are Not Permitted
- You’re not reaching your target audience
- Most of the people in the Group are musicians
- It clogs up the news feed
- Group members will leave snarky comments
Okay, let’s break these down:
– You’re Not Reaching Your Target Audience
What does that mean exactly?
Your target audience is comprised of the people who are most likely to come see you play.
The most obvious folks who fit into this demographic are people who live in relatively close proximity to the venue.
In other words — people from your area.
The Cover Band Central Group includes people from all over the world, and while you might get lucky and reach a couple of people that may come to your show, the odds are not in your favor.
It’s like trying to shoot an arrow at a bulls-eye while blindfolded. Sure…you might hit the target. But probably not.
– Most of the People in the Group are Musicians
The most popular time when bands play live are Friday and Saturday night.
So you’re marketing to a group of people who might already be playing their own gig, so they wouldn’t be able to come to yours.
This is not to say that musicians don’t go to see other bands. They absolutely do.
But will a musician go out on a weekend night to see a band that they’re never heard of or know nothing about?
Probably not.
– It Clogs Up the News Feed
The purpose of the Group is for musicians and people in the music industry to initiate or participate in discussions related to playing covers.
It is also encouraged to provide examples of your playing by posting videos, recorded audio, or live streaming.
When the feed gets loaded with event invites, it creates unnecessary clutter, and obscures the posts that offer some value for the Group’s participants.
The end result is people who want to use the Group for its intended purpose end up frustrated or angry, and may end up not visiting the Group, blocking posts and/or users, or simply leave the Group.
This doesn’t do anybody any good.
– Group Members Will Leave Snarky Comments
It happens every day.
Members post an event invite, and then members who understand why this isn’t permitted jump all over the post by mocking or even berating the original poster.
Some Group members post amusing memes or inside jokes — and while this provides some comic relief for the Group, it usually leaves the OP confused and irritated, and then they quite often exit post haste.
Again…this does nobody any good.
Alright. Still with me?
Now let’s look at what you can do instead that will yield more desirable results:
- Create a Facebook Group for your band or musical project
- Post some content in the CBC Group along with your event invite
- Send out event invites to a targeted audience
- Post invites in Groups in your geographic area
Here’s the breakdown:
– Create a Facebook Group for Your Band or Musical Project
In the olden days, we had to collect e-mail or physical addresses, create a mail program to keep the names organized, pay for printing of flyers or postcards, pay for stamps, and hope that the efforts and money spent would pay off.
Nowadays – it’s easy and FREE to herd your fan base into one place.
Anyone can create a Facebook Group for any reason.
Every band and performer should be doing this. There is no reason not to.
Start a Group on Facebook and call it “(Your band name here) fans.”
So if your band is called The Awesome Rockers, call your Group “The Awesome Rockers Fans.”
Then start adding people to the Group from your friends list. Have everybody in the band do this, and you will be off to a great start collecting your targeted audience into one place.
– Post some content in the CBC Group along with your event invite
This is only way to get away with posting invites in the Cover Band Central Group.
If your post has some actual content that members can enjoy or interact with, and you also mention your upcoming show(s), this is a productive post.
Actual content usually means posting an example of what you sound like.
So in most cases, this means posting a video of you or your band performing.
Give the Group members something to enjoy, or at the very least to show your abilities, style, genre, song choice, etc.
Just to be clear, the content should be the primary aspect of your post.
Post a video of your band performing (preferably live), and mention in the description any upcoming performance.
This will keep your post from getting the boot.
– Send out event invites to a targeted audience
When you create an event invite on Facebook, you get to select exactly who you want to send it to.
While this may be tedious and time consuming, if done properly, you will reach the people that at least are the most likely ones to show up.
You also have the option on Facebook to pay for advertising.
The upside of this is that you can include detailed targeting including geographic location, age range, gender, and keywords.
It’s a good idea to try at least once so you can measure the results to determine whether or not it was worth spending the money.
– Post Invites in Groups in your Geographic Area
Have you explored Facebook Groups?
There are Groups for just about anything – and there are many that are catered to a specific (or general) location.
Take some time to do a search for Groups based on where you live (or perform).
There are Groups out there like “Indianapolis Live Music scene” and “Alabama Gulf Coast night life musicians and venues.”
Find the Groups that are relevant to your situation and join them ALL.
Then you will at least be reaching a more targeted audience when you post event invites.
I hope this information is beneficial.
The goal here is to help musicians and bands do better with their marketing strategies.
