I have seen many examples of social networking being done incorrectly, well perhaps incorrectly is the wrong term. Social networking is nothing new; we’ve been doing it for years. I’ve read countless blogs that describe it like being at a party: You don’t stand there shouting about things you sell and how great you are. If you were to do this, you’d be alienated pretty quickly (that and a healthy dose or Alka-seltzer and water. A particular reader will understand that one!). I wanted to share with you an example of what I think is good social networking. This case study comes from a live band from the Coventry area.

I might as well state this straight away, the band I refer to is my Dad’s band The Swains. I assure you I’m not being biased, they just use Facebook really well!

Music promotion is nothing new, bands have been using the web like this since the early days of Myspace (if not before); it’s how you use these tools that’s important. Too many bands are continually self promoting:

• we’re playing tonight
• we have t-shirts on sale
• we’re on the TV
• our new CD is now out etc.

True, you can use FB for this but I really think you should use it in a more informal way. It’s a great opportunity to talk with all your fans at once.

The Swains use it to gather opinions, hold polls, take suggestions and generally keep the public informed. They also use it to discuss the private gigs (these are the shows that aren’t open to the general public, usually weddings and corporate events), something they have never done before. Social and private shows always remained separate.

They realise this too and to that end I am currently working on a blog style main site for them (to be ready over the next week or so). Their FB will be a ‘funnel’, sending FB users from their fan page to the site. It’s here they can start ‘peddling their wares’. The site hosts information on upcoming gigs, past albums available for sale, newsletter subscriptions and a general enquiries form. It’s more than your standard un-signed band site though, there is a blog section which allows commenting, and hopefully with regular updates, the site will begin attracting a lot of traffic.

My point here is this funnel idea. Don’t use FB to sell things, use it to interact. Offer your audience a lot of good content, then I think you have the right to occasionally ask them to come to a show or buy a t-shirt; don’t bombard them with sales tactics. I have seen a lot of local Coventry bands doing this on FB, some have comments that have gone un-answered for example. I really feel The Swains openness and approachability will transfer into ticket sales; also helped becuase they’re reaching a whole new generation of audience.

I haven’t raised it yet but the next thing I’m going to suggest is FB friend offers/competitions. Perhaps I’m going a bit too far but we’ll see.