When was the last time you ran your own DIY PR campaign? If you have to stop and think, it’s probably been too long. I get it—putting together a PR campaign can feel overwhelming sometimes, trying to figure out everything from which single to push first to how to write the pitch, contact the best writer, and everything in between to make it as successful as possible.

The good news is, there’s a new tool that can help you do all of this and more: the research, the writing, the subject lines, all of it. Even better? It’s free.

I’m talking about ChatGPT & AI. Here are a few ways it can help you.

Research and Write Your Pitches

This is a hack you’re going to wish you’d known ages ago! Personalization in pitches is a key part of what makes a pitch successful. But it can be really time consuming to try and personalize every single pitch—it takes a lot of research, reading, and careful wording to make sure the writer knows you’ve done your homework and appreciate their work.

So, let AI help. You can feed it the last few articles that the writer has written and ask that it condense the points, summarizing them and telling the writer what you like. Give it a little bit of your own flair and voila! You have yourself a personalized pitch.

Create a Robust Media List

The second biggest challenge of DIY PR/Publicity is finding those media contacts. It can take forever to find the perfect writers, podcasters, or playlisters for your song. 

Here’s an example of how you can use AI to come up with media contacts. First, I typed into Chat GPT:

Can you please give me the name of 20 media outlets that cover indie rock (you should always be kind to your AI robot). This is what it gave me: 

Now that you have some outlets in mind, you can ask AI for guidance on who to reach out to:

From there you can go to the website to grab the email!

Write Press Releases

AI is brilliant at getting the framework of a press release (or even a bio) together. You can enter bullet points and ask it to write a press release or put together a really rough draft of something and then give it a prompt like “make this press release sound better” (really—it will!) or “make this funnier” and so on.

Here’s an example of something I asked ChatGPT:

Here’s what it came up with:

Impressive, right?!

Come up with hilarious or quirky pitch’s to slide into their DMs

When you want to say something clever but you just aren’t sure what will do the trick, AI to the rescue! 

First, do a little bit of research that you can put into ChatGPT. Then, ask it to write a funny/witty/quirky/etc. pitch that you can DM them. You can even say “write it in the voice of (insert favorite comedian). 

Check it out:

Come Up With Brilliant Subject Lines for Pitches

You can have the perfect email but if you can’t get them to open it, it doesn’t matter.

Try saying this: “write 5 subject lines for this pitch” and paste your pitch. You can add in adjectives (funny subject lines/serious subject lines/thought provoking subject lines). Play around with it. 

Here’s what it came up with for me:

Help Write More Compelling Social Media Posts

It always comes back to this doesn’t it? And yes, music journalists most definitely pay attention to your social media! In fact, many times they’ll take a look at your socials before deciding if they should cover your music. That means that keeping up an engaged audience is an important part of doing your own music publicity.

But, it can feel exhausting to constantly be thinking of new topic ideas. So, AI can help with that too. You can ask it to come up with ideas, topics, even TikTok and Reel scripts! 

Here’s an example of that:

It can even give you ideas for certain platforms, like TikTok:

And then script them for you:

While you’ll still have to tweak it to add in your personality and brand voice, it’s GREAT for getting started and saving you hours of time.

Help You Promote the Article

Last but not least, promoting the articles you secure for yourself is an important part of the DIY PR process. After all, it’s only right that you thank the outlets that have shared your music by sharing yourself. But, if you’re looking for something more creative to share on social media than just “Thanks outlet name!” You can put the article in AI and ask it to generate a summary for social media.

Here’s one I pulled from a review of The Front Bottoms show at Kemba in Columbus, OH:

Not bad, right?! 

Final Thoughts

With AI by your side, you running your own DIY PR campaign just got a lot easier! As is only fitting, let’s do one last send off with AI, shall we?

Need help with ChatGPT? Download 100+ prompts you can use to help your social media game!

The post How to Use ChatGPT for Music Publicity appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

You have your music, your vision, and you are eager to make that first move in the world of Music Publicity. But before I jump into what you’re here for, the nine critical things you should know about Music Publicity, we need to be sure that you’re ready to begin such a relationship with the media. It’s not a matter of feeling ready, it’s a matter of being ready.

Getting Started With PR

Before you even begin thinking about PR, you need to have what I refer to as your social media house in order. This is your foundation. You need to have your presence sufficiently established online from your website to your blog to your Twitter profile. You won’t get the results you want from your PR campaign if you don’t have a strong internet presence. WHY? Because if the lights are on and no one is home, no blog will care! Capeesh?

With the number of musicians and music publicists flooding the inboxes of the media, you can count on the fact that these editors and writers will be checking each submission’s social media presence as a means to weed out who not to cover. As always, you want to have the edge.

Having a presence doesn’t mean having more Facebook likes than everyone else. It means having consistent activity online and engaging with your fans.

Once your social media house is built and stable you can begin thinking about amassing the publicity you’re looking for.

Let’s get started…

1. What is Publicity?

Before we delve into specifics, let’s make sure we have the basics covered. Here are some definitions of what publicity is exactly, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: (I know this is trite but it’s GOOD)

Publicity – “An act or device designed to attract public interest; specifically: information with news value issued as a means of gaining public attention or support. Also: The dissemination of information or promotional material.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Publicity is precisely all of these things. I have been doing this for 22 years so, YES.

A music publicist is hired as a member of your team to represent you to the media. Media is traditionally defined as editors and writers of blogs, podcasts, newspapers, magazines, and some TV bookers. Some publicists may also cover radio for interviews or live sessions on tour stops. But if you want to get on the radio “charts” which is really not a thing (like CMJ which BTW is dead so don’t strive or you will look like a moron), you will need a radio promoter.

A music publicist’s job is to liaise with the press. In other words, a publicist establishes working relationships between you and those in the media. These days the media means BLOGS unless you are Sia or Drake then, by all means, go to The New York Times. You should not expect your publicist to get you a booking agent or gig, a label deal, or any other type of marketing deal. That is what a manager is for. A savvy and well-connected music publicist may be able to hook you up with all of the things mentioned above, but it is not in her job description.

2. You Are in the Driver’s Seat Here. If A Music PR Firm Contacts You – Be Wary

Remember, as the artist, you are the buyer, and you are shopping for music PR. You’re in the driver’s seat. It’s your money and your music that enables publicists to stay in business. Hiring a publicist is like hiring another guitar player for your band. You have to choose someone you like, who is in alignment with your vision, your short-term and long-term goals. Everyone on your team has to be on the same page for you to advance. All too many times I’ve heard that a publicist was hired in spite of the artist’s personal opinions. You should like your publicist, and she should be the right fit for you.

There are a few completely SHADY PR firms out there who will contact you and tell you that they can’t WAIT to represent you.  RUN screaming for the hills unless that publicist has a damn good reason for taking the time out of his or her insanely busy schedule to reach out and find you on ReverbNation, Twitter or SoundCloud.  If they saw you live or they have a REAL reason (like they represent a band you are friends with) then, okay – otherwise…. It’s a PR firm who has been contributing to the commoditization of a highly nuanced process and system that is valuable and precious. These kind of music publicity firms are hurting firms who do our work with passion and integrity.

3. With Publicity, You Pay for Effort – Never for Results.

Ever head something like this:  “I hired a publicist and I only got six placements. That cost me $1,000 per placement” Unfortunately, this is not how you quantify a PR campaign. You pay for the amount of time, effort, and strategy the publicist makes on your behalf. It is up to you to help make sure time, effort, and strategy are part of the equation…. Of course, you should get many results. Getting nothing is totally unacceptable. But you never know when your publicist’s efforts will show up months, and sometimes like a year after your campaign is complete. For example, Not everyone who is going to see your YouTube video is going to view it the day you post it but over time the right person can see it and, an amazing thing may happen. And don’t forget you CAN do all of your own PR (read our handy-dandy 3-part guide here!)  – it just takes a LOT of time and effort.

4. A PR Campaign Needs to Be Planned Well in Advance.

For long-lead press (meaning, for example, magazines with national distribution like Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair), the editors put their publications to bed months before they are published. So, if your album or EP is coming out in October, you must have it ready to go, artwork and all, in July. Of course, not every PR campaign focuses on national press, but understand that with little or zero lead-time, it makes planning a bit more tricky, so you definitely need to prepare lead-time for every scenario.

Recommended Publicity Campaign Lead Times:

• National Campaign – 3-4 months before release
• Tour Press Campaign – 4-6 weeks before the shows
• Online Campaign – 4-6 weeks before placements will start to happen
• Premiere – These can take time!  Please read our The Musician’s Guide to Premieres to understand this.
  • (Placement = blog post, feature article, review, calendar listing, podcast/ online radio interview, etc.)

5. The 4 Components of a Press Kit

In today’s digital world, a thorough press kit consists of four parts: the bio; the photo(s); the articles, quotes & music reviews; the music.

The Bio – Create a one-page bio that is succinct and intriguing. You have an original story; tell it! I strongly advise hiring a bio writer. If you are not ready to pony up the cash, come download my 12 Qs that will help you build a captivating bio. I find that people who are great storytellers make great bio writers.

The Photo – Arrange a photoshoot; if you take this seriously, you will benefit tremendously. Create a photo that is clear, well-shot, and attention-grabbing. Showing movement is a plus (sitting on a couch or up against a brick wall has been done too many times before). If you have a friend who knows how to use PhotoShop, enlist him or her to help you do some creative and fun editing. Always utilize your resources!

The Articles, Quotes & Music Reviews – Getting that first article written about you can feel daunting. Two great places to start are your local hometown papers (assuming you don’t live in NYC or LA). Also don’t forget to check for comments on iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby that you can use!

The Music – The way you present the music, like the press kit, must be well thought out. Do not send out copies of your CD via snail mail – instead, send a link to Bandcamp or SoundCloud with professional artwork and proper tagging so the writers can access your tracks easily. Also, consider single artwork as well.

Make sure your press kit is posted on your website in a discoverable manner.

6. Publicity is a Marathon, Not a Sprint.

PR is very different in nature from a radio campaign that has a specific ad date and a chart that you are paying to try to get listed on. There is no top 40 publicity chart. With the number of albums and EPs coming out into the marketplace (approx. 2,000 per week), not to mention singles and videos, it could take longer than your publicity campaign runs to see palpable results.

7. Online Publicity is More Important for an Indie Artist than Offline Publicity

The evolution of devices, expanding social channels, the 24-hour news cycle, and instant access to every imaginable type of media for all who are connected constantly shifts the landscape. The opportunities for exposure online are far greater for an independent artist. So, you want to get familiar with music blogs on SubmitHub and with inclusion on Spotify and SoundCloud playlists. These are powerful and effective outlets. My Music Publicity Checksheet will keep you on target.

8. Publicity Does Not Sell Music.

If you are hiring a music publicist to see a spike in your sales, I have news for you: There is absolutely no correlation between getting great PR and selling music.

PR is designed to raise awareness of you in the press, to help build and share a story, as well as build up critical acclaim. Of course, a great article may lead to sales, but overall, if selling music is your goal, music publicity is not the only thing you will need.

WHY?  Because: streaming.

People no longer buy music when they love it because they already pay for their Spotify, Apple Music or Pandora subscriptions….. OR they listen for FREE on Youtube, music blogs or on the countless other outlets where people listen!

To sell music you will also need to build a loyal fanbase and take care of fans with constant communication and great offers.

9. All Publicity is Good Publicity.

I know we have all heard the phrase “all publicity is good publicity”.  It’s beneficial to truly understand this. If one of your goals for music publicity is to get your name out there (and this should be a goal), the truth is that the average person remembers very little of what they read. People only retain a tiny percentage of what they come into contact with. Readers are not going to remember a lukewarm or mediocre review of your album. I mean, when was the last time you remembered the band that was the subject of a tepid review?

And never ever take your own PR seriously. As my favorite visual artist, Andy Warhol once said, “Don’t read your press; weigh it.”

Need more assistance for your Publicity strategy? Find out how to use ChatGPT to help you out!

The post 9 Critical Music Publicity Tips You Should Know appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

By now most of us might’ve tried live streaming performances. Even in a post-pandemic world, performing at bars, festivals, events, and more is not necessarily something that every artist can do or is able to do. So, for those of you who are begrudgingly turning to live streams after avoiding it for more than 2 years, things have changed. Live streams are getting better and more monetary. These are the tips we have for you for live-streaming in 2023.

1. Create a Live stream that’s visually pleasing

Part of what makes a live stream entertaining is making it a vibe. Live streams also mean vibe curation. Not only are you sharing your music, you’re sharing your entire process and journey. When live streaming, it’s important to have no distractions. Your backdrop should be visually pleasing, but not distracting. Some examples of distractions include: people walking in the background, open doors or closets, a very vibrant or crowded backdrop image, etc.

You’ll also want to have good lighting. What most first time live streamers fail to compensate for is brightness. Ring-lights are incredibly popular for live streaming, but there are other ways to add light to your stream. Find something that fits your aesthetic and participate in test runs with close friends or family to ensure your stream will have enough brightness.

Lastly, dress your best. We know this concert is taking place from inside your bedroom, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat it like an actual performance. Your fans are still here to watch you perform, even if it’s not in person. So make sure you dress as if you were actually performing at a venue.

2. Consistency is Key

This is one we say a lot. Attention spans get shorter and shorter every year. People forget events unless they are constantly reminded. Humans are creatures of consistency. They follow along better when they have a recurring schedule. As an artist and creator, it is your job to keep your viewers coming by staying consistent with your live streams. Make a plan or schedule of what and when you’re going to live stream and stick to it. Tailor your streams to your fans. Go live when it’s most convenient for them, research when they’re on social media, and perform something they would enjoy. Make something intriguing and worth your time and theirs.

3. Choose your preferred live streaming platform

As live streaming became more and more popular throughout the pandemic, more platforms began to conform to live streams. Nowadays, there are a multitude of platforms to choose from. To name a few, here’s a list of the most common platforms to live stream on (besides social media):

• Stage.it
• Twitch
• Zoom
• Side Door
• Volume.com

Enroll in Volume.com’s Artist Accelerator Program

The Volume.com Artist Accelerator Program is the live streaming platform’s continued effort to be an artist-centric and artist-first platform by helping independent musicians like you to grow, monetize, and engage with your communities. The program includes additional career-accelerating opportunities  including: weekly streamer grants, showcases, and opportunities to play at Volume.com’s venue network across the US.

Enroll here!

4. Live Streaming Monetization Tactics

With progressing live streams, there also comes progressing monetization tactics. The most common forms of earning money from live streaming come in bundles, tips/donations, and outbound links. With bundles, you can have select merch on sale only during live streams, or merch that is unique to each particular live stream. This creates an incentive to buy because it is one-of-a-kind or exclusive, two things many people search for. You can also ask for tips and donations through a virtual tip jar where fans can contribute only if they’d like. You can also share an outbound link where viewers can contribute to your art such as Patreon.

5. Have good tech

Having good tech is incredibly essential to live streaming. The last thing you want is your mic to cut out, your laptop to die, or for you to lose connection in the middle of your live stream. A good thing to do is to check your camera, computer, and any other tech you have, the night before your stream to make sure they have solid charge and are connected to the internet with fast speed. While you can easily stream from your phone – especially if you have a really good, new phone – it might be nice to invest in some high-tech gear. This can be a good mic, headphones, audio mixer, cables, or camera.

6. Be Yourself

Last but certainly not least, when live streaming, remember to be yourself. The most intriguing form of live streaming is one with personality and energy. What makes you unique? That’s what people want to know. They are more interested in seeing who you are behind the music. The best way to get people to watch your live stream is to be yourself and share that vulnerability and intimacy with your fans.

More Live-Streaming Tactics Coming Soon

As live streaming continues to grow in 2023, there are more features coming soon to keep an eye out. TikTok is currently in the works of a new feature called TikTok Live Studio. While it’s still in testing at the moment, if all goes well this is a feature we may be seeing sometime this year. The Live Studio will include a chat feature and window manager for streaming. It will also attempt to compete with other live stream platforms by allowing to schedule livestreams and ticket sales.

TikTok isn’t the only app looking to expand their live streaming capabilities. Twitch is also adding something new this year. Twitch recently released an Ads Incentive Program as an attempt to give their streamers more monetization opportunities. This feature will offer creators a more predictable monthly income through ads with no ceiling. All streamers have to do is what they do best; stream. If they stream successfully for a number of hours each month with ads rolling, they will get paid. The best part is streamers don’t have to focus on the ads, once they choose the incentive, the ads will do all the work by themselves so streamers can focus only on live streaming. This feature is only available for select partners and affiliates, but will hopefully soon expand to every user.

Interested in live streaming but not quite sure how to market and promote your stream? Download this FREE live streaming checksheet for more information on best practices for live streams. 

The post Best Tips For Live Streaming in 2023 appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

As artists, we thrive on live performances. Live performances allow us to connect with our fans on a much more intimate level. Live performances also allow us to sell our merch and increase revenue. Even in a post-pandemic world, livestreaming has not gone away. There are still lots of people who don’t want to leave their homes or spend their precious time and money on expensive tickets, drinks, gas, and so on.

If you aren’t livestreaming your performances, you’re missing out. Here are 7 reasons why you should be…

#1: Engage With Your Audience Through Live Streaming

Although live performances allow an intimate setting for artists to speak to their audience, there’s hardly a chance for fans to interact with you. With live streams, fans will be given that new opportunity. Fans are able to comment while your performance is broadcast live. Fans can also send out emojis throughout the performance to show their support. In order to really make it worthwhile for your fans, it is important to respond to them in between your performances. This allows for you to develop a special bond with the fans that only attend the livestream as you share memorable interactions.

#2: You Can Get A Higher Attendance Rate

It can be a lot more difficult to get fans to go when your budget for a tour only hits major cities. This can be a problem especially when a majority of your fan base resides in rural areas with no venues within your budget. Live streaming your performance can remove many barriers that cause a low attendance rate. Live streams are much more cost-effective for both you and your fans. You can save the money you’d be spending touring and put that towards recording a new album, for example. Your fans will also not have to spend money on travel, tickets, dining, hotel, and many more. Instead, they can use that money towards buying some of your merch. Live streaming gives you the chance to share more than just your music, to an audience far greater than your super-fans.

#3: Live Streaming Is More Affordable For You

As we mentioned in the section above, live streaming is much more cost-effective for you. Although it’s still nice to be able to play live, that atmosphere is entirely different than live streaming, it does cost an arm and a leg to tour. You have to take into account renting equipment, paying your staff, paying the venue, and many other small expenses. With live streaming, once you have your stage setup, performing comes free. You can live stream multiple times a week, a month, or a year without having to spend thousands of dollars AND you’ll still make a profit!

#4: Attract New Fans 

If your social media account is public, anyone can view your profile. So, if you go live, anyone can join. You can also advertise and publicize your live stream performance through Instagram Stories Ads, TikTok Ads, and others. This can help extend your audience to include many others who haven’t listened to your music. Anyone who sees your ad may want to tune in. In addition, if you actively interact with you viewers, they are more likely to convert to your fanbase. Another great way to attract new fans is to collaborate with other artists. Instagram has Live Rooms where you and 3 others can put together a live stream. This will not only bring in your fanbase but also the fanbase of your 3 other guests where fans can crossover and interact. There are so many tools available to you that will help bring your music to an abundance of new audience members.

#5: Earn Revenue With Live Streaming

There are many major artists that charge admission to attend their livestreams. Now, you may not be a major artist, but you can still charge admission. This can be especially useful if you’re offering something more than just your music. For example, admission to your show may also include a piece of merch, a chance to appear as a guest to your live stream, or many other interactive and engaging offers. Many artists today will take advantage of Patreon or Bandcamp pages as a donation landing page before, during, or after the live stream. These sites have taken the place of the physical tip jar at concerts. Instead of charging for admission, you might just let your audience know that if they enjoy your music and would like to continue supporting you, they can donate on your Patreon or Bandcamp page.

The best part about this income is how you get it. If you choose to go by admission, you can have hundreds of people paying to come. There’s no limit to how many people can attend, unlike a venue that has a limited capacity. You also won’t have to pay all who help put on your shows, which means all the money you earn you keep. If you choose to accept donations, anyone can donate however much they want. Although most people may not donate in the hundreds, there are the occasional few who might. This means you might come out of this livestream with much more than you anticipate.

#6: Boost Your Social Media Presence 

As we mentioned earlier, your live streams can attract new fans and engage your audience. If you consistently live stream you can also boost your presence. Instagram favors the use of its features, so live streaming directly on its platform can help boost your presence with the help of its algorithm. In addition, if you get more people to watch your streams, you can get more people to visit your creations. You can increase your click-through rate for your website, merch purchases, and music streams. This in turn will give you more revenue, and will also help your social media presence.

#7: A Swell of Opportunities

With live streaming comes more opportunities to expand your exposure of you and your music to another audience you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach and interact with. This new way of reaching fans globally and easily is attractive to a lot of people. Now, fans from all over the world can watch a show even if they aren’t present.

You have the opportunity to speak with fans directly and even invite fans onstage, you can collaborate with other artists even if they are in another place physically, and you can repurpose your live stream for posting content in the future. Overall, you have the ultimate control over your music, image, and accessibility.

We know live streaming is not the same as live shows and it will never be. There are, however, some really great outcomes from live streaming and there’s no bad reason why you shouldn’t be doing both! Embrace the change and take the opportunities to grow wherever you can.

Not sure how to introduce live-streaming to your fanbase? Download our free Live-Streaming Marketing and Promo Checksheet to learn where to start, what to start with, and how to make money from it!

The post 7 Reasons You Should Be Live Streaming Your Music appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

AI might seem a little scary at first glance. It’s growing in our everyday vocabulary and it can seem like the antithesis of creativity. But the thing is, it’s actually the opposite. Used correctly it allows you to focus more of your efforts on the things you love and less on the things you don’t. It also helps you maximize those efforts in new and exciting ways. Like, for instance, how you connect with your fans. In this blog post, we’ll explore how musicians can effectively utilize AI to foster stronger connections with their fans to create higher engagement, fan loyalty, and growth of your career.

Social Media Made Easy

Wouldn’t it be great if you could get a hand with your social media posts? Stop struggling with captions or coming up with the right hashtags? AI can help. It can also aid in increasing engagement by analyzing trends and interactions, helping you create posts that resonate with your audience. 

Chatbots are another AI-powered tool that can be employed to interact with fans in real-time, answering common questions and providing information about upcoming releases, tours, and more (though for indie artists we definitely recommend talking to fans yourself—but chatbots can be great as you grow!).

Virtual Concerts and Experiences

We first saw the rise of virtual events during the pandemic, but now we’re seeing a second surge with AI and the incorporation of platforms like Volume.com.

Musicians can leverage AI-driven VR technology and live streaming platforms to host immersive virtual concerts, allowing fans from around the world to attend without geographical limitations. This not only provides a novel concert experience but also offers opportunities for intimate meet-and-greets, Q&A sessions, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, enhancing the emotional connection between you and your fans.

Musicians can also leverage tools like, Twitch and Volume.com to enhance fan engagement via chatrooms.

Personalizing Recommendations

The cool thing about AI is how it can analyze listening habits, preference, and even organize date to suggest songs and artists that are tailored to individual tastes. Musicians can tap into this technology by encouraging fans to share their favorite tracks, thereby enabling them to curate playlists and release content that resonates with their audience on a more personal level. That’s right, playlists don’t have to be as agonizing to create as they once were. You can take a song, (your song!) and create a playlist of similar tracks around it with a few clicks, giving your fans something new to listen to while promoting yourself to fans of other artists.

Collaboration and Personalized Experiences

AI-driven tools can help you with collaborative content between you and your fans. For example, you could use AI to source lyrics suggestions from fans and then craft a song around them. This not only involves fans in the creative process but also creates a sense of ownership and investment in the final product, strengthening the emotional connection between you and your fans.

Or how about this? Imagine receiving a birthday message from your favorite musician or a personalized thank you note after attending a concert. AI can facilitate these kinds of interactions making every fan feel as special as they are. These small gestures go a long way in making fans feel valued and appreciated.

Final Thoughts

By harnessing the power of AI-driven recommendations, virtual experiences, social media engagement, collaborative content creation, and personalized interactions, you can create a community of loyal supporters who feel genuinely connected to your journey, and who want to support you throughout. These fans will not only feel a deep connection to your journey but also be inspired to stand by your side as dedicated advocates of your music and spread the word to other future fans!

Want to take actionable steps in utilizing AI in your marketing strategy? Join my 5-Part AI Music Marketing Course to really learn and understand how AI can help you save time for making more music!

The post Revolutionizing Fan Engagement: How AI is Helping Indie Musicians Connect With Fans appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

Since the invention of the Internet, there has not been anything like this… This is what countless experts and scholars are decreeing.

Why you may be thinking – we’ve had Siri and Alexa for years.  And why should you care? You’re busy AF dealing with all the stuff you need to do to keep your musical dreams alive already.

This article is going to unpack why you should care and how you can harness the power of artificial intelligence to save you potentially hundreds of hours per year.  

Imagine what you could do with hundreds of extra hours per year if you relied on AI to help you work smarter and automate repetitive tasks when it comes to social media.

What is ChatGPT

Here’s the definition from Wikipedia

“ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022…ChatGPT was launched as a prototype on November 30, 2022, and quickly garnered attention for its detailed responses and articulate answers across many domains of knowledge.”

It is pulling from incomprehensible amounts of information from the internet which has pros and cons which will be another post. The resulting experience is conversational as the bot remembers all of your interactions. Your conversations will build as you get better at training it how to respond to and help you.

Learn how to use ChatGPT and other AI tools in your marketing strategy in my 5 part AI Music Marketing Course:

Ethical Concerns

I know you may have read that ChatGPT is banned in some schools already and there are ethical concerns about using AI Tools. There is a lot to unpack here around this subject and this conversation will be evolving as time goes on but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring this up as part of the full picture.  There are a lot of articles, news stories and videos and I encourage you to do your own research as I am focusing on how this saves you time and providing you with tools that will help you 

Here’s an excerpt from Sarah Threet at Heinz Marketing from an article that is well worth a read called Artificial Intelligence Marketing and Ethics: Leverage AI Technologies While Remaining an Ethical Marketer

Benefit: AI tools can create content, such as graphics, and writing, such as newsletters, social media posts, email curation, and social replies. This saves time through automation, which effectively saves on overhead, and maintains personalization and relevancy through learning. 

Ethical concern: This data may have been obtained unethically, using artist content for learning without consent, and in some cases, AI-created art beating out human artists in art competitions and for illustrator, developer, and designer positions. While there is an open debate about what constitutes art and how to credit AI art, the biggest concern about AI art is how the art used for learning was originally obtained.

Note ChatGPT Limitations 

As you can see in the graphic below, ChatGPT gives you fair warning that it may occasionally generate incorrect information – this is something to be aware of – you must fact check what it returns (dates and specific historical data for example). I was testing it to generate facts about my clients vintage guitar collection and at first was thrilled with the results but soon realized that the information that was being returned was not altogether accurate when it came to years and names.

Also note- ChatGPT is not connected to the internet so if you are used to Google this will take some relearning.  Also, it doesn’t have any information past 2021 so don’t ask it for any cutting-edge social media strategy you have read about this month or recent date-related info.

How Do You “Get” Chat GPT

It’s currently a web application so you will need to be on a computer that is connected to the Internet.

To sign up go here: https://chat.openai.com

You will see this:

Next, type in whatever you want to ask or know – ask questions, have it generate ideas or lists, or request specific copy for social meda. ChatGPT learns from a vast amount of text data meaning it has been fed countless books, articles, and web pages about social media, online marketing, funnels, email creation, short form video best practices, and hashtags (to barely scratch the surface of what it can help with)

It’s All About The Prompts

You will soon see that in order to get really compelling and helpful responses you will need to understand how to craft and use “prompts.” 

What is a Chat GPT Prompt?

There are thousands of videos and articles that discuss prompts and databases filling up with prompts that you can research – but I decided to turn directly to Chat GPT to ask how to communicate with it  Here’s the response:

Test Your Prompts

You will want to test many and refine them using different words and phrases.

Here are some tips for prompts:

Keep in mind that ChatGPT doesn’t have access to or search the internet so you cant ask it in the way you Google.

Be clear and use short sentences. Prompts that are too long or detailed won’t return clear results.

Don’t ask open-ended questions or ones that could return yes or no answers

It takes a bit of work to get responses to not sound cheesy but with a little finessing you can have it creating social posts (along with hashtags and emojis if you’d like) that you can edit and it’s a game changer as far as helping to generate ideas that you can build on.

“ACT AS” – Are Magic Words

In order to receive responses that will help you the most you need to help ChatGPT understand its role in your requests. This will also help shape the tone of what you receive.

Here are a few examples:

Act as a tour guide

Act as a motivational speaker 

Act as a professional guitar player

Act as a snarky music journalist 

Act as Mick Jagger

Act as Florence Welch

etc….

Editing Is Crucial 

You will need to edit and re-write whatever ChatGPT generates. The content it will create will feel “almost” like a real live person wrote it, but it will lack your specific touch and style will need your touch to humanize it and make it sound non-spammy/cheesy.

Extra Note: I asked it for several date-related things like “tell me about some things that happened in music on June 20th (I was trying to create a “This day in music history” post). I asked several ways and for several specific dates and it never returned a correct date – so be sure to fact-check everything before you post.

Social Media Platform Starter Prompts

When you add your prompts you can start by letting Chat GPT know which platform you would like it to create for

Instagram – Can you create 4 Instagram posts in the style of [fill in your style] about [copy and paste an article or add a subject] 

Facebook – Can you create 3 Facebook posts based on this [copy and paste article] OR about my new single dropping on [add date] which is about [add subject and details]

TikTok – Please wrote a TikTok Script based on how I prepare for my live shows [feed it examples of what your show day looks like with times] 

Twitter – Create 10 tweets that are promoting my new Single [add drop date and as many details as you can]

YouTube – Can you give me a creative title for youtube for my tour vlog to [add place] in the style of [add style or person’s name] 

Blog – I want you to act as a travel guide. I will be in [name the place – a city, a venue, a recording studio, etc.]  and you will suggest a place to visit near this place. I would like to visit [name specifically what you want; coffee shop,  jazz club, guitar store, etc].

Spotify – Please write me 5 social media posts that announce my newest single release [add title i.e. “Hard to Love”] on Spotify use15 different emoji and popular hashtags about love 

There you have it – I hope I have shed some light on how to use this powerful new tool.  

I will be posting many more articles about ChatGPT in the future. Stay tuned.

Don’t miss any other updates in the music business! Join our community of indie musicians and industry pros for the latest news and tips!

The post Musicians Guide: How to Use ChatGPT for Social Media Posts appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

With roughly one billion monthly active users, Instagram is still one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. The United States alone, has 180 million users online you can connect with right now, which, can either seem really exciting or really intimidating depending on who you are and how you view social media. For many musicians, it’s the latter—having that kind of power at your fingertips can feel overwhelming and what’s actually a great tool for connection and relationship building can start to feel like a paralyzing chore. So that simple-seeming job of connecting with fans? Not so simple after all!

What is also not simple is getting your judgments about yourself and other artists out of the way and just diving in.

So here we are to debunk a few of your (ahem) resistances, and the aforementioned one is #1 on the list.

Top 7 Reasons Why Artists Strongly Resist Social Media

Which of these sounds like you?

Reason #1: I don’t want to be pushy or over-hype, like all those other artists that I hate (or: “I hate the way he markets and I don’t want to market like him!”).

Let’s talk about something that’s not always easy: promoting yourself. Sure, the idea of fans adoring you and your music is pretty appealing, but there are a few steps between putting yourself on socials and getting that kind of feedback, and that can feel scary. So, let’s start with something simple and not over-hyped: just sharing you. This is one of the most overlooked and yet most engaging parts of social media is simply sharing about yourself.

Forget about promoting yourself or your music, share things that feel mundane instead. The day you’re having. The music you’re listening to. The behind-the-scenes of your show. Social media shouldn’t be one endless ad for your music, it should be an invitation to connect with you as a person; which works in your favor because ultimately people buy from and support people they trust, and they trust people based on how strong of an authentic connection they feel.

That connection doesn’t just come from the music—it comes from feeling like they know you.

Keep this in mind: 78% of people trust peer recommendations for products and services that they BUY. Only 14% trust TV/radio/print advertising. You need to be one of the artists that peers are recommending.

Reason #2: Promoting my music on Social Media won’t put any money in my pocket.

Here is what is true: Social media most probably won’t directly put money in your pocket in the short term. But when has anything in the music industry ever been about the short term? Instead, think of social media as the launching point of your career. When used with traditional marketing and as part of a plan, it can be integral in reinforcing relationships between you and your fans, which will down the line lead them to a point of purchase (whether it’s a song, a merch item, anything). Think about it. Do you go to your favorite band’s shows and then forget about them until they come to town again? Or do you follow them on social media, like their posts, buy their merch, join their newsletter, and otherwise engage with them in the times you aren’t spending money? 

It’s no different for you and your fans.

Once in a Top Spin training class, Ariel learned that being Googlicious (your Google rankings) and your email newsletter list are two vital components to putting money in your pocket, and without social media you will never grow either.

Reason #3: Social Media and Marketing takes too much time.

OK, we never said that this was fair, easy, or quick. Being successful does and will take hard work, and it always has. These are personal questions: What is your definition of success? How much time are you willing to commit to learning new skills and mastering new tools? 

If the answer is “none – I just want to play,” then that is OK.

Derek Sivers wrote a moving piece about this and the comments are very telling (maybe making music for profit isn’t for you).

“Stop expecting it to be valuable to others. Accept it as personal and precious to only you. Get your money elsewhere.”

Wanna Keep Going? Good!

Ariel once attended a seminar called the “World’s Greatest Marketing Seminar,” which was designed to help entrepreneurs market their companies. One of the most successful ones stood up on stage and delivered some horrible news:

To be successful, 70% of your time should be spent on your marketing and sales and 30% working on your business…

There was a collective gasp in the audience.

(Yes this means that, as artists, you still must balance the creation of music BUT you better spend a lot more time on the marketing side)

The truth is it will take time and so much of being a musician now is about the process, not just playing the music. It’s a sobering fact, but being a musician who wants to make music their full-time career means not just playing music but spending time growing that fanbase.

Reason #4: “Social” Media isn’t “real” media.

This is such an outdated idea, especially in 2023 that it seems clear by now this myth has debunked itself, but just in case it needs repeating, the media — and that includes social media —is made up of influencers and that includes blogs, playlisters, and people with followings (large and small) on social media. These things matter. It isn’t just followers with obviously large followings either like 10 million, it’s people with 5k very engaged followers, or 10k followers that engage on every post. Possibly the biggest influencers in the game at this point are the media. Brands, companies and record labels alike turn to the largest followed online creators for advice and direction because they have a massive understanding of media and what consumers want to listen/read. 

Take a good long look at traditional media these days: approximately once every minute, TV news broadcasts tell you to go to their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, and if you do, you’ll see how active they are on those pages. They may be on TV for an hour a day but they’re on social media much more than that. Many networks have a permanent graphic on the screen with Facebook and Twitter feeds. The “real” media is constantly telling viewers to go to social media and contribute.  And note: There are over 200 Million blogs online. One or two of them may just want to write about you. 

Reason #5: I’m Too “old” to understand social media

Would it surprise you to hear that the average Twitter user is 39? Or that the fastest growing demo on Facebook is 55 to 65-year-old women? In fact, they have become some of the most active Facebook users. Why?  Because grandma is signing up to look at photos of little Johnny and then realizing that all of her friends and family are actively engaged and… that’s FUN! We’re all looking for a little bit of connection and escape in our lives and as long as social media is creating that for us, we’ll continue to use it no matter the age.

If you think you’re too old, think again. This can not be your excuse for not getting on socials. You just have to find the platform you’re most comfortable with and that your demographic is on and then make it your own. You make the rules. No matter the age of your fanbase, there is a social platform that will best serve your community and their preferred way to communicate.

Reason #6: Status Updates on Facebook and constant posts on Instagram are stupid. Why does everyone always need to know what I’m doing?

First: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THINKING THIS!

Second: It doesn’t matter. You still have to show up!

Here’s the deal. Many artists only feel that social networking sites are made for promotional use. And, in a way, that’s true. We’re all promoting something after all. Looking for validation or recognition, even when we only use social media for personal use. However, as an artist, you have a real opportunity to use these platforms as a way to connect with your audience. To make them feel seen and appreciated and special—all the things your favorite artists and brands do for you.

Let’s face it, a performing artist is a PUBLIC FIGURE! This means that whether you like it or not fans are going to want to know about you and even feel like they know you in a more personal way. This can be a really powerful thing! It means being able to make a difference in the lives of your fans and those who follow you, just as you aim to do with your music. So make it fun for yourself! Get everyone in your group involved and lean into your strengths. Maybe one person flourishes on Instagram but doesn’t understand Facebook. Then let them put 100% of their energy into that social networking site alone. You will see when someone is actually doing something, they understand you will get the best return on your investment from your work on that platform.

Reason #7: I’m not an overly open person / I don’t want my fans to see my personal life.

If you really are not a social person, Social Media is ideal for you because you’re at a computer screen, not in front of a live human! 

With social media you have the ability to control your narrative; only showing what you want to show, as not EVERYTHING is personal – this means you have created a solid brand. Movies you like, books you read… how about talking about other artists you love and respect? There are a few to start with. You can do things in a way that feels personal but is still a little guarded and mysterious like Taylor Swift/ (This is the only time I’ll recommend a strategy where you look to what a label-signed artist is doing—the rules are not the same for indie artists, but in this case, it can be a good example of how to share without oversharing)

Just remember, being on social media doesn’t mean you lose all control. You still get to call the shots, decide when and how to respond to someone, and have time to think about what to say, and who to say it to, without the pressure of someone sitting in front of you expecting a response at the moment. It’s honestly perfect for introverts!

Want a Pro team to help You Analyze, Correct, and Create 3 Months of Perfect Content? Check out our Social Media Tune Up!

The post 7 Reasons Artists Strongly Resist Social Media appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

When creating and posting content on social media, what are the chances of you choosing the right hashtags? They’re probably higher than you think, which is a good thing because hashtags actually are just as important as everyone says. But using them correctly? That’s a whole different story.

Let’s demystify some of the ideas surrounding how to use hashtags on social media and how you can use them to find new fans and engage existing ones. Because hashtag use is a little different for every platform, it’s important to understand how to use it in each space, to understand the different rules between them all. Not using hashtags optimally could make or break your social media strategy, so let’s get to it!

Facebook

Hashtags on Facebook have grown to not mean much of anything. Using them does not make or break your post, and in fact, adding them can actually create a cluttered look to your post that looks unprofessional at best or like you don’t know what you’re doing at worst. The better strategy here is to join Groups that fit into your niche and start interacting and building community. Don’t let anyone tell you Facebook Groups are dead either! While Facebook itself ebbs and flows in popularity and usefulness, finding the right groups both for fan building and other artist support is still a great way to grow your audience.

Quick tip: if you are interested in including hashtags, stick to about 3-5 (but no more than 15) per post.

Twitter

Now when it comes to Twitter (or X as we’re now calling it), we all know the importance of Hashtags. We all know that Twitter relies heavily on hashtags. They perform as mini-forums to host every single tweet that has ever been made using the hashtag in question. That being said – Twitter favors tweets with minimal hashtag use. One or two in a tweet is fine. And please – do not use them in every. single. tweet. This will highly annoy your audience and make your posts look cluttered and like they exist to serve the hashtag, rather than the other way around. Think about what your post is about or how to jump on trending tags and use those. Do not add them mid-sentence (like “check out my #music release!”) it just looks messy.

You can also use Twitter’s “Explore” tab to see what hashtags are trending and curate your tweets surrounding those topics.

Instagram

Much like Twitter, Instagram’s hashtags can hold a lot of weight on the app. When researching this, you’ll find a lot of advice for if hashtags are better off in the comments or in the caption and I can say through my own research I honestly haven’t seen it make a huge difference either way, although the latest word on the street is that it depends on your follower count and if you have under 100k followers it should go in the captions. Doing this means you’re in line with about 87% of brands who are doing the same. My advice? Put your hashtags wherever it feels like it make the most sense for you. The important thing is just that you are using them and that when you do use them in the comments you put some space between your caption and the hashtags. For example:

[Witty/clever/inspiring caption goes here]

.

.

.

.

.

#HashtagsGoHere

You can use up to 30 hashtags, but we would recommend closer to 7 is the sweet spot for Instagram’s algorithm. Try to keep it relevant to what is in your photo and caption. For instance, if it’s a photo of you on stage, don’t caption #CandyApples that just doesn’t make sense. Or, if it’s a photo of the band at a pizza shop, tagging #NashvilleMusic if there’s also nothing about Nashville or music in the caption, likely won’t be favored by Instagram’s algorithm.

Ultimately, these are just guidelines. The real key is creating engagement for your audience so that they want to interact and using Hashtags as a tool, rather than a full strategy.

Quick note: While doing endless hashtags in Stories was once a thing and can still be done, it’s not as worth your time as crafting an engaging post. Feel free to tag relevant brands or people in your stories and even use a few hashtags, but don’t go crazy. A few will do! (if any).

TikTok

Tiktok has taken the music industry by storm. It is a giant hub for new music and the promotion possibilities are endless. Hashtags work (again) when you use them well, but they are much more beloved on this platform than on Instagram and Twitter. TikTok truly is all about the hashtag and every single one has a page full of videos both popular and recent, so you might get a lot of views if you’re using the right hashtags. If a hashtag is trending, you will want to create a video that fits that niche and post it ASAP – as people will be scrolling through the hashtag for hours. Unlike Instagram, TikTok hashtags are best when used quickly and in conjunction with existing trends, rather than being used with the idea that people will stumble upon them later.

Like Instagram, you want to use hashtags that are relevant to your video. The more you post with those same hashtags, the more followers, likes, and comments you’ll get. Plus, you’ll be building your community! TikTok limits captions to 100 characters so keep the caption short and share the most important hashtags first. 

Using the Discover tab is essential in seeing what hashtags are trending. Quick tip: Combine trending, popular, and niche hashtags to increase both visibility and awareness.

Interested in more ways to up your social media game? Click here to learn about our Social Media Total Tuneup!

The post Musicians Guide To Using Hashtags On Social Media appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

Social media and music marketing have become inseparable in today’s modern music industry. Audiences now demand that you maintain a strong social media presence and still, many musicians still ignore this. I get it, social media can feel difficult, daunting even. It can feel like the antithesis of your creative music-making.

And yet.

You still have to show up. The core purpose of any social media strategy is to captivate your audience and that means truly engaging them. Yes, this is challenging, with an average engagement rate of 1% on Instagram, 0.17% on Facebook, and a mere 0.05% on Twitter, but here’s the silver lining: mastering effective social media usage and engagement, unlike innate musical talent, is a skill that can be learned. The science behind what works and what doesn’t is well-researched and documented; all you have to do is follow directions and be content to experiment a little.

The question isn’t if you have to be on social media or not. It’s have you implemented a system that truly connects with your fans online?

Here’s how to amp up your efforts across all social media channels…

If you want to create a bigger impact on social media, this is your chance. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or just starting out, the key lies in a well-rounded strategy that resonates with your audience. From crafting compelling content that creates genuine engagement to understanding (and delivering on) what your fans want, a strong social media presence is possible. 

If you need a little help, we have incredible Social Media Managers on our Cyber PR team who can make a profound difference in your social media. But if you’d rather learn this skill on your own (a valuable one!) there’s still plenty you can do. The only thing I ask? Don’t buy likes and follows! It never ends well.

Social Media Step One – Your Brand

Let’s start with your social media LOOK & TONE. This is the fun part! 

Your brand isn’t just about your music; it’s the essence of who you are as an artist. It’s what sets you apart and makes you memorable. Think about what makes you love certain TV characters, musicians, or brands. It’s not just what they offer (music, movies, etc) it’s the way you feel connected to them and why. To start, you want to craft a brand that’s authentic and reflects your unique style and messaging. This is what sets the tone for everything, including what you post to social media and the reason your fans will engage with you. It’s what will resonate. This includes your fonts, colors, logo (optional) and overall writing style—but it doesn’t end there.

What fonts are you using on your socials?

A mishmash of fonts means a confused brand. Cohesiveness is incredibly important with branding and it’s also a really easy way to begin to convey your brand and get clear on the story you’re trying to tell. Think about everywhere you use fonts—headers, newsletters, blog posts, social media posts, etc . Everything should have the same font. A really easy way to do this is to use Canva (free version is ok) and use the “brand fonts” so you always have those at the ready.

Here is an example of an artist who has consistent fonts throughout their socials:

Sleeping Lion

What’s your color story?

Adding color to your social media strategy and overall artist brand can be a great way to capture potential fans’ attention. Like you did when choosing your fonts, you can use Canva to select brand colors and make them part of your “brand kit” so they’re always ready to use. To choose your colors you can use a site like Coolers.co to get you brainstorming. Choose colors that resonate with you and that feel like they align with your vibe and aesthetic (no more than three colors though). 

Then, look at your website. Does it reflect the brand you’re trying to share? Next, carry these chosen colors across your social media channels, creating a unified and polished feeling. Remember, the more visually appealing your content is, the higher the likelihood that fans will be enticed to hit the follow button.

Here are some artists who have utilized and expressed their color story really well:

Zack King

Zack King uses tones from new music coming out. Each post fits the theme and color scheme of the upcoming release.

Aaron Camper

Aaron uses dark, earthy tones and creates a narrative through his posts. Each carousel of images tells a story.

Jetty Rae

Jetty Rae uses colorful tones and vibrant, filtered photos to give her feed a festive, yet very professional, undertone.

Is your overall style coming through?

Your social media serve as a way for fans to engage with you beyond just enjoying your music. When fans and industry professionals come across photos of you, they form expectations of who you are both in person and on the stage. It’s crucial to be genuinely and authentically yourself, and branding is a huge part of that. Ask yourself, are you giving an accurate representation of who you are? Are you giving fans a way to connect with you beyond your music? Always remember to provide your fans with ample opportunities to connect with you on a personal level and relate to your unique personality.

Social Media Step Two – Your Themes

Maybe you’ve heard of this before. We call them “social media buckets” and they’re the five “themes” you’ll use when it comes to creating your content. This can really help when you’re feeling stuck, because you can simply turn to your “buckets” and choose a topic. It means not having to ask “But what do I post about?” and instead, having ideas ready to go.

We suggest having no more than five social themes. They should be based on your hobbies, talents, likes/ passions, hometown, and everyday life.

Your first theme should be music, of course. But what about the other four?

Think about what makes you, YOU. Is your location a huge part of who you are? For instance, if you’re a Nashville artist who is really active in the Nashville scene and makes it a big part of your music, maybe that means it’s part of your brand too and you share songwriter roundtables and classic Nashville photos and moments. Maybe you workout at the gym every day or you have three dogs that you are obsessed with (understandably). Your social media themes can be hard to narrow down. But once you do, an entire world of content ideas will be open for you, and the stress of posting will soon be alleviated.

Here is an example of social media themes we created for a client who engaged us to write a Total Tuneup Plan:

THEME #1 MUSIC

This is the most important kind of content you should be posting; and you should be posting this frequently. Just remember to do it in a way that is engaging and note purely sales-y.

THEME #2 ROAD TRIPS/OLD CARS

You had mentioned your familiarity with and love for old cars. Share that! Let your fans know what it’s like to hang out with you for a day when you’d be doing something you loved other than music, like fixing up an old car.   

THEME #3 SUPPORTING THE LIVE MUSIC SCENE

Being that your fans are of the age where they go out for live entertainment, reflect that. Connect with them over your love for live performances and don’t just invite them out to your shows – invite them to meet you at someone else’s show!

THEME #4 EXPLORING NEW CULTURES / NYC

Living in a city like NY is enviable for most people. You are also fortunate enough to be able to sample different cultures right in your own backyard. Being that you love new foods and drinks, and exploration of new cultures is definitely relevant within your target market, share photos of the foods and drinks you try while on the road, or simply out for the day in NYC!

THEME #5 FREEDOM SEEKERS

Aside from sharing your music, nothing is more “you” than sharing your experience as a young musician with the freedom to pursue your dreams and make your own rules. While you want to keep your platform about the music, you each have your own experiences and beliefs that make you who you are as people and as a band united.

Social Media Step Three – Your Strategy

So, when exactly are you posting? You have to have a STRATEGY. So far, you have a bit of a plan, but the strategy is what takes it to the next level.

Most of the time, it doesn’t even occur to artists that they can’t just post a picture whenever they want and expect to get the maximum amount of likes. There is legitimate research conducted constantly about the best and worst times to post on each particular social channel but the best time to post is the one you’re going to be consistent about it.

Consistency isn’t just about how often you post; it’s about maintaining a coherent brand identity that ensures your voice, visuals, and messaging align seamlessly. (Basically, everything we’ve been talking about!) Selecting the right platforms and scheduling your content diligently are essential steps. Consistency in posting, engagement, and storytelling is what will help your fanbase relate to you. It’s through this consistent commitment that you start to see an uptick in engagement.

Here are some of the things that we found from recent social media research:

• Facebook users are usually most active during work hours. Having a video that captures the viewer in the first 20 seconds is key, or else you’ll lose their interest (this is really true across most platforms—if not less time)
• Twitter (or X) is the fastest-moving social channel, in fact the average lifespan of a tweet is about 15 minutes, so go ahead and post more often on that platform. You can connect related thoughts within the same Tweet thread.
• Instagram users have been described as most active between 6pm-9pm, so schedule your IG posts later in the day. However, it’s worth looking at your analytics for this one to see when your users are most active, depending on whether you’re aiming to reach new fans or current ones.

Want more key advice on social media trends? Check out our Social Media Tuneup for all the tools you need to improve your social media presence. 

The post Your Social Media Is Your Story appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

I’m honored to share that last week I was included in this newsletter highlighting why Twitter is no longer a good platform for artists. I share my insights and experience (alongside Sir Elton John no less)!

Here’s the TLDR: We all know that social media is constantly changing, but there’s one platform that seems to be experiencing a tumultuous descent: Twitter, or rather, X. A space that was once the pinnacle of conversation and witty banter is now marred by hate speech, disinformation, and a mass exodus of users and advertisers. Take NPR; they left six months ago and have reported almost zero decline in traffic.

With this, it’s worth asking: why are you (or your artists) still there?

Disinformation running rampant

In recent weeks, we’ve seen disinformation, fake news, and a troubling surge in hate speech on Twitter/X. A European company began an investigation that threatens serious fines as high as 6 percent of total company revenue. Of coures, this led to reports that X may abandon Europe, and its 9 percent of X users. In response, Twitter made changes to further weaken enforcement against violent, on-platform speech. Not a good look.

Fans are abandoning the platform

When asked about this, I was quoted as saying “Fans are not really there anymore,” and this is something I truly believe. While I was an early advocate for Twitter, “In recent years its been a dead zone.” As anyone who has been hanging around Cyber PR long enough can tell you, we’ve done our fair share of research and even advocating for Twitter over the years, which you can see In our musician’s guides to figuring out just about everything, and our guidance for artists using Twitter over the years. So this revelation doesn’t come easily.

Even Elton John is speaking up

You know it’s bad when Elton John steps in. Overwhelmingly, we are seeing what an unsafe space Twitter / X has become for the LGBTQ community — quoting it as “toxic.”

All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.
 
I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) December 9, 2022

Consider moving to Threads or another platform

The newsletter ends by asking users and artists to consider leaving Twitter, for ethical reasons as well as for the pure fact that their fans simply aren’t there like they used to be. It draws parallels to the decline of other major brands on X, and urges a collective exit before it eventually implodes. As the newsletter puts it,  “Take a stand, while there is still ethical time and space to not be the last person left at a really embarrassing party.”

Want more key advice on social media trends? Check out our Social Media Tuneup for all the tools you need to improve your social media presence. 

The post Why You Should Consider Leaving Twitter / X appeared first on Cyber PR Music.

It’s Black Friday and I’m here to offer you our annual Black Friday deal.  It’s my 3-part Music Publicity Masterclass and 3 bestselling books. Get it all for $17!

The Ultimate Guide to Music Publicity

The Ultimate Guide to Music Publicity went to number 1 on Amazon in the Music Business category and I want you to have it this Black Friday as you get ready to take on the new year. It features indispensable advice from a wide swath of music industry luminaries including veteran music publicists, bio writers, editors, playlisters, and podcasters who generously contributed their tips from both sides of the desk. Also included are 11 indie artists who share their inspirational PR journeys.

Fan 1st

Fan 1st is broken up into 3 parts: Part 1 – Identify Your Fans – understand the nuances of your communities and capture and engage more fans with a systematic approach. Most artists try to “get as many listeners as possible” and don’t get that there’s a difference between an ambient and a super fan – they need to be treated and communicated with differently.

Part 2 – Focus on How to Create Income – this makes you think about how to monetize your music by learning to create products and offerings your fans want by asking them effectively. And of course, it’s not about going straight to the ask – it’s about building up to it.

Part 3- Create an Effective Plan – Your own artist development plan is broken down into steps and actions you need to prepare, launch and sustain releases, whether they are singles, EPS, videos, or full-length albums.

Social Media Tuneup

Social Media Tuneup is a book necessary for you to make a big impact on your music career. We can see that social media is taking over and becoming necessary for music marketing strategies. Stay on top of social media trends and other music publicity strategies by purchasing this book. All the tools you need to improve your social media presence, increase the size of your online footprint, and ultimately drive more traffic to your site, your socials, and your business can be found in this book.

Get the Black Friday Special – Music Publicity Masterclass + Action Sheets and 3 books here!

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I’m a strong believer in the power of music blogs when it comes to gaining reviews for your music. Sure Spotify and playlist placements are great, but there’s nothing quite like the power of words. That’s where music blogs come in. Think of them as the secret sauce for beefing up your online presence, while helping you find new fans and gain the respect of the industry. Getting reviewed isn’t just about getting your name out there—it’s about building a community and gaining credibility.

Choose A Few Blogs To Get Started – Look, Lurk, Leap!

Your music is unique to you, your listeners, and potential fans, but that doesn’t mean that your music belongs everywhere. This is actually a good thing!

What I mean by that is if you’re a folk artist, you won’t fit on a blog that’s geared more towards rock. Those just aren’t your fans. Spend some time reading blogs and understanding the culture of each one you like and once you’ve found one that makes sense for your genre, think about which writer is best to pitch. Check out the artists they’re already writing about and if you feel like your music fits into that, they could be a great fit to approach. Take your time with this. Remember, it’s about forming relationships and, just like any relationship in your life, it takes time and patience to develop.

How Do I Find Blogs to Submit To?

Today, most blogs can be easily found on SubmitHub, The Indie Bible, through a quick Google search, or The Hype Machine. 

What’s The Hype Machine? The Hype Machine keeps track of what music bloggers write about. They handpick a set of kicka** music blogs and then present what they discuss for easy analysis, consumption and discovery. This way, your odds of stumbling into awesome music or blogs are high. This site also tracks the most blogged about artists and songs on their network.

Another way to find music blogs that might be a fit for your sound? Google! You can look to see what kind of press other local artists are getting and see if that blog would be a fit for you too.

But hey, maybe you don’t have endless time to put in this kind of research. Places like MusoSoup and Groover are a one-time pitch and upload site where you just need to do the work once and submit to hundreds of blogs, playlists, and magazines. You can also always get in touch, and we’d be happy to chat.

SubmitHub

SubmitHub is one of the most incredible resources for indie musicians looking to either do their own press or aid in existing press efforts. We could write a whole article on it! And well, we kinda did. But here’s the quick version.

Submithub works best when you start small (around 10-30 credits) and spend some time learning the platform and targeting your best fits when it comes to features. Go after those big outlets if they feel like a fit, but don’t completely write off the smaller ones. Those can be some of your biggest fans and longest relationships.

Take the time to really fine tune your genre while using SubmitHub (they even have an AI analyzer to help you with that!) and get a feel for the type of coverage you’re looking for — reviews, YouTube videos, podcasts, etc. Lastly, be realistic with your expectations. While there are a lot of artists on SubmitHub, it’s one of the quickest ways to drum up a little press and is an invaluable part of your toolkit when it comes to music blog coverage.

Business Music Blogs

Straight up music blogs aren’t the only place to get coverage for your music! In fact, there’s a lot of value in thinking outside the box and approaching business centric music blogs. Here are my favorite Music Thought / Music Industry / Music Technology blogs

Hypebot

A journal of music, technology and the new music business.

http://www.hypebot.com/

CD Baby

CD Baby’s DIY Musician is a daily blog and podcast that focuses on digital marketing and promotion advice for indie musicians.

http://www.diymusician.cdbaby.com/

Bandzoogle

The Bandzoogle blog offers advice on everything from marketing to booking and more.

http://www.bandzoogle.com/blog

Billboard

One of the largest daily news from all aspects of the music industry.

http://www.billboard.biz

Bobby Owsinski

Daily digital promotion, social media, and apps and tools from one of the most versatile and impressive music production writers.

https://music3point0.com/

Learn more strategies, hacks, and platforms with our Music Publicity Checksheet. Download today!

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