Should You Be Using Twitter For Music Promotion?

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December 9, 2010{ 25 Comments }

twitter Should You Be Using Twitter For Music Promotion?

Should you be using Twitter to promote your music career?

It depends.

Do you like using it? If so, certainly. Keep going. Get better at it.

If not, probably not. No sense in starting something that you’re going to abandon quickly due to disinterest.

But if you’re on the fence and questioning if you’re going to be able to reach your audience using Twitter, check out this story on Billboard. In it, they share some interesting findings from a recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project about who, how, when, and where people are using Twitter the most. Check out the stats and see if your target audience has much of a presence on Twitter.

-Chris R. at CD Baby

Promote and Sell Your Music on iTunes and CD Baby!  Click HERE.

Chris Robley's Author Bio

  • Linda

    I tweet new songs I upload on a site that has a view counter and usually get 30-50 hits after a tweet, so someone is paying attention.

  • http://www.tonyvallemusic.com Tony Valle

    I find twitter to be a pretty great way to make connections with other musicians, songwriters, etc. It allows me to keep my finger on the pulse of what people in the business are doing. You can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/musicaltony

  • http://www.marcreeves.co.uk Marc Reeves

    I have a twitter account, but as I am more of facebook user myself (twitter = facebook status updates, without everything else facebook has to offer) I have my facebook fan page set to auto post whatever I post on my wall to me twitter as well. Makes life easier!

    I am http://www.twitter.com/marcreevesmusic &
    http://www.facebook.com/marcreevesmusic

  • http://www.drewgilman.com Drew Gilman

    As a songwriter and artist, I feel that using Twitter is a vital part of being a new artist in this time. Even if no one is following you, you are creating content. And in this market, you just need tons and tons of content for people to find you and be interested.

  • http://www.facebook.com/stevencravismusic Steven Cravis, San Francisco, CA

    The idea is to put different follow choices on one’s web site, icons for Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.. and let the site viewer pick which one is THEIR favorite.
    Later, over time as the follow numbers are higher, each tweet you make (of a new song, etc..) will have more impact.

    Tweetdeck http://www.tweetdeck.com is a good free software/app that allows the artist to send out their broadcast message once, but choose to have it go to many different follow sites at once (such as twitter, facebook, etc..).

  • http://www.facebook.com/Jasamada Jasamada

    i also use twitter, mostly to promote my songs and get a few hits!
    one thing that works pretty well is when you reply to some famous people, i usually get some new followers after every reply! also retweets can bring you more follower!

    my twitter:
    http://twitter.com/Jasamada

  • http://www.terribletim.com terribletim

    support Terribletim culture terribleTim on twitter + terribletim.com

  • http://www.andreawolper.com&twitter.com/andreawolper Andrea

    Twitter can work for you if you reach out to people and engage in conversations. I’ve had my music played on new internet radio stations and have been featured in blogs because of people I met on Twitter. Don’t let it take over your life, have a sense of humor about it, and connect – connect – connect. Help promote the people you meet and become friendly with – there’s a great deal of reciprocity to be found.

  • http://www.danosongs.com Dan-O | DanoSongs Royalty Free Music

    I just use twitterfeed.com to tweet my latest blog posts to my twitter:

    http://www.twitter.com/danosongs

    I also follow people in my target market to let them my site exists.

    Dan-O

  • http://www.undadirt.com Vitaman T

    I tweet and facebook and myspace and network on the streets http://www.undadirt.com and youtube/undadirt music

  • http://www.twitter.com/thelazydogs Bill

    I’ve recently started using Twitter and I’ve really enjoyed it. I try to tweet more articles of interest and interact with other users, as opposed to just talking about the band. If you have a succinct bio under your name you can promote your band without annoying the crap out of your followers.

    Follow us, we’d love to follow you!

    http://www.twitter.com/thelazydogs

  • http://www.dmlcartel.com Dodd Michael Lede

    Twitter has definitely been an awesome experience when it comes to promoting my music.

    I have twitter directly connected to my facebook page too. So when I tweet, it updates my Facebook status too.

    Tweet me http://www.twitter.com/dmlcartel

  • http://www.stackridge.net Mike Tobin

    It was only through Twitter that I discovered that Craig Ferguson was a fan of the band I manage – Stackridge. After a lot more research & making use of contacts I had in the USA the band ended up flying to Hollywood & recording a guest slot for Craig’s Late Late Show on CBS TV. It’s a question of keeping your eye on the ball and only following up the stuff that matters .

  • http://www.celticharpmusic.com Anne Roos

    I use ping.fm to post to twitter and facebook, so whatever gets posted on facebook goes onto twitter, and normally I get some action after each post. I use nutshellmail.com, which is a very cool service that reports when friends have messaged me on facebook and twitter in one email digest. I don’t go to these sites unless I have to, which is a big time saver.

    I’m kind of a minimalist with social networking–I do it when I need to do it (make announcements about new releases and performances and respond to posts), but I don’t go out of my way to do so. I recognize that it’s really necessary, as a musician, because there are some outstanding connections I’ve made in the Celtic music world that I would not have made otherwise.

  • http://www.grassrootsy.com gRassrootsy

    So why is everyone so crazy about 140 characters? I mean, you can use as many words as you want on facebook. Why sign up for a twitter account? Twitter meets a need the no other network does. We’re quickly becoming an ADD culture that can only had small pieces of information in small doses. And that’s one of many reasons it works. And here are more…
    SO WHY IS EVERYONE SO CRAZY ABOUT TWITTER?

  • http://GoranGrooves.com Goran Rista

    I use twitter to update people on recent articles we posted or on artist we are currently recording with.
    http://twitter.com/#!/GoranGrooves

  • http://www.proper-band-websites.com Padma

    I’m pretty active on Twitter both as a musician (@padmamusic) and as part of the industry (I run a project called PROPER Band Websites – @bandwebsites). When, as a musician, my publicists suggested I start using it a couple of years ago, I could not possibly see the benefit (Twitter was a much smaller deal then). I mean what can you say that is of interest in 140 characters??? And do people really want to know what I decided to have for breakfast?

    But actually, I got totally into it. It’s GREAT for finding out what’s going on in the industry quickly, by following the right blogs, record companies, management companies and so on.

    My advice for new tweeters looking to build followers is *be interesting!* If you’re a band, sure tweet when your next show is, and that you have posted a new song or blog entry. But also, use it to let people into your world, in real time. Twitter can be great for helping people get into the vibe of your band.

    The truth is, people aren’t just interested in your music. Think about the bands you like – an important reason you like them is probably that they represent something you believe in. So make sure that’s what you do for other people, and tweet!

  • Pingback: How your band ca - Proper Band WebsitesProper Band Websites

  • http://www.carmelinavargas.com Carmelina Vargas

    Twitter and Carmelina = success because it fits my music’s personality.

  • http://www.carmelinavargas.com Carmelina Vargas

    oops my twitter: twitter.com/carmelinamusic

  • http://www.youtube.com/coldbluerebels JOE NORMAL

    “PSYCHOBILLY SUPER GROUP RAVES FROM THE GRAVE!”

    COLD BLUE REBELS

    VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/coldbluerebels

    FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/coldbluerebels
    MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/coldbluerebels

  • http://manelandmedia.com Omotola Ajibade

    I use twitter religiously. I love the idea of being able to have real-time conversations with people. You can use twitter to promote your music and if you have a great following that you regularly engage with, then you will be able to reap some benefits from it.

    You’re not necessarily out to promote your music all the time. use it connect with other artists. They may be possible points for collaborations and and cross-promotion. You can also turn your followers into a street team.

    I totally agree with Padma. He seems like a guy who really understands the point to twitter

  • http://www.MauraJensen.wordpress.com,http://www.MusicBizSnips.wordpress.com,http://www.MauraJensen.com Maura Jensen

    Coming from someone who started off thinking Twitter was pointless, lame, confining, etc. but is finally getting the hang of it and learning to LOVE it as a great marketing tool, here are a few comments:

    1) TWITTER vs. a FACEBOOK PAGE: I started a twitter profile and a facebook page a couple weeks ago for my new blog Music Biz Snips (http://www.MusicBizSnips.wordpress.com). I currently have all of FIVE Facebook fans, and this number has NOT grown since I sent suggestions to like it to all my friends. My TWITTER profile, on the other hand, currently has 51 followers (for the most part all people I don’t know already–so they’re not just following because they feel sorry for me–and targeted for my subject matter). Personally I find Facebook pages to be a necessity for CURRENT fans, but for finding NEW fans, its just about useless. I can’t “friend request” someone from a page…I can’t even MESSAGE them from a page, so al I can do is promote my page from OTHER sites (such as, ahem… twitter), or PAY or facebook ads that may or may not work, etc. Maybe I’m missing a BIG something, but right now my Facebook page isn’t doing much for me. My ARTIST page has many more “likes,” but I’m sure the people who found my page found me elsewhere first.

    2) Just like with any other platform, I believe you will be most successful in social networking when you DON’T just talk about your music all the time, and in fact don’t just talk about YOURSELF in general all the time. I’m learning this currently myself, but I can assure you that selfless promotion of others is a GREAT way to get out of a boring, self-absorbed string of tweets. Talk about what you’re doing throughout the day, but also talk about things and people that genuinely interest you, and MENTION them. Maybe RETWEET something they posted. Its so EASY to do on twitter, and a little cross-promotion can go a long way. A little generosity never hurt anyone, and you might be surprised how appreciative people will be, especially if THEY understand this little twitter/cross-promotion secret;) That said, don’t forget to be THANKFUL when someone selflessly promotes YOU!

    3) I’ve just begun to uncover the usefulness of HASHTAGS, but basically, they are a way to TAG your tweets so that random people looking for those tag words can stumble upon your tweet. Even though I don’t really know what I’m doing yet, I try to put a # in front of keywords that seem like others might search for them. Sometimes I do a search for that hashtag BEFORE I post it to see if anyone has already posted it, or something similar. If there is something similar that is trending, I might use that one instead. A lost of people (and businesses) make up their own specific hashtag for an event or some special news and tell their followers to follow and tweet the hashtag in creative ways (such as “tweet this hashtag if you’re coming to ABC party!” That way, all the followers of everyone who tweets it will be able to see who’s going to the party, and with all the hype they just might want to go too!)

    4) Basically, I DEFINITELY think Twitter is worth the effort as a marketing tool, especially if you’re willing to be interactive and put a little more into it than just “New song posted.” “New show posted.” “Same old same old.” Its worth a little google research on how to use twitter effectively.

    Maura Jensen:)

    Singer-Songwriter
    http://MauraJensen.wordpress.com | http://www.twitter.com/MauraJensen
    http://MusicBizSnips.wordpress.com | http://www.twitter.com/MusicBizSnips

  • http://www.cutter1969.blogspot.com Calactus

    Twitter is useful for putting up links to band podcasts or music in progress; connected to SoundCloud.

  • http://www.theperms.com The Perms

    We just started using twitter about three months ago. So far, so good. I think it’s a great way to reach a new audience.

    http://www.twitter.com/theperms