[Updated August 27, 2015.]
So what do I do with this Facebook band page anyhow?
In part one of our tutorial (click here to read Pt 1), we covered how to set up an artist or band page on Facebook. After going through the setup process, many artists are still asking, “What’s the point of an artist page on Facebook?”
In this article, we wanted to highlight some of the features that make a page beneficial to your music promotion efforts.
Why a Facebook page is better than a profile for music promotion
1. Anyone can see your content – With a Facebook page, all Facebook users can go to your artist page and see your content, listen to your music, watch your videos, etc. They do not have to be a fan or have your approval. This makes it easier for your content to be shared with other Facebook users.
2. Fans, not friends – An artist page gives anyone on Facebook the ability to become a fan — by “liking” your page. This means they can choose to see your content in their newsfeed without having to get your approval. This is ideal for music fans AND for you (you don’t want to have to manually approve friend-requests from every single person that wants to hear what’s happening in your music career, right?)
Multiple Admins – This feature is a must for bands, and helpful for the solo artist as well. It allows everyone designated with “admin status” to post from the page (and create events) as the band or artist. Admins also have the ability to make changes to the page details. The more popular your band gets, the more engagement you’ll see on Facebook — and that means you’re going to be spending more time interacting with your fans on that platform. If you can divvy up the Facebook responsibilities between several band members, awesome! Also, if you’re a solo artist, you can have a manager, trusted friend, or partner help out with the Facebook duties in those moments when it’s more difficult to stay on top of responding to comments (like when you’re on tour).
Facebook ads – Facebook gives you a quite a few ways to reach fans through their advertising tools. You can run an ad campaign designed to increase the number of fans who like your band page. You can drive traffic to your official website where people can find out more about your music. You can boost a post or video to ensure that more of your audience sees it. And those are just a few of the options.
Page Insights – Also known as analytics, this section of the Facebook page gives you all the info you need to improve your Facebook marketing efforts by showing you info such as the reach of your posts, audience engagement, and a full demographic breakdown of your fans and page visitors.
Set Your Own URL – You can also set the URL for your Facebook page. This makes it easier to remember — something like http://facebook.com/YOUR-BAND-NAME. Just go to http://facebook.com/username to create the URL for your page.
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Remember, a Facebook page always displays more info for anyone with admin status. It’s easy to get confused, but your Fans will not see the stats and admin links that can show up on your page when you are viewing it as an admin.
That’s just the beginning; there are even more advanced features for those of you who really want to invest some time and tweak your Facebook page.
Check out some of these articles for more Facebook music promotion tips:
1. Facebook advertising for musicians
2. How to use Facebook events to get people to your shows
3. “No matter what you think about Facebook, you have to market your music there”
4. Five ways to raise your band’s Facebook page from the dead
5. If you only have $100 to spend on marketing your music, here’s what to do!
6. How to make sure your fans see your content on Facebook
7. Seven deadly sins musicians are committing on Facebook and Twitter
8. Facebook for musicians: to post, or not to post?
9. Ten reasons why you’re losing your Facebook fans
10. Facebook for musicians: a definitive guide
Oh, and don’t forget to share and sell your music on Facebook using CD Baby’s MusicStore for Facebook application! Once you’ve set up your artist/band Page on Facebook, you can be selling your music in minutes. Click HERE to begin using MusicStore for Facebook, the easiest way to sell CDs, MP3s, and vinyl directly to your fans on Facebook. The customizable app is free to use and easy to set up, so you’ll have an attractive looking store from which to sell and share your tunes on the world’s most popular social network.
[hana-code-insert name=’FB-Music-Master’ /]
Chris Robley is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and award-winning poet from Maine.
His Beatlesque indie-pop and milltown Americana songs have been praised by The Associated Press, No Depression, KCRW, The LA Times, Boston Globe, NPR, American Songwriter, and others.
His poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner, The Poetry Review, and more.
Robley has received a Maine Literary Award in Poetry, Boulevard’s Emerging Writers Prize for Poetry, and in 2016 was selected by former US-poet laureate Robert Pinsky as a finalist for the Dorset Prize.