Five Ways to Resurrect Your Band’s Facebook Page

Is it time to resurrect your band’s Facebook page?

Okay, okay — fine. Facebook wins. We’ve all calmed down. We’ve gotten used to our reduced organic reach. We’ve accepted the fact that our video views will now be split between Facebook and YouTube. The mass migration to an alternate social media platform didn’t (fully) happen.

So yeah, Facebook wins. It’s still alive and kicking. It can still be an effective way for musicians to reach existing fans and make new ones.

But throughout these uncertain times (the last couple years), many musicians have been way less active on the platform than they were in the glorious (free) salad days of Facebook. If that’s you, chances are good your band page is starting to feel pretty stale.

So while Facebook itself is doing just fine, your presence on the site may’ve suffered. Luckily there are a few simple things you can do to bring your page back from the dead.

Five ways to save your band’s Facebook

1. Share more pics and videos

More than ever, pictures and videos (especially videos!) are what gets shared on Facebook — not just because visuals connect with viewers far more quickly than text, not just because your fans love to see them, but because Facebook seems to really be favoring video when they’re determining what content gets displayed in users’ feeds.

Have you been posting videos exclusively to YouTube over the past year or two? Time to get those videos on Facebook as well. And moving forward, be sure to upload all new videos to BOTH places.

Also, keep in mind — it doesn’t need to be a full-production music video. A 20-second clip of you practicing or singing in the van can be super entertaining (and easy to create). A short preview video for a big show or upcoming single can also stir up some excitement.

Regarding photos: try including a photo with all your text-based updates. If you’re crunched for time, Instagram! Facebook owns Instagram and there’s an easy integration between the two platforms. Whenever you post something music-related on Instagram, share it to your Facebook page as well. That way you can get double the impact from your Instagram efforts.

2. Add a Facebook call-to-action to your page

Whether you want to build your email list, drive views for a new video, or make it easier for someone to book your band, you can add a call-to-action right next to the “like” button displayed over your cover photo. Choose between the following options: Book Now, Contact Us, Use App, Play Game, Shop Now, Sign Up, Watch Video.

It’s simple to get started. Just click the “Call to Action” button and choose from the options above and follow the prompts. Once you’ve set up your call-to-action, be sure to check Facebook’s analytics to see how effective it’s been.

3. Try Facebook advertising or boosting posts

Reaching all your fans on Facebook takes $$ these days. But when you have something important to announce (a new single, a video launch, a tour, etc.) you want to make sure the message is getting heard.

Here’s some tips on:

• Facebook advertising for musicians
• Getting the most from social media ads with a limited marketing budget

Depending on what your objective is, it’s sometimes a good idea to post an update, see what it can do on its own first (in terms of organic reach), and THEN pay to boost it, rather than creating an ad from the start.

4. Create a Facebook event for an ongoing event.

You already know how to create an effective Facebook event for your shows, right? Well, you can also create Facebook events for things that are ongoing too: a crowdfunding campaign, a concert series, an online yard sale, a tour, or anything else in your musical life that takes more than a day or two. Creating an ongoing event is a great way to alert your diehard fans to important news without having to bombard anyone that’s not interested in getting frequent updates.

5. Don’t promote yourself so much!

Are you only remembering to posts updates when you have something promotional to say? “Check out my new single,” “Buy my new album,” “Watch our new video.” Yeah yeah yeah. If I’m a fan of your page, I’ll probably check out your new song or video anyway. What ELSE is going on in your world? Tell us!

Maybe some of those funny or heartfelt posts you make on your personal Facebook profile could work well on your band page. Maybe you could tell your fans about some other musicians in your scene. Try sharing different kinds of content and see what works. Then it won’t seem so self-serving when you pepper in the promotional stuff.

Bonus tip: Come up with a few weekly series.

I have one friend who writes a love letter and posts it on Facebook every Friday. Another friend always uses #TBT to share fun (and embarrassing photos) of himself playing music as a kid. Other people make weekly video updates for fans. It doesn’t have to be complicated: gear pics, photos from the road, favorite poems, a political rant. Set a day of the week, and get it done. Your fans will come to anticipate these thematic weekly updates — and that means increased engagement.

What are some simple things you’ve done to keep people interested in your Facebook content? Let us know in the comments below.