Once a band has performed the basics of establishing a Web presence, it is time to kick it up a notch. This can be done with social networking and blogging, as discussed in Hyping Your Band on the Internet; or with e-mail newsletters and article marketing, as was described in Hyping Bands on the Internet: EMail & Articles. There are, however, resources available to help a band take it to the next level, with more of them cropping up every day.
Increasing a Band’s Web Page Landings
Viral marketing depends on the word about a band spreading like a virus – touching one person who touches another who touches yet another. The music industry has taken great advantage of this concept and has produced a multitude of resources to assist musicians in this process.
One such resource is, Unsigned Band Promotion, a free site that offers to help a band increase the numbers of visitors to its page and find missed opportunities in promotion and marketing. Unsigned Band Promotion provides services such as Website Checks and Website Tweaks that can help a band make the most of what it has already built. It offers templates, mini-web pages, and links to additional resources.
Managing a Band’s Internet Portfolio
A band may find it challenging to keep track of all the promotional endeavors it undertakes. Once a band has established a web site, several social networking sites, streaming radio inclusion, advertisements, and so on, it can take a great deal of time to keep those activities organized and up to date.
A band can create a simple spreadsheet that lists out each such activity, with a schedule of when each should be updated, freshened up, or even considered for removal. Maintaining such a list will ensure that the band does not miss a critical opportunity for promotion.
If maintaining a spreadsheet seems a little too involved for bands whose members are more right-brained than left, there are services available to help with these tasks. Web sites such as StageBloc, will assist a band with maintaining all elements of its online presence.
StageBloc offers a service that will update the band’s entire portfolio of online endeavors at the same time, by only updating once within its platform. There is a fee for this service, however, and a band must contact StageBloc to find out what it will cost for the convenience of having help.
More Ways to Stay on Top of the Music Scene
There also exist free toolbar resources that offer easy ways to be alerted to news and posts that can further a band’s visibility on the web. Many of these employ the use of “Really Simple Syndication” (or “Rich Site Summary”) (RSS) feeds, much like setting a Google Alert.
A whole host of web sites now provide an “RSS” button that, when clicked, will establish a connection from the site to the band’s e-mail. That means when the site is updated, an e-mail alert is delivered to the band’s inbox. This can save a band the time of referring back to a site randomly to look for helpful new posts.
Finally, a band should not overlook its local resources, and should take advantage of free advertisement space on the Internet. It is easy to find musician resources specific to most major cities that not only list upcoming attractions, but that also provide listings of venues looking for solid acts. These same sites can also contain want ads for gear, players, and other items of interest to musicians.
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