It’s Not The What, It’s The Why
When it comes to interacting with your fans and friends, and sharing information with them online, keep the subject heading of this post in mind.
Social networking is extremely useful for showcasing your personality, or posting “slice-of-life” information that’s designed to give readers/viewers/listeners an inside perspective into what you’re all about… They want to know who you are, and they want to be interested in you, so give them the information that’s going to be interesting to them. And when it comes to being interesting…. it’s not the what… it’s the why that’s most interesting.
Consider these examples…
“Having lunch at McDonalds, then off to soundcheck.”
“Jimmy’s late, waiting for him before we can start practicing.”
“Meeting tonight at 8pm.”
Now, compare those “what” messages, that tell your fans what you are doing, with these “why” versions:
“At McDonalds for lunch… I love collecting the happy-meal toys. I like to stick them on my amp during soundcheck.”
“Jimmy’s late for practice again… he’s a bit of a narcoleptic though, so…”
“Band meeting tonight at 8… deciding what to name the next record! Exciting… you’ll hear it here first.”
Immediately you can see that offering up the “why” makes those inside-look posts a thousand times more interesting.
Sure there’s always going to be factual info that’s needed… tour date announcements, release info, new songs posted, etc. With those types of communications, it’s always best to just avoid sounding over-hype. All caps, a billion exclamation points, and repetition are all things that convey the hype. Use them sparingly, if at all.
Couldn’t agree with you more on this topic! More thoughtful posts result in more thoughtful interaction. As a music industry publicist for 25 years I’ve learned that telling the “story” is what people are interested in…not merely what is happening by why, when, where and by whom…of course at times “how much” matters just as significantly!
Write to not only your fans, but also your audience. The fans are the core base of your Tribe. Your audience are those who haven’t been given a reason to be drawn in as close as the fan base. Give them a reason, and I’ll betcha they’ll be there! That’s what LIVE music is about…reaching out to as many people as possible and building the common bond one heart at a time,for a collective consciousness shared by the many, rather than just the few.
Janet Hansen
Scout66.com
just realized it can also be applied to lyrics writing… thanks for the idea.