LinkedIn is for business contacts, right? Exactly, which is why bands may want to consider a LinkedIn profile—on top of everything else. Not for existing fans, but for the business connections that can bring more fans.
Here's a rundown of how to approach this network from Kelli Richards of the All Access Group, who just released Taking theCrowd to the Cloud: Social Media for the Music Industry. It's available at allaccessgroup.com and at e-book sellers.
“Depending on what you do and how experienced you are around social media, you may or may not see the wisdom in being on the LinkedIn network. But make no mistake, the industry leaders in your field, and the reviewers, bloggers and print media writers are most definitely there—so this becomes a valuable link in your online chain—and, believe me, that chain reaches all the way from you to your fans. In fact, there are seventy million users on Linkedin, and 37 percent of those are making more than 6 figures. So while your listeners and fan base may not be looking for you on LinkedIn, you can find some amazing connections there—and successful collaborations—along with some fully funded fans, followers and even brand advocates and sponsors for your merchandise and events.
Profile
The LinkedIn profile is simple, when compared to Facebook, but actually has a lot to offer, although in comparison fairly stagnant and inflexible in its delivery. To begin with, post every project you've actually produced so far. This could include CDs, live events, published music, etc., and certainly every award, if you have won any.
Also under experience, be sure to feature any of the more notable collaborations you've been part of—this is definitely the place to name drop. You can also attach your blog and your Twitter stream, as well as any testimonials you have (although you need to request that those be added “live" to your profile by the specific fan or colleague). If you have any slideshows or PowerPoints of your gigs available, you can also add those through Slideshare. If you're looking to stand out in your field and gain some attention, these can also be forwarded to your first level connections by opening the blog or slideshow and clicking the share button.
Even though you hope to be a huge star someday, where your name is all you'll need to get that nod of recognition — for now it's always helpful for other people to be able to associate your face with your background, so do add a profile picture. It also makes it easier for people to introduce themselves at events. Finally, be sure to customize the link to your profile—this can be your name, your group, an album title. Do follow the two rules of naming, however, which are: easy to remember and easy to spell.
A few words on names and branding. I just want to put my two cents in as a thought leader in the music industry for over twenty years and say that the name-game can really be a roadblock for artists and bands. While a name is more important in our industry than others, the truth is that if your product rocks, people will buy it and will support you.
Whatever you call yourself and / or your band, the truth is that names do not generate clients. Marketing generates clients—and WORK generates clients. Even if you have to give your work away—keep working. I don't mean to de-value yourself or your music, obviously—but do stay in front of your fan base. Offer to give free concerts or downloads to anyone who will let you. In the end, it will be amazing how far this kind of networking goes to build fans and revenue.
Okay, the final word on this is that yes, it matters what you call yourself but if you don't fill whatever your sites are with amazing content, you can simply call us LATER. The best names don't matter without the best stuff.
Linking Up—Friends, Fans and Followers
Here's the technical how-to on building a good chain of connections on LinkedIn. You can absolutely use LinkedIn to search for, and even contact, the leaders in your field.
Go to 'People' in the box on the upper right of your LinkedIn screen. (It's a dropdown box, so it may say Groups, Inbox, etc., depending on where you are in the Linkedin realm.) Click the dropdown to get to 'People.' Then click the “advanced" button on the right. Enter a few keywords, a title, or by clicking “location" you can enter a geographic region by zip code. This is a great asset if you're hoping to find writers, bloggers, reviewers or even radio hosts in the areas where you'll be performing who can cover your event or interview you ahead of time. You can further narrow your search by choosing an industry, but remember that reviewers may or may not choose entertainment—if their market is broader, they could choose writing or publishing, etc. So think outside the box.
Once you complete your search, you can “float" over the contact's information, and some of these will allow you to send a message (do NOT send inmail—you only have a handful of those to use on the free version of LI, so save them for your most important outreaches).
If you get the option to send a message, go for it. Send the intro piece you wrote about yourself and ask for five minutes to connect about your work or your band—or just leave your intro piece to speak for itself. If you do need to regularly send Inmail, which is Linkedin's way to contact people you do NOT know and are not connected to yet, you will have to pay for a higher “pro" level of service on LinkedIn. At some point in your process, this may be something worth doing for a month or two, in order to reach out to the top contacts in the music and media worlds—or whatever your niche might be.
Updates and Posts
To make great connections in a broad way, join as many groups as possible in your niche. (How to: go to Groups and search for groups with keywords relevant to you and your group, if you have one. Again, think outside the box. This could mean writers and bloggers if you're looking for online coverage—it could mean a group focused on a specific place where you're going to be performing.)
After you do this, post a note about yourself as a new discussion. This is a two or three-paragraph introduction about you, your band, your events, gigs, style—whatever you think will compel other members of that group you've joined to stand up and take notice. Be sure to always end anything you post with your COMPLETE contact information, including website, social media links, email and phone number. At the very bottom, include a PS line. (It's proven that people read the PS line, even if they read NOTHING else. So not using a PS line is like leaving money on the table.) Include a PS with a general thanks and a link to your upcoming gig, product launch, or BlogTalkRadio channel or broadcast.
Monthly, at least, go to the groups you have joined, and start a new discussion and post a question, commentary, or event—if it's appropriate to the group that you've joined. Do this for ALL of your groups. Be sure to choose a compelling subject line, by the way. It doesn't matter what you write, if nobody opens it, so this is vital. Discussions get distributed by email to most group members as well, so post late in the afternoon to be featured near the top of the daily email digest. Join other discussions posted by other members when you can. Sharing from your heart and riffing on music and writing is a great way to get attention and be noticed by the industry bloggers, etc.
You can also feature yourself by answering questions on the Q&A board—or asking them to get input from other Linkedin members. This can be especially helpful around tech questions. You reach the Q&A board through the 'more' button on the menu and clicking on “Answers."
Finally, although it's unlikely you would reach a huge part of your fan base through LinkedIn, consider using the event invitations feature to post your events and gigs and distribute them to your first-level connections, especially after you make those connections to the leaders and media moguls in your niche. You can find this feature under the “more" tab on the top of your navigation bar.
Here's a rundown of how to approach this network from Kelli Richards of the All Access Group, who just released Taking theCrowd to the Cloud: Social Media for the Music Industry. It's available at allaccessgroup.com and at e-book sellers.
“Depending on what you do and how experienced you are around social media, you may or may not see the wisdom in being on the LinkedIn network. But make no mistake, the industry leaders in your field, and the reviewers, bloggers and print media writers are most definitely there—so this becomes a valuable link in your online chain—and, believe me, that chain reaches all the way from you to your fans. In fact, there are seventy million users on Linkedin, and 37 percent of those are making more than 6 figures. So while your listeners and fan base may not be looking for you on LinkedIn, you can find some amazing connections there—and successful collaborations—along with some fully funded fans, followers and even brand advocates and sponsors for your merchandise and events.
Profile
The LinkedIn profile is simple, when compared to Facebook, but actually has a lot to offer, although in comparison fairly stagnant and inflexible in its delivery. To begin with, post every project you've actually produced so far. This could include CDs, live events, published music, etc., and certainly every award, if you have won any.
Also under experience, be sure to feature any of the more notable collaborations you've been part of—this is definitely the place to name drop. You can also attach your blog and your Twitter stream, as well as any testimonials you have (although you need to request that those be added “live" to your profile by the specific fan or colleague). If you have any slideshows or PowerPoints of your gigs available, you can also add those through Slideshare. If you're looking to stand out in your field and gain some attention, these can also be forwarded to your first level connections by opening the blog or slideshow and clicking the share button.
Even though you hope to be a huge star someday, where your name is all you'll need to get that nod of recognition — for now it's always helpful for other people to be able to associate your face with your background, so do add a profile picture. It also makes it easier for people to introduce themselves at events. Finally, be sure to customize the link to your profile—this can be your name, your group, an album title. Do follow the two rules of naming, however, which are: easy to remember and easy to spell.
A few words on names and branding. I just want to put my two cents in as a thought leader in the music industry for over twenty years and say that the name-game can really be a roadblock for artists and bands. While a name is more important in our industry than others, the truth is that if your product rocks, people will buy it and will support you.
Whatever you call yourself and / or your band, the truth is that names do not generate clients. Marketing generates clients—and WORK generates clients. Even if you have to give your work away—keep working. I don't mean to de-value yourself or your music, obviously—but do stay in front of your fan base. Offer to give free concerts or downloads to anyone who will let you. In the end, it will be amazing how far this kind of networking goes to build fans and revenue.
Okay, the final word on this is that yes, it matters what you call yourself but if you don't fill whatever your sites are with amazing content, you can simply call us LATER. The best names don't matter without the best stuff.
Linking Up—Friends, Fans and Followers
Here's the technical how-to on building a good chain of connections on LinkedIn. You can absolutely use LinkedIn to search for, and even contact, the leaders in your field.
Go to 'People' in the box on the upper right of your LinkedIn screen. (It's a dropdown box, so it may say Groups, Inbox, etc., depending on where you are in the Linkedin realm.) Click the dropdown to get to 'People.' Then click the “advanced" button on the right. Enter a few keywords, a title, or by clicking “location" you can enter a geographic region by zip code. This is a great asset if you're hoping to find writers, bloggers, reviewers or even radio hosts in the areas where you'll be performing who can cover your event or interview you ahead of time. You can further narrow your search by choosing an industry, but remember that reviewers may or may not choose entertainment—if their market is broader, they could choose writing or publishing, etc. So think outside the box.
Once you complete your search, you can “float" over the contact's information, and some of these will allow you to send a message (do NOT send inmail—you only have a handful of those to use on the free version of LI, so save them for your most important outreaches).
If you get the option to send a message, go for it. Send the intro piece you wrote about yourself and ask for five minutes to connect about your work or your band—or just leave your intro piece to speak for itself. If you do need to regularly send Inmail, which is Linkedin's way to contact people you do NOT know and are not connected to yet, you will have to pay for a higher “pro" level of service on LinkedIn. At some point in your process, this may be something worth doing for a month or two, in order to reach out to the top contacts in the music and media worlds—or whatever your niche might be.
Updates and Posts
To make great connections in a broad way, join as many groups as possible in your niche. (How to: go to Groups and search for groups with keywords relevant to you and your group, if you have one. Again, think outside the box. This could mean writers and bloggers if you're looking for online coverage—it could mean a group focused on a specific place where you're going to be performing.)
After you do this, post a note about yourself as a new discussion. This is a two or three-paragraph introduction about you, your band, your events, gigs, style—whatever you think will compel other members of that group you've joined to stand up and take notice. Be sure to always end anything you post with your COMPLETE contact information, including website, social media links, email and phone number. At the very bottom, include a PS line. (It's proven that people read the PS line, even if they read NOTHING else. So not using a PS line is like leaving money on the table.) Include a PS with a general thanks and a link to your upcoming gig, product launch, or BlogTalkRadio channel or broadcast.
Monthly, at least, go to the groups you have joined, and start a new discussion and post a question, commentary, or event—if it's appropriate to the group that you've joined. Do this for ALL of your groups. Be sure to choose a compelling subject line, by the way. It doesn't matter what you write, if nobody opens it, so this is vital. Discussions get distributed by email to most group members as well, so post late in the afternoon to be featured near the top of the daily email digest. Join other discussions posted by other members when you can. Sharing from your heart and riffing on music and writing is a great way to get attention and be noticed by the industry bloggers, etc.
You can also feature yourself by answering questions on the Q&A board—or asking them to get input from other Linkedin members. This can be especially helpful around tech questions. You reach the Q&A board through the 'more' button on the menu and clicking on “Answers."
Finally, although it's unlikely you would reach a huge part of your fan base through LinkedIn, consider using the event invitations feature to post your events and gigs and distribute them to your first-level connections, especially after you make those connections to the leaders and media moguls in your niche. You can find this feature under the “more" tab on the top of your navigation bar.
