Old Man Asks Question About Social Media and Promoting Gigs

[thisguy]

Okay, I'm not that old but I feel like it.

So, I'm helping to organize a concert which I don't normally do. The opening act is local. I checked and I can't find where they have done anything to promote the gig or even tell people they are playing. Nothing on their website which doesn't have any kind of gig page or schedule and looks like it's just general info that rarely gets updated.

They aren't posting on the band Facebook page. Don't see it on Instagram.

I suggested they start promoting the gig and it turns out "I posted it on Instagram stories earlier"

Really? A format where the post disappears in 24 hours? That was your promotion?

Am I missing something? This seems insane to me.

I guess what's getting me is I would think posting an Instagram story would be a small piece of the promotional puzzle. Not the only thing.

[ajaxlepinski]

Does the venue have a webpage?
Is the main attraction well known?
Is this a benefit show or a for-profit show?
What is your promotion budget?

Don't count on the local bands to draw a crowd.

[thisguy]

Does the venue have a webpage?
Is the main attraction well known?
Is this a benefit show or a for-profit show?
What is your promotion budget?

Don't count on the local bands to draw a crowd.

There is a webpage and Facebook event. Main attraction has one album out and is not well known. Free admission but will obviously sell merchandise. We're paying for advertising.

I'm not expecting the opening act to draw a massive crowd but wouldn't you at least want to tell people you have a gig? I've got friends in local bands that let you know every gig they play. Seems obvious to me.

[sleewell]

FB posts disappear in a day too. i wouldn't hold too much weight in fb event invites.

seems like lots of kids moved away from FB and its just old people on there now.

[JiveTurkey]

Snapchat e-fliers.

[thisguy]

FB posts disappear in a day too. i wouldn't hold too much weight in fb event invites.

seems like lots of kids moved away from FB and its just old people on there now.

There will definitely be a lot of people who marked the Facebook event as going or interested who don't come. It does give an idea of the interest in the event though.

Again, it just seems like there would be some kind of effort to let people know you have a gig.

BTW
This concert is more geared to older people so I guess Facebook is the right place to be! LOL

[itchyfingers]

Make em sell 500 tickets.
Make sure that the face value of those tickets comes out of their pay so there's incentive to actually sell them.
Profit?



Sadly, I know this type of situation from experience.

[ajaxlepinski]

Does the venue have a webpage?
Is the main attraction well known?
Is this a benefit show or a for-profit show?
What is your promotion budget?

Don't count on the local bands to draw a crowd.

There is a webpage and Facebook event. Main attraction has one album out and is not well known. Free admission but will obviously sell merchandise. We're paying for advertising.

I'm not expecting the opening act to draw a massive crowd but wouldn't you at least want to tell people you have a gig? I've got friends in local bands that let you know every gig they play. Seems obvious to me.

Yup... it should be obvious!

I always post shows on my personal and band's FB page... I post when I first get the gig and again, every-other-week through the day of the show.

These days, there aren't many ways to promote a show, beyond radio and social media (no more record stores to leave flyers).
If it's a benefit show, you can sometimes get local radio stations to promote for free.
Give the local station a call to get advert pricing... you may be able to talk them into a deal that's within your budget.
You may be allowed to leave flyers at hipster bars and clothing stores, head shops, etc.

[thisguy]

Snapchat e-fliers.

Pretty sure they don't have snapchat.

Do the e-fliers work well? I've never done that.

[JiveTurkey]

Snapchat e-fliers.

Pretty sure they don't have snapchat.

Do the e-fliers work well? I've never done that.

I was kidding I HATE facebook. I let the other members deal with it because they aren't cripplingly anti-social

[thisguy]

Does the venue have a webpage?
Is the main attraction well known?
Is this a benefit show or a for-profit show?
What is your promotion budget?

Don't count on the local bands to draw a crowd.

There is a webpage and Facebook event. Main attraction has one album out and is not well known. Free admission but will obviously sell merchandise. We're paying for advertising.

I'm not expecting the opening act to draw a massive crowd but wouldn't you at least want to tell people you have a gig? I've got friends in local bands that let you know every gig they play. Seems obvious to me.

Yup... it should be obvious!

I always post shows on my personal and band's FB page... when I first get the gig and again, several times through the day of the show.

These days, there aren't many ways to promote a show, beyond radio and social media (no more record stores to leave flyers).
If it's a benefit show, you can sometimes get local radio stations to promote for free.
Give the local station a call to get advert pricing... you may be able to talk them into a deal that's within your budget.

We have some promo we're doing but it's mostly social media.

I guess I'm just venting my aggravation. Again, I don't them to bring in tons of people but SOME people would be nice. Who knows, maybe they wrote each of their fans a nice, personalized letter.

[thisguy]

Snapchat e-fliers.

Pretty sure they don't have snapchat.

Do the e-fliers work well? I've never done that.

I was kidding I HATE facebook. I let the other members deal with it because they aren't cripplingly anti-social

For me, FB is a necessary evil right now.