Facebook continues to be a powerhouse online and throughout the social media marketing world. The platform has been creating opportunities and value for brands, businesses and artists alike for the better part of the last two decades.
The social media giant is showing no signs of slowing down. Although other platforms like Twitter and Instagram have their uses. Facebook has cornered the market with Facebook Pages, Groups and its Events features.
10 Facts Facts About Facebook
- The Undisputed Champion of Social Media — Facebook is the leading social platform. Reaching 60.6% of Internet users. (Facebook, 2018)
- Facebook has 2.45 billion monthly active users, 1.62 billion active users visited the social network on a daily basis. (Facebook, 2019)
- Facebook has more than 80 million small businesses around the World using Facebook pages. (Facebook, 2018)
- Seven out of ten, 69% of adults in the U.S. claim that they use Facebook. (Pew Research Center, 2019)
- 65% of Facebook users are under the age of 35. (Statistica, 2019)
- 96% of active Facebook users accessed the platform via mobile devices. (DataReportal, 2019) That means that only 4% of Facebook active users logged in on desktop devices to use the social media platform.
- Users spent an average of 58.5 minutes on Facebook each day. (Recode, 2018)
- 86% of U.S. marketers use Facebook for advertising. (Emarketer, 2018)
- 78% of American consumers have discovered retail products to buy via Facebook (Kleiner Perkins, 2018)
- Facebook is the most popular channel for businesses to share video content at 81%.
For artists, it will pay dividends if your supporting team can tap into the value that Facebook creates for an organization. With the right marketing strategy your brand can take advantage of the social media platform’s features, demographics and advertising capabilities.
Your Facebook page allows you to have a centralized hub on the platform, while also participating in Facebook groups which can be utilized for networking and aligning with like-minded individuals.
Ivy Gray-Klein of corey flood, a band based out of Philadelphia says,
“I might make a post on my personal account about needing a show in a certain city and make it public,” she says. “Then friends of mine will tag their friends who may have resources or connections in those cities. It may sound kind of trivial, but having that more personal connection really helps, like recognizing you have a lot of mutual Facebook friends with that person… Especially within DIY, leveraging that community can be helpful. I don’t have a professional booking agent who has established relationships with venues.”
The Facebook events feature, in my eyes, presents the most value.
Morgan Schaffner, the marketing manager for AdHoc says,
“People’s decision to attend a show is often based on social reasons, and Facebook does truly make it very easy to see which of your friends are ‘attending’ a show… I think it’d be very challenging to as easily find such a large target audience.”
Some people may view Facebook as a place for family, friends and keeping up with co-workers. For artists and music professionals, the Facebook event features can give you access to every city, town or college in the World. That is why advertising on the social platform has created this love ~ hate relationship.
Devin McKnight, a guitarist who has performed with Grass is Green, Speedy Ortiz, and produces his own music as MANEKA says,
“I don’t really want to be on Facebook at all, but I feel like I have to because of my band. I don’t know how much it helps, but I do know the event invites kind of have that market cornered. No other platform really offers that.”
Facebook may have a 50–50 split on its branding with some users but the value it creates remains to be undeniable and unmatched.
How to Setup a Facebook Page
For artist and music professionals your best bet is to start a Facebook page and not a profile.
Make sure you select a Public figure or Band page during setup. It is important to do this because selecting the other choices will confuse Facebook and counteract the platform’s algorithms.
Another benefit to having a Facebook page is that you can collaborate with other artists, managers and other members of your team to edit and use the profile.
To get started, go to www.facebook.com without logging in. At the bottom of the page you will see the signup form, there’s a link to “Create a Page.”
Click the link, and go through the steps to make a public figure or band account. Now you have a Facebook page!
The option for pages is hiding right down there beneath “Sign Up.” — Quora.
After you click the link, it’s going to ask you to choose what type of page you want. In this case, it’s the Artist, Band or Public Figure tab.
Do not choose “Brand or Product” or “Entertainment” because these types of Facebook pages will not benefit you as an artist or music professional.
Remember, it is important to do this because selecting the other choices will confuse Facebook and counteract the platform’s algorithms.
After setting up your Facebook page, it is important to checkout Facebook Insights and answer these questions to better determine your target audience:
- What’s the biggest age group of your target audience?
- What genders will you be mainly targeting?
- When do they visit your page?
- How often do they visit your page?
- What do they do while they’re there?
Be sure to checkout our other articles where we will take a deeper look at Facebook Insights and Advertising on Facebook.
If you’re interested in learning more or joining the conversation feel free to sign up for our monthly Newsletter, join our Facebook group. You can also follow me on Twitter!
227 | Social+Digital 