Twitter recently launched a page on their website aimed at helping musicians and artists best utilize the tool to connect with their fans. I think every local band should give this a quick read and start to implement a few recommendations. The biggest mistake I see a lot of people do is use Twitter identically to Facebook. Some people use the Facebook app to automatically post their status updates as tweets. I was guilty of this for a few brands that I work with until recently. Each social network has it's pros and cons, and each should be treated differently. You can read the full article here, or just read these quick takeaways:
- Talk on Twitter as if you are talking to a friend. It is not a press release.
- Use hashtags (#) when talking about popular topics.
- Use hashtags to convey implied meaning.
- Reply to as many mentions and direct messages as possible. Twitter is not meant to be a broadcasting service, so don't be afraid to have a conversation with someone. Just realize that it is public unless you are direct messaging.
- Tweet things that people normally don't get to see. Backstage, practice, recording, in the van… people like to see the things that you may consider mundane.
- Include photos.
- For bands, link personal twitter accounts if you have them. If multiple people tweet, announce who is tweeting.
- Ask your followers for feedback.
