Let's talk about the history and music of the American Heartland

Visit our Sister Sites
CreekDontRise.com Home Page Visit our sister site, School of the Rock
Visit our Classic Train Songs Page
A page devoted to some of Paul's own music endeavors.
 

It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:19 am


To ask any question about the content on this site please use our Site Contact Page.

To sign up for this discussion forum, please use our Forum Signup Page.

Either way, we'll be very glad to hear from you - Paul Click to see Paul's music home page Click to contact Paul through this page. Click to see Paul's music page on Facebook Click to see Paul's music blog page Click to hear Paul's music on SoundCloud. Click to sign up for this discussion forum. Click to learn about our Momma Don't Low Newsletter. Click to see Paul's YouTube Channel. Click to see Paul's Twitter Page

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:15 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
Yes, the internet music career gurus say never to "buy likes." Which is to say avoid using the Face book "targeted promotion" feature. But I've also had non-music facebook sites take off because one person liked the site and exposed lots of other folks to it. So I thought I'd try boosting my brand new music facebook page (facebook.com/paulracemusic) as an experiment, using a post about 6-string banjos, which tend to get a lot of attention from folkies. I specified that it should only go to folks who like "acoustic guitar," "banjo," and "folk music."

For $20, over a two-day period, I "bought" 1057 "reaches" (which I presume meant "popped up on their screen near the "We're all going to die" political ads). I got 62 "article likes," of which 18 were from friends of folks who had "liked" the article, not having been exposed to the Facebook "promotion." I got one "page like," and possibly one share, but Facebook won't provide details.

Here's the fun part, only one or two of the "likes" came from people whose own pages show ANY inclination at all to like acoustic-based or folk music. About 57 of them came from people who apparently prefer something that is the opposite of acoustic-based or folk music, especially Hip-Hop.

Which makes me question whether any targeting occurred at all. Next time I'll try to narrow the focus, like maybe just to "banjo." Or are there Hip-Hop banjo players?


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: "Buying Likes" 1.0
PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:16 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
Here are some notes on Rick Barker's presentation about Social Media for musicians (the presentation has since been taken down).

Facebook works best for engaging with fans, not promotion.

Post photos, quotes, videos that will help build your relationship.

Also, ask questions.

Facebook only reflects your posts to about 16% of your followers unless you pay to boost the post.
Respond to every comment.

Have branding and imaging. The more personality, the more you'll get interaction and repeat looks.

Twitter is for immediate response. Also, replying is a great way to let your fans know you care.

"Follow for Follow."

Also, follow fans of other independent acts that are like you.

Follow about 250 folks a day. Rick suggests some

Also discusses YouTube strategies, including

Try posting a video a week, about the same day and time. Cover tunes will give you exposure.

Use twitter and Facebook-boosted posts to help drive traffic to videos.

Be consistent. Share.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:19 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
Tried it again for less money. Specified ONLY banjo. got a number of responses, including seven or eight posting likes on an article about banjos, and one page like. Okay, it's not much, and I'm not going to repeat it, but at least it's "out there." Several of the posting likes were from Ireland. Works for me.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:34 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
I went back and trolled the "likes" of the "banjo" experiment to see if there was anyone I'd want to "like" back and discovered several I wouldn't link to for any reason. Apparently in some circles "banjo" means "sharing" extremist political rants, tasteless jokes, and photos of well-endowed women in tight clothing. I guess "banjo" still wasn't specific enough.

So I tried again, limiting the reach to United States and to people who had specified "Pete Seeger" among their interests. Only have a few "likes" so far, but they tend to be people who like the same kinds of music I do.

So here's my tip: Instead of trying to identify a genre, try finding a person who exemplifies the kind of music you do and whose audience would be most like yours. Someone fairly obscure would be better than someone that gets a lot of cross-genre followers. For example, you might love and emulate Mumford & Sons, but you'd be better off specifying a lesser-known group, since a lot of folks who bought Babel aren't specifically fans of Celtic music.

If I do this again, I may try "Rich Mullins," "Steve Goodman," etc. Only people with very specific musical tastes (generally akin to mine) will tend to have those in their Interest lists.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:01 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
My "experiment" with "Pete Seeger" seems to have "flattened out," so while the ad was still running, I thought I'd change the person I identified. I thought about "Ramblin' Jack Elliot," but decided to go with Steve Goodman (composer of "City of New Orleans"). When I typed in Steve Goodman, the system suggested Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Tom Paxton, so I added them as well. If you don't know who any of those folks are, sorry. But that's sort of the point. If I put a name that pretty much anybody will recognize, like "Bob Dylan," I'll be spending money to advertise people who only "like" Dylan because of one or two songs and whose real preference is for some other kind of music altogether. NOBODY adds Tom Paxton or Jack Elliot to their list unless they like a particular kind of music. :-) The ad was just approved, so we'll see if i get any other interest.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:11 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
The ad with Steve Goodman, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Tom Paxton got a few post likes but only one page like. If I understand this correctly, if someone likes a post, and later on someone else comments on the same post, it will pop into their notifications, which is a good thing. But when that post loses momentum and folks stop commenting on it, there are no further notifications in anybody's box. I think it's more important that someone like my page, because that seems to be more ongoing. so I tried an experiment promoting the page itself. Actually I tried several, because Facebook kept choosing DUMB images from my page and not letting me change them out for something meaningful. For audience, I used Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Randy Stonehill, Derek Weber, and Caedmon's Call. I figured that would focus who they pointed to better than trying to name genres, which always results in getting people who are VERY far afield of my interests. Trying to set the ad up to spend a dollar a day for thirty days, I accidentally set it up to spend $30 a day. I got 16 page likes and spent $9 before I discovered my mistake. ALL of the likes seem to be real people, which is good. But when I Facebook-stalked them, only about 5 seemed to have any interest in the kinds of music I implied in my audience profile. Several seem to have no interest in music at all, or only like Flamenco or Hip-Hop or something else way outside of my scope. Two are definitely middle schoolers or high schoolers whose photo collection consists entirely of selfies making faces in their bedroom or in their bathroom mirror (no X or R-rated ones, thank goodness). How did these outliers even SEE my ad? I guarantee that the vast majority of engagements or likes came from people who don't even know who Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Randy Stonehill, Derek Weber, or Caedmon's Call even are. My guess is that there are a lot of facebook newbies who like EVERYTHING POSSIBLE in the hopes that they'll get lots of things they can like and hopefully get reciprocal likes from other people who just want to boost their "like" rankings.

By the way, I have other pages with lots of likes, other mailing lists in the thousands, and other sites like this one that get thousands of hits a month. All of the other pages and sites have gained "likes" and readerships through totally organic methods over time, and that's how I hope to grow http://www.facebook.com/paulracemusic and www.paulracemusic.com eventually. This is JUST an experiment to see if this kind of investment will help my personal music sites connect with like-minded folks faster.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 8:20 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
An independent musician friend Daryl Shawn says:

When people talk about "buying Likes" here, they're talking about actually purchasing Likes - paying a sum of money to get a group of guaranteed Likes all at once. But you're talking about running Facebook ads, right? That's a whole different kettle of fish.

Personally speaking, I ran Facebook ads to get from from 200 likes to my first 1000. My interaction at that point from those new likes was very minimal. Then I started paying to boost posts of my videos, and the interaction from those new Likes spiked immediately. I won't go back to ads.

My take on it is that people viewing an ad will click Like without *really* knowing you - they may just like the tagline in your ad. But if they watch a video of your music, they know exactly what you do, and are thus more inclined to interact, which is the goal (and of course, why actually buying Likes is a terrible idea).

Daryl's Web page is here: http://www.darylshawn.com/
Daryl's Facebook page music page is here: https://www.facebook.com/darylshawnmusic/timeline


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:10 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
Still working the $1 a day promotion of my page to folks who ostensibly have Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Randy Stonehill, Derek Weber, or Caedmon's Call in their interests. I am still getting a certain number of third-world high-schoolers who seem to like ANYTHING. I can't imagine that they actually put Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, Randy Stonehill, Derek Weber, or Caedmon's Call in their interest section, so I don't know how they're seeing the ads. But about 60% of the 1-3 likes I'm getting per day are from grownups who either seem to like folk-related styles or independent artists or both. So at this, slow-but-sure rate, I am gaining a certain percentage of credible "likes," averaging out about $.75 per "like," or $.50 per credible "like."

I have some big (not music) stuff going on in the Holiday season, plus the day job, so I'm not going to be able to give music my full attention until, say, January. However, if I can get my head above water and post some Christmas videos in the next several weeks, that might help. I have some GREAT Christmas songs, if I say so myself. :-)

At any rate, slow but sure seems to be working for me.

Paul


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 4:00 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
I've reformatted my personal web page ( paulracemusic.com ) three times in the past six months, actually twice in the past three weeks. Using WebPress templates. I may upgrade again. But a few folks are "liking" the web site itself on Facebook, and that's a good thing.

The promotion i've been running runs out today. So I expect to get more e-mails or notifications from Facebook, but I'll probably leave things as they stand for now and hope for some organic growth between now and the end of the year.

That's one of those things that can start out slow, then gradually pick up steam. We'll see.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron




To ask any question about the content on this site please use our Site Contact Page.

To sign up for this discussion forum, please use our Forum Signup Page.


Paul Race playing a banjo. Click to go to Paul's music home page.Whatever else you get out of our pages, I hope you enjoy your music and figure out how to make enjoyable music for those around you as well.

And please stay in touch!

    - Paul Race Click to see Paul's music home page Click to contact Paul through this page. Click to see Paul's music page on Facebook Click to see Paul's music blog page Click to hear Paul's music on SoundCloud. Click to sign up for the Creek Don't Rise discussion forum. Click to learn about our Momma Don't Low Newsletter. Click to see Paul's Twitter Page Click to see Paul's YouTube Channel.



All material, illustrations, and content of this web site is copyrighted © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 by Paul D. Race. All rights reserved.

Note: Creek Don't Rise (tm) is Paul Race's name for his resources supporting the history and
music of the North American Heartland as well as additional kinds of acoustic and traditional music.

Creek Dont' Rise(tm) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising
program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.



Visit related pages and affiliated sites:
- Music -
Heartland-inspired music, history, and acoustic instrument tips.
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.
Visit musings about music on our sister site, School of the Rock With a few tools and an hour or two of work, you can make your guitar, banjo, or mandolin much more responsive.  Instruments with movable bridges can have better-than-new intonation as well. The Independent Christian Musician. Check out our article on finding good used guitars.
Carols of many countries, including music, lyrics, and the story behind the songs. X and Y-generation Christians take Contemporary Christian music, including worship, for granted, but the first generation of Contemporary Christian musicians faced strong, and often bitter resistance. Different kinds of music call for different kinds of banjos.  Just trying to steer you in the right direction. New, used, or vintage - tips for whatever your needs and preferences. Wax recordings from the early 1900s, mostly collected by George Nelson.  Download them all for a 'period' album. Explains the various kinds of acoustic guitar and what to look for in each.
Look to Riverboat Music buyers' guide for descriptions of musical instruments by people who play musical instruments. Learn 5-string banjo at your own speed, with many examples and user-friendly explanations. Explains the various kinds of banjos and what each is good for. Learn more about our newsletter for roots-based and acoustic music. Folks with Bb or Eb instruments can contribute to worship services, but the WAY they do depends on the way the worship leader approaches the music. A page devoted to some of Paul's own music endeavors.
- Trains and Hobbies -
Free building projects for your vintage railroad or Christmas village.
Visit Lionel Trains. Click to see Thomas Kinkaded-inspired Holiday Trains and Villages. Big Christmas Train Primer: Choosing and using model trains with holiday themes Building temporary and permanent railroads with big model trains Click to see HO scale trains with your favorite team's colors.
- Christmas Memories and Collectibles -
Visit the FamilyChristmasOnline site. Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Click to return to the Old Christmas Tree Lights Table of Contents Page Click to sign up for Maria Cudequest's craft and collectibles blog.
Click to visit Fred's Noel-Kat store.
Visit the largest and most complete cardboard Christmas 'Putz' house resource on the Internet.
- Family Activities and Crafts -
Click to see reviews of our favorite family-friendly Christmas movies. Free, Family-Friendly Christmas Stories Decorate your tree the old-fashioned way with these kid-friendly projects. Free plans and instructions for starting a hobby building vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. Click to find free, family-friendly Christmas poems and - in some cases - their stories. Traditional Home-Made Ornaments



Click to trains that commemorate your team!

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group