Twitter Marketing for R.I.C.O
One of the biggest things I’ve learned about the hip hop industry is the importance of utilizing social media. Social media is the best way to market this type of artist because of the target market these individuals appeal to: the younger generation. It is faster, cheaper, and smarter to employ these devices so you can develop a genuine connection with your fanbase. First, it is faster to use social media to market an artist because messages can reach hundreds of individuals instantly. A status update or a tweet immediately is displayed on ‘fans’ or ‘followers’ news feed. By putting a message out there on social media it is guaranteed to be read instantly by hundreds of fans. Second, social media is the cheaper option to marketing because it is FREE. It costs $0 to have a Twitter account, Facebook fan page, YouTube account, or a Tumblr. Compare a $0 marketing budget to how much it costs to have a television, radio, or print advertisement. While these mediums appeal to the older generation, my generation does not get their information from these sources. This leads into the third reason as to why social media is imperative; it is smarter. It is smarter because let’s face it; my generation is CONSTANTLY on their iPhone’s or laptops. It is logical to use platforms that appeal to the target audience.
A common misconception about social media marketing is that people believe in the ‘if you build it they will come’ approach. This could not be further from the truth! Just because you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account does not mean that people will ‘like’ or ‘follow’ your account because your content is out there. On the contrary, it requires grinding each and every day to build up your community. Today, I will hit on four strategies of how I plan to build up R.I.C.O’s ‘followers’.
1) Keyword Searches- Before you begin any type of Twitter marketing it is vital to analyze your customer and what search engine terms apply to them. Once you have identified these keywords, you can save your search so you can come back to these words later on. For example, to target my search to the correct audience I use the following phrases: underground hip hop, underground artist, underground music, music, hip hop, and rap.
2) Engage in genuine conversation- After you have identified the relevant terms that you want to search for, you must have a real conversation with your fellow tweeters. I understand that it sounds very creepy to talk to strangers on Twitter, but you must make the effort to get to know your potential customers. For instance, if they have a tweet that reads ‘underground music > mainstream’ respond to them by asking ‘Who is your favorite artist?’ What you have to understand is that people voice their opinion on social media because they want their voice to be heard. If you approach somebody in a sincere manner about their opinion, they are more likely to respond to your tweet. The worst thing you can do is to immediately push your product or service. This will come across as spam and ignorant. Before you can ask somebody for a favor, you must ask yourself ‘How can I help them out first?’
3) Be the first to follow- After you have responded to a tweet, take the initiative to follow the person first. Once again, while this may sound creepy, tweeters want to have as many ‘followers’ as possible because it is perceived as cool. However, be careful about how many people you follow at a time. Twitter will block you if you go on a ‘follow’ rampage.
4) Grind every single day- Twitter marketing is the definition of a grind. It takes a tireless work ethic to build your up followers. It is by no means an easy process and it takes weeks of trial and error to figure out the secret sauce. I’ve been experimenting with Twitter for three months and I’m still learning new tactics on a daily basis. The best advice I have is to continually go after it every single day. Mo conversation mo followers.
I would appreciate it if you would check out R.I.C.O at the following links!
Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rico-Fly-Foreva-Ent/134170313297730
New single: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlLUY_5Q2Ps
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Ricoflyforeva
