I continue answering questions provided by Rie Sheridan Rose in today's episode where we focus on the best social media platform for artists, musicians, and writers and then we delve into why you should try Patreon.
Rie Sheridan Rose wrote: “I am doing a platform building challenge, and today's task is to interview an expert. You are the best marketing guy I know. Would you be willing to do an email interview–like ten questions–about marketing and Kickstarter in particular, because I may need to do some projects soon, and you always do so well. :)”
Find out more about Rie Sheridan Rose at http://riewriter.com/
Here are the next two questions answered:
6) Which social media platforms do you recommend for artists? Is Twitter effective, or does Facebook provide better exposure?
Social Media is a whole world unto itself – I use Facebook, GooglePlus, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. In general, I don't like social media, but it can be very useful for getting the word out there about your projects and performances.
The best use I've found for Twitter is for contacting people – response rates seem a lot higher.
Facebook isn't great, thanks to the feeds (which can get cluttered and badly organized) – using groups can be good for more focused responses. Having an artist page, instead of just a personal page, is a questionable choice – if you're on websites like ReverbNation that increase their rankings based on your outlets, it's great – beyond that, questionably useful.
Instagram is easy for posting pictures, but should be used by primarily visual people. Same goes for Youtube.
GooglePlus hasn't garnered too much response, and probably isn't a necessary use of your time.
If you're working on building a reputation, don't spend too much time on social media. Nowadays, I scan my feeds, I block subjects that I don't want to see, and I look for things that are relevant. I would concentrate on Podcasts and Video Podcasts, depending on your media of choice.
7) You have been enjoying fair success on Patreon. Do you recommend it as a leg of an artist’s marketing plan? Does it work better if you already have an established fan base? How did you go about creating your tiers and rewards for this platform?
Similar to Kickstarter, you raise money through your fans and networks. Patreon, however, lets you pay monthly or per-project sort of donations, which gives you more flexibility. I love this tool – even if you don't have an established fanbase, this builds on itself. Anytime someone signs up, I try to share it via my podcasts or via Facebook to thank my fans, but also to get the word out there about Patreon. That's been incredibly successful as a reactive form of advertisement.
Creating tiers was difficult, as you always need to expect people to sign up for the lowest tier.
The toughest thing about Patreon (like Kickstarter) is the fulfillment – it's a continual process and requires a lot more active input on the artist's part. Digital rewards are the easiest, so I'd recommend that instead of physical rewards.
Find the first 5 questions answered in last show at https://marcgunn.com//celtfather057
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