Instagram Now More Effective Than Facebook Reaching Fans

It doesn't matter how large a social network is, it's all about how many of your fans you can reach. That's the message from a study by the research company L2 when evaluating Facebook and Instagram.

It turns out that brands, bands and artists are posting much more content on Instagram these days, mostly because the fan reach is so much greater on that platform. On Facebook, the only way to reach all your fans is to promote your posts, and even then it's debatable if you can reach all of them. On Instagram, their fans will see everything they post.

Although Instagram has only 300 million users as compared to Facebook's 1.3 billion, it doesn't matter much if it costs you too much to grow your fan base. That said, Instagram's audience is growing much faster than Facebook ever did even during it's peak periods of growth.

If you choose to post more on Instagram, there are a few things to remember though:

1. Photos on Instagram perform much better than video, which is the same on all social platforms, even though Facebook is pushing video sharing at the moment.

2. Instagram's Hyperlapse fast-motion feature has fallen out of favor after a big start last year. While it's a cool effect, it's definitely a special effect and using it sometimes makes it difficult to incorporate calls to action.

Social media is a constantly moving target. What works today may not work tomorrow, so you have to be prepared to roll with the trends. That doesn't mean you have to abandon your existing marketing strategy altogether, but it sure helps if you're willing to adapt as needed.

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You should follow me on Forbes for some insights on the new music business, Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

What Younger Fans Want

MTV recently asked Millennials (those born between 1980 to 2000 and sometimes known as "Generation Y") just what they expected from their favorite musical artists. The results are decidedly different that what you'd get from other generations.

• They think music should be free, but they might buy it as a gesture of support.

• They really want an inside look at things. Nothing is too personal or mundane.

• They really want to be engaged. The more they're asked to be involved in creation or branding, the better.

• They crave interaction. Using multiple platforms to do so is okay.

• Shuffle-mode is just fine. They're really into musical diversity.

• There's no such thing as selling out. Blatant commercialism by an artist is almost expected.

We live in a new world where the concepts of old no longer apply. Anyone who doesn't evolve will be left behind because the music world, and music consumption, changes with new consumers. All you need to do is ask them.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

Follow me on Forbes for some insights on the new music business.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

65% Pay For Digital Content Online

Happy New Year everyone. Let's hope that your 2011 will be better that 2010.

While it seems to be the popular perception that people are unwilling to pay for digital content, a recent study by the Pew Internet organization seems to contradict the notion. In fact, they found that 65% of people online have paid for some form of digital content or subscription.

The study discovered the following:

• 33% of internet users have paid for digital music online
• 33% have paid for software
• 21% have paid for apps for their cell phones or tablet computers
• 19% have paid for digital games
• 18% have paid for digital newspaper, magazine, or journal articles or reports
• 16% have paid for videos, movies, or TV shows
• 15% have paid for ringtones
• 12% have paid for digital photos
• 11% have paid for members-only premium content from a website that has other free material on it
• 10% have paid for e-books
• 7% have paid for podcasts
• 5% have paid for tools or materials to use in video or computer games
• 5% have paid for “cheats or codes” to help them in video games
• 5% have paid to access particular websites such as online dating sites or services
• 2% have paid for adult content

What's more, they found that those who purchased digital media paid between $1 and $10 per month, with some purchasing as high as $30 per month. The digital content that most people were willing to purchase online were (in order):

• Music
• Software
• Mobile apps
• Games

So while we may have a generation of internet users who expect content like music for free, there are still a lot more out there willing to pay for it. As with everything though, the content has to be really good and at the right price to be attractive.

Read an overview of the Pew research article here.

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You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.