Your Roadmap To Facebook And Twitter

If you've read this Music 3.0 blog for a bit you know that it's dedicated to two things; keeping you informed of the latest happenings in the new music business, and showing you how to use social media as a promotional tool for your music. I try to do an even balance of both, and if you look over the 700+ posts from the last two years (has it been that long already?) or so, you'll find a lot of great info.

Every time I post something about Facebook or Twitter, I get a lot of "How do I....?" messages, and I end up referring the reader to a number of my previous posts or my book Music 3.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age (the updated second edition just came out, which you probably already know if you follow this blog regularly). There is a great alternative though, and it just so happens to make a great Holiday gift as well.


My good friend Ariel Hyatt and Carla Lynne Hall have written a great book called The Musician's Roadmap To Facebook And Twitter that puts more knowledge about how to use both Facebook and Twitter as a promotional tool than I've ever seen in one place. Ariel is the founder of Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR, probably the most knowledgeable and prominent social media company out there that deals primarily in music. She travels all over the world speaking on the topic and is truly an expert in the field.

I know from the talks that I regularly give at conferences and colleges that social media is used by most musicians, but it's use as a promotional tool is widely misunderstood and under-appreciated. The Musician's Roadmap to Facebook And Twitter is the perfect way to take that next step in harnessing the tremendous power social networking. You can check out the book on the Cyber PR site, and even better, there's a Holiday discounted price if you click to this page.


The Musician's Roadmap To Facebook and Twitter is the perfect compliment to Music 3.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age (2nd edition). Buy them both for the musician in your life (or maybe as a nice Holiday gift to yourself).

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Hashtags And The Most Effect Promotional Tool

Here are a couple of different articles posted on some great blog sites that recently included a thing or two from yours truly.

First of all, the excellent Hypebot blog just posted an article called "Hypebot Readers Share Their Top Music Industry Hashtags." It's a good insight into the hashtags that work for a number of bloggers, including myself. Check it out here.

The second is an article by the first lady of musical social media, Ms. Ariel Hyatt, that was posted on another great blog - Music Think Tank. This one's called "Music Marketers FAQ – What's most important as a promotional tool: Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube?" In it, Ariel (from Arielpublicity.com), Rick Goetz (from musiccoaching.com), Corey Dennis (of TAG Strategic), Carey Lynn Hall, Cassie Petry (of crowdsurf.net) and moi give a brief overview of which of the social media tools we find most effective. You can access the post 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 daily discussion of music, recording, and production tips and tricks.

Ariel Hyatt's "Music Success In Nine Weeks"

I was fortunate to finally meet Ariel Hyatt at the ASCAP Expo a couple of weeks ago, something that I had looked forward to for some time. Ariel is founder of Ariel Publicity, a PR firm that specializes in the music business (especially helping bands) and one of the few centered exclusively on online public relations (she calls it "Cyber PR").

A few months ago when I began asking around for recommendations for a PR agency for a client of mine, two people who I respect enormously, Derek Sivers (founder of CD Baby) and Bruce Houghton (founder of the influential music blog Hypebot), both told me she was the best in the business. Now that I've met her, I totally believe it.

Ariel and I spoke for about 45 minutes about the music business, social networking, and the steps that bands need to take to make their presence felt online. To say that I was impressed is an understatement. She's one of the few people in the business that totally gets it, but even better, knows how to use what she knows to help those that can't do it for themselves.

After the conference, I eagerly read Ariel's book, "Music Success In Nine Weeks," and totally loved it. It's loaded with information about navigating the online space, but it's also a workbook that takes you by the hand and shows you how to do your own PR (both online and traditional), establish and build your email list, get the most out of your website, how to set up a successful blog, and generally focus yourself and your energy to make sure you're aiming in the right direction to attain your musical goals. It's very well written and a quick and easy read.

How good is this book? I figured that I would just skim through the book since I already know a good bit about how the social media world works, but I couldn't put it down and wound up learning a lot myself since the book covers so much more than social media. Her information is concise, to the point, and easy to grasp, no matter if you're a social media veteran or just dipping your toe into the online waters for the first time.

The title is not hype. If you want music success in a relatively short time, read this book (and read Music 3.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age too). If you don't have the time or inclination to do it yourself, hire Ariel's company. At the very least, check out her archive website and sign up for her email newsletter. I guarantee you will learn a lot.

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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.