Ariel Hyatt On Selecting A Social Platform

There are so many social media platforms available today that it can get overwhelming when it comes to selecting where you should spend your time. The danger is that you can be on too many platforms and dilute your energy, or you can specialize in one and miss some opportunities.

In this excerpt from my Music 4.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age book, social media PR guru Ariel Hyatt describes why Facebook might not be the best alternative, and how to determine what might be a better alternative.

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"Are Likes important?

Facebook is the most frustrating platform. I read an article about the way life used to work a hundred years ago where you would have gone out of your house to the community bakery, hardware store (like my grandparents owned), or any local shop to buy your everyday needs. Then the Madison Avenue way of doing business came in the picture by advertising national brands as somehow being sexier and blew much of that model away, and we lost our way of communicating one on one as a result. Now social media brings us back around to where we started, where we only want to buy from people that we like, trust, and have positive engagement with. None of these principles are new, just the medium is.

The problem with Facebook is that it’s now placing the Madison Avenue approach on top of a community based platform, but the two are at massive odds. In the beginning there were all these people that you knew on Facebook that you might’ve lost contact with, like your school friends, teachers, babysitters, and long lost cousins. They weren’t necessarily on the other social sites, but they were on Facebook. It was all based on community and it was very personal and very much like the old community bakery or store.

Now Facebook has added a new twist in that no one will get to see your post unless you pay, and now we have a problem. We’ve been saying for years that it’s all about great content and engagement and keeping things interesting, and Facebook has come along and said, “Actually, no. If you pay us, we’ll promote something that’s not interesting to get you more eyeballs.” This is detrimental because it’s diluting the whole point of Facebook in the first place. The community is now muddled with Madison Avenue and the “buy a billboard,” or “buy an ad” mentality. I’m afraid that, just like when Madison Avenue rose in power, the people that don’t have the money to buy the ads and billboards are going to get squeezed out. That’s why I find Facebook to be a necessary evil. There’s still a huge number of active users so you need a strategy for it, but both the platform and the strategy are rapidly changing.

Do you recommend that a new client be on multiple platforms or just concentrate on one?

Just concentrate on one. I think that it’s so easy to get overwhelmed trying to do too much that some people will just shut down. Concentrate on one, and hopefully it’s not Facebook.

Which platform would you suggest?

Really it depends on that person’s capabilities. Are they visual? Then let’s do Instagram. Are they wordy? Then a blog strategy might be better. Are they ADD? Then let’s do some tweeting. Let’s find the thing that feels like it’s the most comfortable. I still struggle with pushing people to do things that they’re not comfortable with, because it’s not going to work in the long run."

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Click here to find out more about Ariel and her company Cyber PR.

You can read additional excerpts from Music 4.0 and my other books on the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Setting Album Launch Milestones

Recently on Music Think Tank Cyber PR maven Ariel Hyatt wrote a great article about marketing tactics for a new album launch. I'd like to reprint just a part of that post; the section that deals with launch milestones.

"Plan some milestones starting from two months before the release date to at least one month after the album comes out. Here is how this could look: 

Two Months Before Release - Release a single, a great way to get the fans excited and also to get some current press quotes to include when contacting press about the full length album - Announce to your fans that tickets are for sale for the CD release show 

One Month Before Release - Press campaign begins for new album - Announce pre-sale campaign through your newsletter, and social networks including Facebook and Twitter - Set up a Facebook invite for the new release, send it to all your Facebook friends and post on your Fan Page 

Two Weeks Before Release - Keep the excitement going, hold a contest to win a copy of the new album or tickets to CD release show 

Release Day Activities - Write a news post about the release on your official website - Send out a Newsletter to mailing list - Update Twitter and Facebook with an “album out now” post and link to where they can purchase it. 

One Month After The Release - Service press with official music video and announce tour dates. Again, the more activities you can plan leading up to the release will help build the excitement with your fans, and the more press points you can arrange for after a release will enable you to keep contacting press with new content, while at the same time reminding them about the new album. Also, don’t forget to ask your family, friends, and fans to write reviews of your new album on iTunes and other digital retailers the minute it becomes available. Studies have shown that albums that are reviewed at iTunes actually sell more than albums with little to no reviews posted. In the next and final post, I will talk about supplying content while you’re in between album cycles, as a means to stay relevant and fresh with your current fans, and to increase your fanbase as well."

This is some great advice. Unless you formulate definitive milestones, you have no idea if your plan is working or not. Plus, it's a lot easier to achieve your various goals if they're broken into achievable parts. If you have an album that you're finishing, it's never too early to make a plan for it.

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

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.

5 Things For Your Newsletter

Social media mavin Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity/Cyber PR recently posted on Music Think Tank about 5 things to keep in mind when crafting your newsletter. You can read a lot about newsletters in some of my older posts, but here are a few more things that you should consider.

"1. Keep Your Subject Line To 55 Characters Or Less. Most email programs cut off the subject line after 55 to 60 characters, so keep your subject line short and sweet and to the point. 5 or 6 words max!

2. Get Personal. Saying something personal brings you closer to your fan base. Share a photo of something you love (your pet, your kids, your friends), or something fun and non-music related that you did lately (like a vacation).

3. You Don't Have To Have A Show To Send A Newsletter. How about just inviting everyone on your newsletter out for drinks one evening, or to join you for a show, or share something fun that you've done recently. Or maybe just talk about an album that you love.

4. Mailing Address And Unsubscribe Link. Know that by law you need to put your mailing address and an unsubscribe link at the bottom of each of your newsletters. If you are uncomfortable adding your home address, then open up a PO Box and use that.

5. First Names Get Attention. Use the first name of each person you send your newsletter to. The best way to get anyone's attention is to include their first name in the subject line of an email. Something like this:

"Hey, Kevin! Summer News From The Darrin James Band"

It's catchy and gets people's attention immediately to the subject of your email. Any of the mailing list/newsletter management services, including Bandletter, Fanbridge, and Reverbnation can help you customize your emails so that the first names of your fans appear in the subject line. Testing shows that the response rates go up 50 to 70% or more if you include first names."

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

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.

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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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.

Google + Still Growing

Google + is growing like a weed. Every week it seems to gain more and more users at the expense of Facebook. Usage there is still high, although most people have only so much time for networking, so time spent on Google + means that a little less time is spent on Facebook.

That being said, now is the time to make you presence felt on Google +. As my friend and social media maven Ariel Hyatt states on her excellent post "The Musician's Guide To Google +", musicians just can't avoid the network any longer because of the following reasons:

"1. Google + pages rank very highly (if not #1) in Google searches.
This is incredibly important for any emerging musician trying to establish an online presence, as it will almost instantly increase your visibility. Even if you are still too obscure for your Facebook Fan Page or your personal website to appear towards the top of a Google search, a Google + page will almost instantly rank towards the very top.

2. Google + is the fastest growing social network in history.
Of course it is! Google is already such a dominant force that anything they introduce can grow, and fast. So it is no surprise that Google +, introduced in July of 2011, received 20 million visits in the first 21 days of its existence. As of September 2011,

Google + was up to 25 million registered members, which is still infantile compared to Facebook which is somewhere in the range of 750 million registered members. But if Google + can continue to grow at it’s current rate, it may be able to give Facebook a real run for the money.

3. Google + has already shown to be a powerful tool for musicians.
Within the first weeks of the Google + launch, a singer/ songwriter named Daria Musk took advantage of some of the FREE Google + features, namely Google Hangouts, to host a virtual concert to hundreds of fans and new listeners."

You can read the rest of this great Cyber PR post here. In the meantime, the chart on the left indicates the most followed Google + users. I guess it shouldn't be a big surprise that Britney Spears narrowly nudges out Google CEO Larry Page. Nor is it that "spiritual advisor" Snoop Dog is at number 3. What really is a surprise that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is number 4.

Which brings us back to why you should be on Google +. You can never be on this list unless you join.

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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.

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.