When researching into artists strategies to promote their music, it was clear that the Internet had a big part to play. Almost every signer now has an account on one or more of many social networking sites, allowing a personal interaction to be created between the artist and their fans. Taylor Swift has almost 6million followers on Twitter, 6million fans who know whats shes doing every day, what event shes singing at and when the release of her next album is. It is clear that in the last few years, it has been alot easier for artists to advertise themselves and their products due to social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Youtube. On these interactive sites the artist can speak to their fans directly and a very personal feel is created for the audience, knowing that they can log on and see what is happening in the artists lives. The artist can also promote their music by putting videos and audio files on these sites and 'word of mouth' quickly gets around as news of what people are watching and listening to spread fast on these sites, as you can see what all your friends are watching and listening to. On Twitter, messages from celebrities becomes 'trends' and by putting a hash key in front of a saying, the message gets around quickly to every person using the site. For example, recently there #thewantedontour was trending, letting everyone know that boy band The Wanted were soon to be touring, making people aware and therefore more tickets being sold. Personal trends are also sent around, letting the public know what is happening in the celebrities lives, e.g. the current trend on Twitter is #getwellsoonnath, letting the world know that artist Nathan Sykes is ill, making them want to go onto his twitter to see whats wrong and therefore seeing his photos and videos that promote his products.
Tweets such as this allow the audience to know where the artist is that night and also create a 'personal' feel for the audience, they feel as if they 'know' her and as if she is talking directly to them. Before social networking sites, these artists were just seen as 'famous people' but now they have personalities. By their tweets and photos, the audience get a glimpse at their personalities and life behind what they see in music videos.
And this tweet not only shows the artists personality, but also tells the audience that he notices his fans and values them and he sees them individually and not just as a group of people who buy his albums, tweets such as this make the audience feel special and therefore will be more likely to continue to support the artist.
This tweet is from a member of a very popular boy-band, and this shows another way that the audience can feel closer to the artist and can relate to them. By using 'text' language, the audience think they have something in common with the artist, creating a 'personal' feel. Boy band One Direction's target audience is 14-17 year olds, the most likely age to use text language instead of accurate spellings and the ones that will buy their album. If they feel like they can relate to the artist, they will be more likely to buy the album, thinking they will relate to their tracks too. This boy-band also have a very clever technique of getting the audience involved. They recently posted on their twitter that they are holding open auditions for 14-17 year old girls (their target audience) to be in their new video. This of course makes more girls want to go on their twitter and find out more about this, hoping they will get a shot at being in a music video and meeting the band. They will also become more likable by doing this because they are trusting their fans instead of getting a model to be in their video. This makes the audience feel special, like the band really care about them. By word of mouth, this will gain the band thousands of more follows from girls who want to also feel this way.
Retweeting fans is another way to make the audience feel valued and to make them think that what they're saying is being listened to by celebrities. The audience will think that if the artist retweets other fans, then there will be a chance they will retweet them. This will make them tweet the artist and visit their page more and therefore knowing about the artists upcoming events. Having a twitter account also allows the artist to always be in the audiences 'good books' as show by the second print screen here. There has been a rumor going around in the press that Nathan Sykes has a celebrity girlfriend, making him loose 300 follows within a few hours. However, by tweeting that it is only a rumour, Nathan was able to stop people unfollowing him and get his fans back on his side. Before social networking sites, it was alot easier for journalists to spread news about celebrities. Now days, the audience just have to click on to their twitter to see if it's true or not!
This 'information' box on twitter also makes the audience feel 'valued' and by having Harry Styles say 'I love you' girls will want to follow him, hoping they will hear more things like this. The artist uses gaze theory to help him get followers as he has an attractive photo as his display picture, making girls who don't even know who he is want to find out more about him and his band, hoping they are attractive too.
This is just one example of many artists that use Vlogs (Video Blogs). Vlogs are used by many artists on websites such as YouTube or on the artists official website, to make the audience feel closer to them. Vlogs allow the audience into the artists lives, letting them see what they're doing and who they're with. This is a clever technique used to gain a bigger fan base by creating a 'personal' feel. Also, if a member of the audience were to see the video and like the artists personality, the will want to go out and buy the album or subscribe to their channel. This particular Vlog is a thank you message to Taylor Swift's fans and by Vlogging her emotions, the audience feel closer to Taylor than
Via their websites, artists promote their other interactive features.
Here is a very effective way of gaining a bigger fan base. The Wanted have weekly 'WantedWednesday' Vlogs which show not only what they have been doing, but also what fans they have met. This would make other people watching to subscribe and become a fan, knowing that they could be in one of their videos too. This also shows that they care about their fans and 'know' them, almost like all their fans are their friends. Many of their target audience would also want to be their 'friends' so would continue to watch their videos, hoping for an insight on how to do so.
How I've incorporated social networking websites into my digipak
If my album were to be sold, it would need to follow the codes and conventions of a current album in the market. Many artists now add information about their social networking sites into their digipak, so their target audience can 'follow' or 'subscribe' to them and allowing their fan base and the ways in which they advertise their products to expand. To meet these codes and conventions, I have incorporated mentions of social networking sites in my digipak, shown in the print screen bellow:
Twitter in also mentioned in my digipak 'Thank you's' - "I couldn't have done it without you- or your tweeting! It's been amazing getting to know you all..." if the audience were to see this in the artists digipak, they would want to follow her, thinking she will get to know them too.
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