Your views on promotion

[GoDownProductions]

Local Hip Hoppers seem to break this rule most.

Tell me about it. I run the Fort Wayne Hip Hop Music MySpace.

[Al Quandt]

Local Hip Hoppers seem to break this rule most.

Tell me about it. I run the Fort Wayne Hip Hop Music MySpace.

Yeah, I hate doing it, but I will delete them fast as hell. usually I dont mind promoting anything on my page, but if you break it I toss it.

[Silencio]

The key to good promotion has been distilled into a recent buzzword that actually makes sense: "User Experience."

Every band (and every bar) needs to find subtle ways in which to "plus" the user experience: that is, to make the customer feel that something special has happened.

This is one reason why e-mail can be so effective, if used properly: You ae helping your fan base to feel that they are special, that they "own" the band in a way, that they help create the user experience, that your gig just won't be the same if they aren' there.

Just sending an announcement doesn't get it. You have to send information that is inclusive, that makes them feel like their experience coming out to hear you play is part of a larger experience.

Hell, even Oprah has to tell her audience to look under their chairs once in a while.

[deek]

Good point, Silencio.

Hell, we use that strategy in the workplace all the time. I go into a meeting wanting a certain outcome, but if I mandate it and just announce what it is that I want, there is no buy-in and often more arguments than not. But, if it is presented in a way to encourage everyone to take part and become part of that decision...well, then everyone buys in because they feel they were a part of it (whether they were or not is a discussion for another topic).

So it is that perceived notion that someone on the "outside" became part of the experience...and if you can find a way to do that, then you are certainly off to a great start and I doubt you will be worried about whether a venue promote you or not:)

[Oliver's Army]

If you include new dates, band info, anything new and exciting...people respond to this and it doesn't feel like spam. They feel a part of something and WANT to go.

[Silencio]

Precisely, deek.

My son Aiden (some of you knew him when he still lived here) is now working as a web app interface designer for a well-known online media agency (Publicis/Modem), and pushing the boundaries of the meaning of interface, even creating his own title: "User Experience Engineer."

The fact that you can even get this job is one illustration of how marketers have come to understand the importance of creating positive user experiences.