If you are in a band struggling to
connect with your audience, Google has recently unveiled a new promotional tool
to help you reach out to fans across the world: Google Plus Hangouts.
What Is It?
Google Plus Hangout is a live video
broadcast in which you can invite your fans to view, well, anything. You can
set up a conference, a personal chat, or share a multimedia experience.
Access to a broader audience
This is especially exiting for bands
because now, musicians have a direct platform to access all of their fans via a
live hangout. It is now possible to set up your show in advance, send out an
invitation, and broadcast it live on Google Plus. This can help you perform for
fans that are not able to attend regular shows, or it may enable you to reach a
broader audience and introduce yourself to new fans in real time.
Get Direct Response In Real time
Another feature is real time
communication. Google + Hangouts are set up to send instant messages back and
forth between the host and the audience, enabling viewers at home to give
valuable feedback, or ask questions to the moderator.
Gauge Your Effectiveness
By receiving direct messages, you can
potentially find out what aspects of your performance people are responding to,
and what’s not connecting with your fans. Be prepared though, not all comments
will be positive. You will have to deal with trolls and critics but that’s
actually a good thing, because any response can be a good one if you know how
to read the essence of their messages.
Remember, even the most talented of us
receives criticism. You need only be concerned when there is no response
whatsoever. At least a negative remark means you stirred some kind of emotion,
and you can always use that to your advantage but if no one is talking about
you, even negatively, you are not having any effect at all and you should
seriously consider the possibility that for all your enthusiasm, you might not
be very good. Chances are if you are really bad, people will tell you, but
either way you need a thick skin in this business otherwise you will not go
far.
Live Interviews With Fans
Another fantastic aspect is the
ability to host live interviews, or chat sessions with your fans. This is a
great way to connect directly with those you hope to connect with and show that
you care about your fans. They will ask you many questions if thy like you and
of course, with a live broadcast, it will get very interesting what a fan asks
you about your sex life, or blatantly calls you out for something stupid you
did live. Be prepared for the bizarre!
Show You’re Updated With Current Trends
One great benefit of this is that you
automatically connect with the Millennials, who are naturally connected to
media and technology on social platforms like this. It is an instant connection
and really includes you in a social circle and if they respond well, your
likelihood of going viral is increased. The positive impact this can have
cannot be overstated. If fans are connecting with you, your band will get a
boost.
Get A Manager To Do It
It is essential that you have someone
in charge of this aspect, preferably, your manager of you have one. If not, get
a friend to do it but you need to be able to trust that person to represent you
in a way that you will approve of.
Select a tech savvy person either way and remember,
this person represents you in a direct way and has control over your public
image while you’re performing. In other words, if they see a negative post and
simply replies with slander, it will hurt your overall image. They need to be able
to manage negative as well as positive feedback. That is ultimately what a
manager is best because they are thinking of your best interests and will
likely filter the negative and respond to the positive in a beneficial way.
Make a plan of action
Before you go live, you need to
formulate a plan of action. You need to have everything set up well in advance,
test it out, and have everything ready well before you go live. Treat it like
your premier on Conan.
Put on your best show because now more than
ever, anybody could be watching, maybe even the people who will give you your
big break so don’t make a bad impression.People will be scrutinizing your
performance so the better you are live; the more engaging you are, the more successful
you will be.
Remember that in a live situation, it’s
impossible to be 100% prepared as there will always be unscripted moments; you’ll
never know when someone will throw a live animal at you, run across the camera
naked with his hair on fire, or even jump up and try to play alongside you,
regardless of the fact that they sing like a retarded goose and have never
mastered ‘Highway To Hell’ so you will have to think on your feet, but isn’t it
more fun that way?
Stick To It
This also requires a great deal of
stick-to-it-iveness. If you do have a bad show, don’t worry, it’s a new
platform and nobody expects you to be the best at it the first time around.
In fact, if you fail miserably the
first time, and do it again, people who saw it the first time may be watching
to see if you fail again, but if you improve, they will notice it too and it will
include your fans in your growth as performing artists. That will really make them
feel included in your success and they will have their “I remember when” story
if you get famous.
Make it A Regular Experience
In order to really take advantage of
this tool, host a hangout on a regular basis, but don’t do it with every show;
maybe once a month or so if you’re really attacking the scene. Keep in mind
that you can host all sorts of events and are limited in this area only by your
imagination. Whatever you do, make sure your producing content on a regular
basis, whether its songs, videos, blogs, or just posting scribble drawings you drew
on the napkins while on tour.
Have Patience
Finally, as in all aspect of art, you
must have patience. Don’t expect to be an overnight sensation. The more you do
this, the more notoriety you will get. It almost assured that unless your currently
a big name, you won’t get a whole lot of traction until people see you hosting
hangouts on a regular basis, but, if you make this a constant avenue of
outreach you will benefit and fans will connect as long as you’re providing
with them real value.
What are your thoughts or ideas on using Google Plus for marketing? Please leave a comment or question below!
