With over 34 million blogs on their servers, Tumblr is a networking goldmine.
Why do I love Tumblr? Simplicity.
Why not hear it straight from the source:
Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything. Post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos, from your browser, phone, desktop, email, or wherever you happen to be. You can customize everything, from colors, to your theme‘s HTML.
Search for bloggers sharing music similar to yours, follow them, reblog and favorite their posts, and let the networking begin.
I find myself spending more time ReBlogging videos, news, and downloads from blogs I follow than I do actual blogging of my own content. Reblogging is:
The same way YouTube embeds make it easy for a video to become a viral hit, the “reblog” button on all Tumblr posts allows a meme to spread rapidly across thousands of blogs with just a click.
Podomatic is a podcasting platform.
The free accounts come with limited space, but you can always delete the outdated podcasts to upload new ones.
The reason I mention this one is because I receive a non-stop stream of friend adds from this service.
Even if its only 1 a day, I am replying and following new podcasters daily.
This definitely makes it a valuable resource for expanding your fanbase.
Blip.fm is very similar to Twitter but it turns every user into a DJ.
Search for a song and Blip it.
What is a blip you say?
A blip is a combination of 1) a song and 2) a short message that accompanies it. The way you create a blip is to first search for a song that you want to hear (or a song that you want your listeners to hear), then add a short message (under 150 characters), finally you submit it. (view source)
As you begin favoriting other DJs, you have the ability to ReBlip as well as give Props to the songs others are sharing.
There is also a feature to Blip your own media.
To add to the punch, you are able to connect Blip.fm to your Twitter account so all the music you share is also seen by your Twitter followers.
Mixcloud is more visually appealing than podomatic and also allows you to separate your podcasts into tracks.
For these two reasons, I have to be honest and say that I prefer Mixcloud to Podomatic (but both are valuable networking resources).
Groups is a new feature recently released and since it rolled out I have noticed an increase in activity on my account.
However, the traffic does not compare to the daily adds and follows from Podomatic.
To illustrate the visual appeal, below is an old podcast from BUNKS Multimedia featuring 21 minutes of Middle Tennessee Hip Hop.
I have always been a big fan of Soundcloud.
The feature that stands out the most is the ability to leave comments on a track while it is playing.
Your comment is even timestamped and appears at the point in the song where you actually typed it.
Although hosting space is limited unless you pay, it is still a great place to build a network of like minded music fanatics.
Finding music similar to your own or discovering that hot new indie artist and interacting with them has never been easier.
Music Marketing Tips
- Search for other users by genre. Also find people who share your influences or have music tastes similar to your own.
- Do NOT limit your networking to music-only blogs, groups, and networks.
- When you aren’t making music, what books do you read? what movies do you watch? do you garden? are you a parent? are you a studio tech geek?
- Finding blogs and other potential fans who are interested in the same topics you are is another way to find people who might like your music. One of these people could be your next #1 fan.
- Its safe to assume a large percentage of people who read parenting blogs are also music lovers. I know a few people who enjoy meditation music while gardening or doing yoga.
- Podcasting and internet radio are very similar entities. Never underestimate the power of having your new single featured during popular podcasts. These networks are also prime places to run into radio station personnel. Just like you, many stations are using social media and podcasting to market themselves and engage with their audiences.
- Thank people who follow or fan you, and return the favor. If they comment on your music, listen to theirs and comment back.
- There is no such thing as overnight success. It is a slow, steady, daily process and the only way to move forward is to do something.
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