Facebook Promoted Posts: Why and How They Can Help Your Music

Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

If your News Feed were to display every activity from every friend and Page you Like, you would definitely experience information overload. But the geeks at Facebook are smart enough to know better so they have taken measures to filter what you see.

How do they determine what I see…and don’t?

Well it’s complicated…

Algorithms and EdgeRank

It’s important to understand Facebook uses this thing known as EdgeRank to determine what displays in your News Feed.

How much time and how often you interact with your friends and Pages determines how much of their activity you see.

This means you will see every update from your best friend because you Like and Comment on her updates daily BUT you will only see minimal updates from your brother’s band’s Page you Liked 27 days ago but have never commented on one of their posts.

Of course you can edit these settings and what is filtered, but who has time for that?

What Bands and Artists Need To Know

As an independent artist, it is time you wake up to the fact only 5% or less of your Page’s Likes are actually seeing your status updates.

It is also imperative you understand the various factors that determine how much your fans see.

A few factors include:

1. How often do you post?

If you post too much, people will un-Like you, block you, or remove you from their News Feed.

2. What day of the week do you post. is it a week day? or weekend? 8 AM, lunch hour, 236PM, or 241 AM?  

These factors effect who and how many fans see your updates. If 80% of your fans work in a cubicle, they will probably be on Facebook early in the morning, during their breaks, and the hour before they clock out. If your fans are college students, they will probably be on Facebook late at night or during classes.

3. How many Friends each individual has and how many Pages they have liked.

Fans who have 2,343 friends and have Liked 1,234 Pages will probably not notice your updates unless they are intentionally looking for them. On the other hand, the person who only has a few friends and doesn’t Like that many Pages, has a much higher probability of seeing your updates.

4. How often do they like or comment on your updates? do they ever post on your Wall or visit your Page?

Bottom line, the more fans interact with you and your Page, the more of your updates Facebook will show them. The algorithms are smart enough to figure out who are your most loyal fans and who doesn’t give a s*$t.

If you did enough research you would find many more layers.

In other words, it’s complicated.

Promoted Posts

Let’s face it. If you are serious about your music as a career, advertising is one of the costs of doing business.

You don’t need a major label to get your brand seen and music heard. If you still adopt the “major label mindset”, keep waiting. No A&R guys are coming to find you any time soon.

With a Do-It-Yourself Attitude and the Internet, you have the ability to create your own business plan, build your own team, and design your own advertising & marketing budget.

Promoted Posts is one form of advertising on Facebook.

For $4.13 the BUNKS were able to reach 504 (more) people with this update. 95 people were reached organically.

It is important to note that 599 people does NOT mean 599 out of the 767 Likes on BUNKS’ Page. This number also includes friends of the people who Like their page.

Any time you comment, like, share, or post something on Facebook – your friends see it. So…

1. John likes BUNKS’ status update and leaves a comment
2. John’s friend Tabitha sees that activity in her News Feed – Tabitha can read the comment, leave one, and then Like the BUNKS Page (without ever leaving her News Feed)
3. Tabitha’s friend Arnie notices her activity and decides to leave another comment. Arnie then likes BUNKS’ Page
4. go back to Step 1 and Repeat…

In other words, people can see you and even Like your Page without actually visiting it. And yes, this definitely plays a big role in determining how much of your updates that random person will see.

In closing, I might have left everyone with a bitter taste in their coffee from my previous post, Facebook’s New Landscape. Despite how you feel about these new changes, this is the game. Either you play ball or warm the bench.

You definitely need to consider Facebook Promoted Posts as part of your marketing budget… The decision really comes down to how serious you are about creating a business from your art.

Promoted Posts is one way of expanding your reach and raising your brand awareness…and that my friends, is what this is all about.

It’s up to us to create the new music economy.

Helpful Link:

• 12 Tips When Using Facebook Promoted Posts -via Social Media Examiner.com