Social networking is the practice of connecting individuals based on similar interests or common friends or colleagues. Most often the term refers to making these connections online through community building websites.
Unlike traditional networking where connections are based on your physical location (like your high school or your city), web-based social networking allows you to easily search for and contact millions of individuals around the world who are also looking to develop friendships or professional relationships based on similar interests.
Drummers can use social networking to put together a band, promote themselves, and showcase original music. This article describes how three major social networking sites can be great vehicles to help you achieve your goals as a professional drummer.
MySpace
MySpace allows you to create a personal profile. Your profile can contain text, photos, music and audio files. Once set up, the idea is to invite other myspace users to visit your profile.
Given the huge number of regular myspace users, more and more artists (both signed and unsigned) realize that a myspace page is a must-have for maximum visibility – even if they have their own website. Your myspace page help you build a following, can promote your music, get the word out about upcoming gigs, and can connect you with bands who are looking for a drummer.
The first step is to set up a musician account. Find the “Sign Up” link on the myspace.com homepage. Instead of immediately filling in the profile field, look for the “Artist Sign-up” link.
This will take you to a profile form specialized for musicians (regular profiles don’t have fields for tour dates etc). Note the copyright and usage warnings. Complete the fields on each screen, and finish off your profile by uploading music and photos of yourself. One way to convey your individuality is to customize your profile page. If you’re familiar with web development, you can design your own style – but if you aren’t there are plenty of templates out there to get you started. Just search the web for “myspace templates.” Your page should reflect your style. Just remember that you also want it to be readable, so be careful with dark text on dark backgrounds and the life.
Videos are as important as your music. A visual of you drumming tells potential bands and labels more than just how good your chops are. Videos can convey who YOU are more than just an audio file. Take advantage of this feature. Live shows are favorites on myspace.
Use your profile to share your goals. If you’re looking for a band to join – say so! Someone might read your awesome profile and not realize that you don’t already have a band. If you’re looking for friends to jam with on the weekends, put it on your profile. It may be hard, but try to categorize yourself in a specific genre. This gives other users a way to find you when they search for musicians they might like. Networking with other drummers and bands is a great way to find opportunities.
Once your profile is ready, its time to make some friends. Start by inviting the people in your current network. Search for people you know by their email address and send friend requests. Once you’ve gotten a start with people you know, start browsing other profiles and when you find someone you like -maybe their music is similar to your style, or something in their profile tells you that they might like your music, send them a friend request. But don’t stop there. A very important next step is to thank anyone who accepts your friend request by adding a comment to their page. Along with your thank you, invite them to check back with your profile for new songs, updated photos and dates you’re playing out. This encourages anyone viewing their profile to check out yours as well.
Another way to expand your network is to take a look at the profiles of other drummers who play similar types of music. Check out their friends list and invite them to visit your profile.
There are lots of myspace features to help you promote yourself. Bulletins and a blog can let your friends list know when you have news. Make the most of the features and keep your profile fresh. Remember that you can’t just let your profile sit and expect to build a worldwide fan base. It takes work to create those connections and to draw people to your profile. If you want to use myspace to get noticed, then you need to continually update your content and build relationships.
Once your profile is looking good be sure to share the link by including it in your email signature, putting it on any forum posting you create online, and anywhere else you can.
For more information visit www.myspace.com
Bandmix
Bandmix.com has a unique set of features target for working musicians. Similar to myspace, you can create a profile and upload photos and music getting great exposure from the thousands of regular users that visit the site. But there is also a searchable musicians classifieds section that can help connect you with other musicians and bands. The site also has a very active forum allowing another way to build your network.
A free membership gives you a good bit of functionality, but limits your contacts with other members. A paid subscription gives you the following benefits:
*Unlimited contact with other members
*Chat Online
*Promotion on the Front Page in the featured artist section.
*More Images (up to 20)
*More Audio or Video Files (up to 150 Megs)
The key to maximizing your visibility on Bandmix is to make yourself very “findable” by those who are doing the searching. Make sure your profile includes all of the genres that you play. Name any bands that you can cover well in case anyone is searching on that basis. Think of the keywords that a band you’d like might be using to find a new drummer -and find a way to work those into your profile.
Unlike myspace, Bandmix doesn’t have a way to customize your profile with your own colors and layout. Bandmix is all about what content you put in your profile, so put your energies into writing great descriptions in each field available. You can always point people viewing your Bandmix profile to your myspace page (or your personal website) if you’d like them to see your friends list and the creativity you put into your profile there.
There are so many social networking options for promoting your drumming out there on the web (including this one!). With some creativity and by putting in some work to build your network, you’ll be well on your way to getting the exposure you need to reach your goals. Have fun!
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