Why You Should Think About A Mobile App

Following on from our daily post 2 days ago 'The PC Is Dead' we found an interesting post on the Music Think Tank site breaking down the importance of breaking into the smartphone world properly and developing and using mobile apps.

Engagement is now everything to you and your fanbase, and cellphones now number 5.6 BILLION users on the planet. That means there are alot of new fans to find and engage with a mobile application.

Cory Crossfield states in his article... The reason most campaigns for artists fail is the fact they equate fan interactions with conversions and sales. If the interaction between a fan is to be measured into how likely they are to purchase something, the value of creating an experience is lost and so is the fan. When combining interactions and mobile applications, the ability to create the experience is amplified because you are taking a device the fan communicates with and uses every day and engaging them.

This is creating a more personal continuous experience for the fan/user, and in this fast moving digital access world, you dont want to be out of their mind for too long. They will soon become disrupted and move on to the next thing that engages them. 

you can read his full article here.

Link

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/why-mobile-apps-matter-for-music.html

 

Musician Specific QR Codes

ShareSquare isn't just another company blooming in the wake of the QR Code phenomenon.

I hope that you're not a QR Code naysayer - the statistics show that the understanding and use of them is exploding.

Every musician needs to use them where appropriate.

What I like about ShareSquare is that they are focused on musicians and artists and their system isn't just a QR code creator - it also has a CMS (content management system) that allows you to create a mobile optimised HTML5 app.

That means that you can link the QR code to something specifically designed to show your content on a mobile and get your fans to take a specific action. You also get amazing tracking info and very customisable apps.

There's a free trial that might well be worth giving a go but then the lowest price is $99 per month so it is not for all. The free trial has to be worth a go when you have a big gig coming up though!

That said, you can learn a HUGE amount about music marketing on mobiles and with QR codes just by reading all their tutorial info here.

Why YouTube, Facebook and Mobile matters to you

I just got these images from a post on Google+ by Mike Stenger.

I hope neither he nor the CEO of Salesforce from whose presentation they are taken are offended!

These images tell you why you need to be promoting and marketing your music on Facebook, YouTube and on mobile.

The Growth of Facebook and YouTube:

Facebook and iPhone app growth:

The growth of Smartphone use:

The growth in use of Mobile Apps:

 

 

 

Texting your fans - good or not?

I am not a massive fan of texting your fans.

My objection is that it is VERY intrusive and can very easily lead to them getting pissed off with you.

Perversely, we've been doing some work on mobile apps and it seems that sending a 'push notification' through an app is way more acceptable to the average fan than a text.

That said, this video from Ariel Hyatt makes a great point that SOME fans will be very grateful to be reminded of gigs by text when an email or Facebook event wouldn't have reached them.

So, maybe it's something to consider for your superfans that you know won't get the hump.

What's your view?

Here's the video:

 

Make Ringtones for your fans

There are a lot of ways that you can make a ringtone for your fans (Google it), but the advent of smartphones means that simply supplying your fans with the file in the right format (pretty much anything for Android but M4R for iPhone) and telling them how to upload the tone to their phone usually sees great results.

It's weird, but people (and I am one) just don't delve into what their phones can do unless given a nudge - we are all too busy - but if you help your fans to use your music as a ringtone, many will. Does it help promote your music and your band? - a little, and every little counts.

Of course, there are also very many ways that you can sell your music as ringtones - again Google 'sell music as ringtone' and see, or start with this article from Hypebot.

BUT, until you have a sizeable following, I wouldn't bother selling ringtones - the cost is usually high to set it up and the returns are low unless you become a mass market phenomenon.

Giving them away is the ideal answer.

Make up audio files in the correct formats and simply have a page on your site that offers them for free download (behind an email sign-up is obviously best practice). Also, spend some time explaining how fans can get the file from your site to their phone - maybe a YouTube video and a blog post can do that? The ringtones don't just have to be parts of songs - you could create music especially or record some kind of talking / shouting - whatever you think your fans would like.

This article from Evolver.fm set me off on this train of thought. Their piece talks about making ringtones form any file - even a YouTube video - and has a clear explanation of how the ringtone tool at Brinked.com can be used to make the files.

Most smartphones fall on the side of allowing you to choose any audio as your ringtone, but it’s not the simplest thing in the world to make them and transfer them to your phone — especially on the iPhone.

Brinked.com offers a nice web app for converting any MP3, WAV or OGG music file into a ringtone, but we were more interested to see that it’s also capable of grabbing the audio from YouTube videos and making ringtones out of those, for free.

Check it out here.

 

BandApp - what's that about?

I don't know anything about this other than what I just got from the article on Unsigned Guide and their own site.

Are you using it? I'd love to know what your experience is or what you think?

The people behind it have some serious industry experience and seem to have a very innovative approach.

Watch their promo video here.

 

Market your music with Text Messages

Marketing to your fans via their mobile is the next frontier.

We should all be making sure that our websites work and are easy to read on Smartphones, but we shouldn't ignore the simplicity of text messaging for marketing.

I'm no expert in this, although we have used it in the past with bands that I've managed on major labels. It used to be out of reach for DIY musicians!

Some apps that bands use (like Mobile Roadie) are similar (to texting) in that they send 'push mesages'.

But, this piece by Jon Oszajca on text message marketing using a new service called Call Loop is worth a read.

Perhaps the most significant factor with text messaging is that the open rate of each message is nearly 100%. After all, who doesn’t click the tab on their phone when a message comes in.

Email on the other hand is another story. Open rates tend to average between 10% – 40%. That’s a significant portion of our hard won leads who are not even bothering to read our emails.

Another great thing about text messaging is that it’s a great way to alert people instantly about real time events such as live shows, album releases and special promotions. Furthermore, it’s a relatively new medium which offers a lot of opportunities for those of us who get involved now.

Great open rates and being at the forefont of new methods is always a good idea in marketing!

Read Jon's post here.

Call Loop integrates with the autoresponder that we recommend - Aweber.

Check them both out.

New App creates a Fan Club connected by mobiles

There are a bunch of people making apps for mobiles for artists - most notably Mobile Roadie.

But, Fantrail seems to be that bit different.

Firstly, it's free, which most other app creators aren't (Get-Ctrl being another notable exception - check them out!), but it also seems to be coming up with a bunch of new ideas on how to engage your fans more directly - such as voice messages to selected fans - even to one individual fan.

It's a promising way to build your fanbase - and with it being free, it's well worth a look.

Mashable did an overview earlier today:

Enter FanTrail. The service is basically a method by which artists can easily create an iPhone app (Android is on the way) for their fans — for free. Every app has the same elements, which let fans garner rewards for their devotion.

Artists simply sign up for the service via the website (provided they have an Apple ID), after which it creates an app that is placed in the App Store. In the app, artists are outfitted with a dashboard that they can use to post news and events, update Twitter, Facebook, etc. all at once, push announcements, see where fans are located on a map using geolocation and send personally recorded messages to followers. Right now, one must do all of this within the app, as there will be no web version until the next iteration of the service.

Read the whole piece here.

And here's a link to the Fantrail site and their demo video.

 

FanTrail Introduction from FanTrail on Vimeo.