One of the questions I get the most lately is “How do I create content when my band can’t rehearse or do much of anything?” And this is a great, really important question. In the age of coronavirus, content creation is harder than it has been ever before for many.
However, there are a few key forms of content you can be used to grow. These include shoutouts, recycling old content, and of course memes. I want to go over all these in order to help you post more aggressively today!
3. Shoutouts To Friends
This is the big one that can give you the most traction now and after quarantine. The bands who grow are always the bands who make a point of reaching out to their peers. If you aren’t helping your friends, then you aren’t helping the scene. If you aren’t helping the scene why should you expect it to help you?
A well-constructed shoutout is super easy to do to. All that needs to happen is you share a link to a friend’s song that you think is cool. Maybe point out something about the song you especially like. Trust me, your friends will appreciate it, and who knows – they might end up reciprocating! The more good you put out the more good comes in.
2. Recycling Old Material
I love this tactic, especially because I have a lot of content on FB that never made it over to IG early on. So I have a ton of stuff from my teenage years that I can harvest to help promote. I think that any band should be taking advantage of this though.
What does this mean? Well go through old live shots and share those. Maybe there’s a deep cut from one of your albums you think should get more love – make a video talking about it and post a link. Or perhaps you just found a photo of a backstage memory that was just too much fun. These are all things you should be sharing.
1. Memes
Now, this is a tricky one to figure out because I agree – memes executed poorly don’t make your band look good. Similarly, if you post too many memes then you risk your bands’ page becoming more of a meme page than it is an actual band page which again is less than ideal.
However – memes are some of the most effective content you can share and will get thousands of impressions. Some of my most viewed content ever is memes. So you need to operate with that in mind. If you can choose one well-curated meme a week or so though you will definitely see your brand experiencing some serious growth.
In short – there’s a lot of content you can be creating right now. In fact this is a great time for testing new content because everyone is consuming and creating so much that you can really observe what makes the most sense. The more you consume the more you will understand. So get out there and start producing the best quarantine content you can!
MATT BACON
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Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Having worked with everyone from Glam Rock icon Phil Collen of Def Leppard, to post Black Metal titans Alcest, by way of legendary thrashers Exhorder as well as labels including Prophecy Productions and Ripple Music, he has dedicated his life to helping young bands develop. Having started his own blog at the age of 14 he views his career in artist development as ‘a hobby that got out of hand’. In 2015 he formed Dropout Media in order to better support the artists he loves. We sit here now, years later with countless tours booked, records released and deals signed, and loving every minute of it.
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