Twitter is one of those micro niche tools that has developed in the last few years to take advantage of the various different opportunities available through Web 2.0 technologies. Basically, the service allows you to post a short, 140-character line about whatever it is you are doing at any given time. You can upload them directly to the website or from a cell phone. It is basically a take on the status messages so many people use on their social networking profiles as applied to the Internet at large.

So, what can this basic little gadget do for you and your MySpace profile? It might seem straightforward – a widget that tells people what you are doing – but it can be so much more if you let it.

Twitter on the Go

First, you need to find the right application for your MySpace profile. You can find plenty of simple, easy to install Twitter profile widgets that will display your posts directly on your profile. Make it as unobtrusive as possible and with the same colors as your background and it shouldn’t stand out too much.

Next, start posting to your Twitter. The best part is that you can post from anywhere in the world by texting your posts in through SMS. After setting up your cell phone to work with Twitter, you can post from shows, on the bus, or the comfort of your own bed.

Now, make sure to post as often as possible. If you post often enough, you will create an effect similar to that of a blog – an interesting, content filled glimpse into your life. Especially if you are able to post to it everyday, you can be sure to have something new and interesting for your visitors each time they visit your profile – one of the most important things you can do.

Ultimately, twitter is just another small tool in the monstrous toolbox that is the Internet. But, like the other tools that are available to you, Twitter – when used properly – can provide a solid boost to your page views, fans, and ultimately to the connection you have with those fans. You want them to keep coming back, so give them something to come back for.

Popularity: 20% [?]

When social networking was originally created in the 1990s, no one knew that it would become the indelibly powerful marketing force that it now is. The growth of new technologies in the early 2000s made it possible for sites like MySpace to become so incredibly massive that their populations would rank them amongst the top 10 most populous nations in the world. Continue Reading

Popularity: 13% [?]

Kevin Kelly has published the most up to date and articulate expression of the economics behind the new music industry I can find anywhere.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The Internet has too many social networks already. It is full of blogs, social bookmarking sites, and clever little Web 2.0 outlets that allow you to interact with people all over the world. Basically, if someone thought of something that could be done on the Internet, at least one person has tried to create a social network to make it happen. The result is a massive web of sites that are generally all very similar, but still quite powerful.

That’s why, when you first look at Squidoo, it appears to be much like every other website you have encountered while trying to market your music. It allows you to quickly and freely start your own page – called a lens – and blog about that topic. You can gather friends, comment on other lenses, and vote on how effective they are – but somehow Squidoo is much different and for someone looking to stretch a little and find new fans, different is absolutely necessary.

First, a Squidoo lens is created with the notion that it will make money. People do not create these sites just because they want to share their thoughts on something – they create them because they feel they are an expert in a certain field and can share their expertise for a general profit. This is bolstered by the inclusion of affiliate links to dozens of different services.

Say for example you want to create a lens about Monty Python. After creating that lens, you could include all of the following on the page for potential readers:

• An Amazon Plexo (listing of top products that readers can vote on) with 10-20 products.
• Ticket sales for Broadway shows.
• Google AdSense
• Targeted offers from other lenses
• Paid banner ads from major companies
• Gift ideas and links

And dozens of other possible inclusions, if you have the space for it. That’s not to say that a Squidoo lens is only for money making. It’s a marketer’s dream and the money making opportunities are only small tools to help that goal along.

For the prospective musician, the possibilities can grow even larger. Too many musicians and artists assume that everything they do in their marketing campaign must be focused on making their name bigger and reaching new audiences, but just as much good can be done simply by creating a presence for you as an individual on the Internet.

If your band falls into a specific genre or has a specific sound that you want to relay to your fans, create a lens in Squidoo that allows you to show just how much you know about that sound. Talk about your favorite bands – their histories, their members, and their albums. Talk about shows that are coming up, new bands in the genre, and of course your own band.

By combining the best of what you aspire to be and what you actually are, you can promote yourself through an exploding market. Not only that, but you can add your own show tickets, albums, and merchandise to the lens and sell them, making additional profits and spreading your music at the same time. With a couple of hours invested in writing about something you are already passionate about, you will have created a portal that can bring thousands of new fans to your MySpace profile, your shows, and – if you are lucky – the box office.

Popularity: 7% [?]

When I was in elementary school there was a kid in my class who was born on February 29th. It took me the longest time to realize he was growing just as fast as the rest of us, even though he only had a birthday once every four years. Continue Reading

Popularity: 12% [?]

Back from a month’s worth of vacation and what better way to get back into the game with than a post about a (very?) successful viral marketing effort by California based A Cursive Memory.

I stumbled across this campaign in a post titled ‘Music Videos and Viral Marketing‘ from the folks at musicmarketing.com.

Check out the post (and the band) for yourself, but these guys have hit on a great viral concept. It’s unique, funny, interesting, and clever enough that I’ve shared it with all my friends, and you probably will too. That’s the goal when you’re trying to come up with a viral concept. You want to create content that viewers can’t resist sharing with their friends, who share it with their friends, and on and on it goes…

Have you had success promoting your music with viral marketing, viral video or social networking? Enter the maxlowe.net Socially Awesome Band of the Week contest and you could win a FREE downloadable copy of my Ultimate Guide to Promoting Your Music Online eBook! Winners will be announced every Monday morning starting March 3rd, 2008.

If you’ve tried viral marketing, but haven’t quite managed to make it work for you, I’d like to hear about that too! Leave your story in the comments below and you can get valuable feedback (and exposure) for your efforts.

On another note, I’m back in the blogosphere after a much needed break! My apologies to anyone who has been waiting with baited breath for updates over the last couple of weeks. Expect regular updates to resume today!

Thanks for sticking around!

- Max

Popularity: 11% [?]

There are a lot of social networks online and more are created each and every day to compete in niches such as dating, pet owners, and sports fans. Knowing which ones will provide you with the resources and interaction you need to market your music is hard.

To help you get started in that process, here are ten of the best music oriented social networks currently on the Internet (that are not MySpace). If you are in a band, these are absolute must use sites for the promotion process. You should have accounts on as many as possible, at least to explore and test out their features. Continue Reading

Popularity: 100% [?]

One of the basic, irrefutable truths of all marketing techniques is that you must offer something above and beyond what you customer expects. Like it or not, your band’s marketing campaign needs to utilize the same basic marketing concepts as almost every other major company and brand out there and that includes providing something that your “customer” or listener in this case, does not expect. Continue Reading

Popularity: 10% [?]