HOW TO USE TWITTER AS AN ARTISTE

Everybody and their grandma is getting on twitter these days, likewise so many upcoming artistes, and industry people. Like I usually say, the social network for you as an artiste is a raw material than can be transformed into a promotional instrument free of charge. Here’s how to use twitter to the best of your advantage:

·         BE REAL:  don’t expect to sign up on twitter one day and expect followers to come flocking to you. Let people know who you are. Be real, be yourself and even if you have automatic feeds from your website, don’t use them.

·         WATCH YOUR TWEETS:  Twitter is set up for fostering conversation and debate. However, remember that when you're using Twitter for your music career, you're in a "business casual" environment. Stay professional. Watch what you tweet because you will be remembered for it. Resist the temptation to join in some twitter conversations. You don’t have to be vulgar or rude to be an interesting person on tweeter.

·         BUILD RELATIONSHIPS: The great thing about Twitter is the way it connects you to other people who are trying to accomplish the same thing you are. Reach out to them. See how you can help each other. Tweet each other's shows, link to each other's sites, let your followers know when one of your colleagues does something cool - it all helps. Some of my best business contacts and very good friendships developed from twitter. All it takes is a very good open attitude and a willingness to connect.

·         DON’T  GET OBSESSED WITH FOLLOW-BACKS:  A lot of people spend a lot of time on Twitter checking out how has the most followers, who is following them back and who is not, Other people follow someone, wait for a set period of time, then un-follow them if they aren't followed back. This kind of stuff is exhausting, counterproductive, and actually very childish! You should avoid stalking people for follow back too. If your tweets make sense, people will follow you without you asking them to.

·         SPEAK YOUR MIND: You don't have to air your dirty laundry in 140 characters, but being yourself is a good way to connect with potential fans on twitter. Re-tweeting people that inspire you, quotes that you like and even song lyrics gives you a personality too. However, you should be careful of your re-tweets and avoid vulgarity or offensive tweets.

·         DON’T BECOME A SPAMMER: As much as you want to promote your song on twitter, randomly tweeting people to promote your new song is not effective, and flooding people’s mentions with links to your song can actually make you lose followers.

Finally, Twitter is useful, but it's also supposed to fun, so enjoy yourself, and use Twitter the way that feels right to your heart and I’m sure in time, you’ll discover what works best for you.