Promoting live shows: What works, and what doesn't?

[wheresthefbomb]

I'd love to hear others' experience promoting shows, and what they think works well. This is mostly in the context of local promotion because that's what I'm currently doing but I'm curious how this applies to people's experiences touring as well. A few things I think about often:

How effective is flyering? Hand flyers vs posted on bulletin boards?

How effective is social media, and which platform(s) is/are most effective? Is a FB Event a necessity of effective promotion in our times? Is paying for promotion on FB worthwhile?

Personally I have found word of mouth (or word of text message/email) to be the most reliable way to get people to a show, especially if coupled with a cool-looking hand flyer. I would also say that most (>75%) of the people I approach this way are acquaintances who, assuming they know, are very likely to go. They also have a fairly high probability of bringing friends.

Aside from word of mouth, what are other media you think are important promotion spaces? Radio? Newspaper? Something else?

On average, what proportion of people attending shows do you think wouldn't otherwise have known/gone if they weren't exposed to a FB event (or other social media promo)? What about a flyer on a community bulletin board? I know I check bulletin boards and take pictures of interesting looking show flyers, but I don't know how common that is.

Anything else you have found to be important when thinking about promoting live shows?

 

[CanserDYI]

At this point, hand flyering is probably a waste of time, I only say that because of the grasp of social media even in the punk scene can't be ignored, even Anprims are drooling away in social media. BUT, I have seen an influx of them [flyers] lately in this kind of "nostalgiacore" movement (vinyls, flyers, zines, etc) and I will say interesting physical flyering stands out in 2023 in the sea of Facebook invites featuring a group of five white guys standing in a semi circle with their arms crossed and some illegible logo slapped in the corner tells you to come to their gig in 3 months.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I'm not going to a show to see a ban I've never listened to, so flyers / posters aren't going to have much success with me.

If I already know I like the band, I will be aware that they're playing locally, because I keep on eye on upcoming local gigs. Otherwise, seeing a video / hearing a clip on social media (or word of mouth praise that prompts me to look up a video) will be the best way to tempt me to attend.

Music forums have always been my primary way of discovering bands. Forums, seem to be generally less popular / less active than they were before social media really boomed. I used to be an admin for a metal forum that peaked with significantly more members + activity than SS.org currently has, but it fizzled out years ago (guitar forums seem to be going the same way, with the Ibanez and DiMarzio forums dead and Jemsite well on its way to the same fate).
I never used Myspace for discovering bands, but apparently that was a big thing. Facebook groups used to serve as a great platform for music forums, but removal of the discussion boards killed that.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I will say interesting physical flyering stands out in 2023 in the sea of Facebook invites featuring a group of five white guys standing in a semi circle with their arms crossed and some illegible logo slapped in the corner tells you to come to their gig in 3 months.

This is definitely the angle I'm leaning on. The last flyer I did generated a lot of buzz, my most recent wasn't quite as provocative but IMO it still stands out on a bulletin board.

I agree with you regarding hand flyers, but I still do them because it's a good "save the date" for people, I'm proud of my designs, and I just can't get past my fascination with analog living/physical media. Also, there's a hipstery vintage store here that will take a stack from me and stuff bags with them which is cool. I think they enjoy having "hip" stuff to put in their bags, everybody wins.

I'm not going to a show to see a ban I've never listened to, so flyers / posters aren't going to have much success with me.

If I already know I like the band, I will be aware that they're playing locally, because I keep on eye on upcoming local gigs. Otherwise, seeing a video / hearing a clip on social media (or word of mouth praise that prompts me to look up a video) will be the best way to tempt me to attend.

Appreciate the insight. I'm much more daring, but I live in a small town where options are limited so anything new has the potential to be exciting.

I was doing the "post clips on IG" thing for a while, people do seem to dig it and I must begrudgingly admit it's gotten me attention from people who probably wouldn't have otherwise known/been stoked about what I do. I closed my account because I hate socials but I guess the future is here whether I like it or not.

 

[GunpointMetal]

Handbills at shows similar to what you’re doing, paid promotion on FB/IG with very selective targeting, and finding local music tags on twitter/IG. Lots of people doomscroll and hashtagging your city/venue/state will help with semi-organic reach, the algorithm gets desperate after the first 8 reels. Spamming groups on discord or FB that are very active can help if you don’t get blocked.

 

[SalsaWood]

Promoting?

Sounds like a job for the bassist or vocalist. It's not practicing so they should love it.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Handbills at shows similar to what you’re doing, paid promotion on FB/IG with very selective targeting, and finding local music tags on twitter/IG. Lots of people doomscroll and hashtagging your city/venue/state will help with semi-organic reach, the algorithm gets desperate after the first 8 reels. Spamming groups on discord or FB that are very active can help if you don’t get blocked.

Good insight into the algorithm there. I have a friend who also swears by paid promo on FB though I've never tried it myself.

My show is tonight. I brought handbills to a local show last weekend and also to the Screaming Females a couple nights ago. Looking forward to seeing how/if that pays off.

 

[GunpointMetal]

Good insight into the algorithm there. I have a friend who also swears by paid promo on FB though I've never tried it myself.

My show is tonight. I brought handbills to a local show last weekend and also to the Screaming Females a couple nights ago. Looking forward to seeing how/if that pays off.

How'd it go? We just got added to a show at the end of the month and I'm so embarrassed by the flyer I don't know how much promotion I want to do, lol.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

How'd it go? We just got added to a show at the end of the month and I'm so embarrassed by the flyer I don't know how much promotion I want to do, lol.

I'd say about 40 people came altogether. Mostly friends/acquaintances. A few people were there because I'd handed them flyers, most people because I'd texted them a flyer or simple word of mouth. A dozen or so people were there because they just came to that establishment that night. The opener I found was a folk/punk kinda group and there's a lot of crossover in our fan bases (crust punks) which worked in both our favors, most of the crowd stuck around the whole night.

And yeah... many people have bad taste. Most flyers I see on bulletin boards are awful. Too much text, bad/busy layout, lots of superimposed bullshit, the litany of aesthetic sins goes on. I try to just design them myself or work with people I trust as much as possible.

Good luck at your show! I wouldn't blame you for not trying too hard to promote it. Maybe you can pick up some new fans, at least.

 

[GunpointMetal]

Good luck at your show! I wouldn't blame you for not trying too hard to promote it. Maybe you can pick up some new fans, at least.

I'm still going to promote it, I just get itchy when I see a flyer with one logo and then plain text for everything else and no attempt at making it visually pleasing. The touring act even provided a poser blank and I think a total 1.5 additional minutes went into finishing the flyer.

 

[Crungy]

The last flyer I did generated a lot of buzz, my most recent wasn't quite as provocative but IMO it still stands out on a bulletin board

Maybe you need to channel Peter Steele/Type O Negative on some of their early album covers.

 

[sleewell]

I feel like mainly posting online is pretty lame and doesn't work. Everyone just scrolls past it. I think you really gotta try to connect with people, actually have fun with them when they come out. Buy someone a drink or I always have super good ganja to share. Invite them personally. Give away some merch to your biggest fans. Go see other bands when your band isn't playing. A music scene is a moving thing with a lot of people and money is tight for folks so you gotta make it more than just a one way street of constantly saying to come see your band.

 

[GunpointMetal]

I feel like mainly posting online is pretty lame and doesn't work. Everyone just scrolls past it. I think you really gotta try to connect with people, actually have fun with them when they come out. Buy someone a drink or I always have super good ganja to share. Invite them personally. Give away some merch to your biggest fans. Go see other bands when your band isn't playing. A music scene is a moving thing with a lot of people and money is tight for folks so you gotta make it more than just a one way street of constantly saying to come see your band.

Being visible in your scene is always a good thing, but I'm not smoking up every knob that might go to a show, lol.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I feel like mainly posting online is pretty lame and doesn't work. Everyone just scrolls past it. I think you really gotta try to connect with people, actually have fun with them when they come out. Buy someone a drink or I always have super good ganja to share. Invite them personally. Give away some merch to your biggest fans. Go see other bands when your band isn't playing. A music scene is a moving thing with a lot of people and money is tight for folks so you gotta make it more than just a one way street of constantly saying to come see your band.

I have the same inclination re: online promotion. I have been told that in bigger cities people will use socials more to find out what's going on, does that match with your experiences? I don't think it applies much in small towns either way.

I have definitely found the personal connection angle to be the most effective. I'd say a small handful of people came to my show who wouldn't have otherwise. I made a point to talk to each of them and thank them for coming, I met multiple expressions of gratitude at being invited and at my putting the show together. Those are big wins to me. They definitely came because I put in the extra effort to be a part of the scene and go make personal invitations. The "two way street" even applies more broadly than just the music scene, two of them were artists whose gallery shows I've been to numerous times in the past. I rarely see either at music shows, so that's another big win to me.

Even the people who "would've come otherwise," come to my shows in part because of the personal connection, they're all friends or at least acquaintances with whom I socialize fairly regularly.

Also yes I got a lot of people stoned promoting this show.