Trendcatching

Promoting yourself on myspace pt 1017878676

We've covered loads of different ways to promote yourself on myspace in the past but i think this one is the best yet.  MC Keyes raps and hypes the crowd at hardcore raves up and down the country and does a zeitgeisty lyric called "The Plug" all about his myspace page:

"I need to be noticed
Yo I need to be seen
Now everyone's at it
Come on you know what I mean
I got to get to the top
And I ain't got time to waste
So I logged on to the internet
Signed up to myspace
Jumping on the bandwagon
So you can hear what I do
Making tunes and lyrics
Rocking all of you
So check out my page
Remember its Keyes with two E's
Myspace dot com forwardslash MC KEYES"

You can listen to it here:

Here's what MC Keyes says about how he uses myspace:

"I use it for self promotion for everything 'MC Keyes' related e.g. All my upcoming event's I'm booked at are listed, latest tunes I've done are put up, cd albums I'm featured on etc are listed, I also use the blog quite a bit for posting up lyrics, bits and general rambles for those that want to know.  I've been heard by people all over the world because of it, I frequently get messages of support from people in America, Australia, Canada and even Japan all loving what I'm doing. I even got my first international booking this year in Germany, booked through myspace."

It's easy to forget what an amazing platform for talent myspace and other social media sites are - back in the day the only way to get people to hear your MCing was to hang around the stage and try and grab the mic for a bit.  Thanks to MC Keyes for the clip and the interview.   

 

Social Media Marketing pt1

Advertising and promoting using facebook

As social media services have got more and more and more popular, they are increasingly been used as a channel for promoting and advertising things. This is nothing new really, for example, posting on forums is a well established online marketing tactic. However, with the rise of mass market communities like myspace, social media marketing has hit the mainstream, with all kinds of brands, products and services pimping and friend-whoring themselves out there.

Anyway, here’s an interesting example of a party promotions company using Facebook to promote themselves. Alpha Parties runs nights in upscale London clubs targeting IB interns, new graduates and so on and they use Facebook to promote the service through a group on the site (you need a facebook account to view it)

 

Basically, it works like this, the group has over 200 members, who can all be contacted through the site, which is better than email for most facebook users:

The group is promoted on the Alpha Promotions website using a facebook badge:

 
Here’s a few words from Anjool Malde, co-founder of Alpha Parties,

"Facebook has proven to be incredibly useful for the growth of Alpha Parties since it's inception this summer. In particular the 'Facebook Flyers' paid advertisements work a treat - for around £5/week the site's traffic increases tenfold on days when we have flyers running, and subsequently Facebook provides a sizeable chunk of our guestlist - online advertising can be significantly more cost-effective than paper flyering. Furthermore we've had great brand recognition by setting up a Facebook group and uploading photos from the nights - aided by the Mini-Feed and photo tagging, Alpha Parties has rapidly become well-known within several social circles."

This kind of marketing is going to be really disruptive in the world of club promotions - watch this space for more coverage. 

How to make your website cool - pt2

No 2 - Put on real world events

One thing that can really help to build community and social value around a digital media service is real world events.  Apparently myspace really took off after they began sponsoring local gigs and even today, marketing efforts are being driven by the myspace Secret Shows events.  Building offline community makes your site cool. 

Another site that is using events very effectively is Yelp, a local reviews site.  Yelp holds regular "Yelp Elite" piss-ups for the Power Users that Yelp want to keep on the site because they post a lot or write good reviews or whatever. 

In the words of the CEO of Yelp, Jeremy Stoppelman:

"...we actually hold local events for our hardcore users, we call them the Yelp Elite Squad. When someone gets really involved with the site we try to identify that, and bring them into the Yelp Elite Squad. Then once a month we do events where everyone can get together. It's a way of getting to know those folks and thank them too. There are about 200 of them so far."

These events really provide a lot of social value to Yelp.  Firstly, they are building community and good vibes in the site as a whole, and adding to the all-important "cool-factor".  Secondly, the events are helping to develop strong offline micro-communities through building connections between individual Power Users in a specific location.  Thirdly, the events also provide users with an incentive to post and be active on the site, so that they can join the Elite.  Finally, the events provide Yelp with a great marketing tool, they can talk about the events on their blog, post up photos on flickr, and gain total notoriety from explicit photos taken at the Yelp Elite Mixers.

So, if you want your site to be cool, think about running events. 

The World's largest myspace advert

So this has got to be the world's largest myspace advert - its a massive billboard at 333 club on Old St. (There's got to be an easy way of showing a google map or something for all these locations  -  if anyone knows how give us a shout in the comments).

What is this worth in free advertising for myspace/ News Corp!? A massive advert in the heart of the coolest place in London, reaching thousands of hip, young people wearing extremely tight jeans every day.  Can you see any other brand getting free advertising like this?  Basically, this shows the power of the X-Factor in social networking sites - myspace has it, and that's what makes it so valuable. 

Flashmob! - Mobile Clubbing at Liverpool St Station

Life's too short and too fast to waste on weighing the difference between good and bad risks. In poker lingo, the best way to determine what your opponent's hand is is to keep on betting till he lays it down. You win, you win big, you lose, well, at least you had fun. That's exactly the same principle we considered when we decided to join the Flashmob, and boy did we win big.

So as promised, we went to the mobile clubbing flashmob event at Liverpool St station last night. AMAZING.  If you've not been to a flashmob event before it really is quite an experience.  We got there about 7 pm and there was a great buzz of anticipation in the air - the police guarding the station were really freaked out because they could tell something was going to happen but didn't know what.  Anyway by 7.20 you could see people collecting under the clock, some in full raving gear.  At 7.23 people started going through the crowd getting people ready for the countdown and telling them to get their ipods ready and at 7.24 it just went mental - suddenly loads of people were there all dancing. 

What was really surprising is that everyone was really going for it - there were people with signs saying "TUNE" etc and every now and then a massive cheer or "wOOt" would go up.  The flashmobbers had taken over a good half of the station including the stairs and it was great seeing people come out the tube to see a full-on silent rave going on.  There were people breakdancing, ball-room dancing, the lot.

Here's some vids:

Breakdancing

Crowd cheering

here's a cool pic - there's loads more on Dontstayin

Anyway, if you get a chance to go to a well-organised flashmob do it - there's something quite brilliant about the whole concept of gathering a massive group of people together like that. 

Clubbing - Flashmob style - Wed 11th October - Shoreditch

 

MOBILE CLUBBING RETURNS

11TH OCTOBER 2006

19.24

LIVERPOOL STREET

STATION

---------------------------------------

RULES:

BRING FAVOURITE DANCE MUSIC AND WALKMAN/IPOD WITH YOU ARRIVE AT THE STATION AROUND 19.15 NO DANCING BEFORE 19.24 SPREAD OUT THROUGH THE WHOLE CONCOURSE AS SOON AS THE CLOCK STRIKES 19.24, DANCE LIKE CRAZY

TRY NOT TO DANCE IN ONE PLACE

DANCE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER DANCED BEFORE   

DANCE FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN  ENJOY!

---------------------------------------

DON'T WORRY CLUBBERS, YOU WILL BE ONE OF MANY.

SPREAD THE WORD!

p.s. Do you know anyone in

NEW YORK

?

MADRID

?

or

PARIS

?

As they are also happening there!

www.mobile-clubbing.com

 

See you there - will try and get some photos

update: It was wicked! - see the post here

 

UK clubbers love Dontstayin not myspace!

I chucked up a post recently about the UK social site Dontstayin.com.  This is really one of the most interesting UK internet sites out there but you have to go out to clubs to know about it - not just read blogs ;-).

Anyway, there's been a massive swarm of comments from Dontstayin users bigging up the site - this is a place that has passionate users, cultural relevance and real community - the all-important "social" in social media.  Aside from myspace, other social networking sites just dont have this.

Anyway - here's the comments:

"DSI really is the tits
using DSI has helped me make Nu frends and it also lets me no where my buddies r goin and help me plan my clubbin calener arand them
if ya go on2 DSI search 4 wittle-bo (thats me :) )""

Posted by: Bobo
 

"I found DSI after being a myspace customer for many years. I can honestly say I've never been a mamber of a more lively happy absolutely brilliant site.

SIGN UP NOW! What have you got to lose?!

WE LOVE DSI MORE THAN THE QUEEN.

True Story

xxx"

Posted by: wo0 

"Cant honestly say I have never found any site better than DSI, heaps of like minded friendly people in one place, have made some of my best friends since joining up!"

Posted by: Jules 

"I've been on DSI since the early days and it's always been fun, interesting and a great thing to be a part of. It makes going clubbing an entirely different experience to my pre-DSI days as now I know half the people who are out!! The boys who run it are (or at least were) clubbers so they have our best interests at heart. There's a definite policy of live and let live, so the comment on here about it being their way or the high-way just isn't true...it's probably a promoter who spams other promoters groups!! :o)"

Posted by: Katita
 

"All im gonna say is forget your Myspaces and Bebos, DSI is the dog danglies innit....infact il rephrase that, DSI is my life !!!

SIGN UP NOW BIATCHS !!"

Posted by: TWH 

"Don't be fooled by the 'dontstayin' name, once you sign up you will spend all your time staying in and staring at the yellow screen!""

Posted by: Johnny Sea  

"DSI has been a part of my life since February 2005 and I dont know what i'd do with out it! I have met my bestest friends through that site and my life has changed for the better! I have tried many other different clubbing sites and message boards and DSI is way ahead of any thing of its sort. I am not particularly great with computers and I find using DSI easy peasy! DSI FOR LIFE! ;) x"

Posted by: Baby Becks 

"Been a member of DSI since 2004 and have meet the most fantastic people through this website, it has been my life but also affected my work but whos complaining (well my boss is)

Wicked site :)"

Posted by: Linny 

"its a little random being recognised at the other end of the country but that's the whole point.. one big happy clubbing family.."

Posted by: mrbosh 

"DSI is not just a website, it's a way of life"

Posted by: sophie 

"DSI is a great site and I now get recognised nearly everywhere I go - even while on holiday outside of the UK recently!"

 

Posted by: DSI User  

"since a friend told me about this site i have been on it everyday since! yeah u do get some nasty ppl on their but thats the same with every site! u meet some wonderful ppl and u could even find lurrrrve! they also have outings and meet ups!

c u on DSI sometime!!!"

Posted by: NE1 

"I LOVE DSI!!!

Bin on there since Feb 2004 and been an addict ever since even though I don't go clubbing that much anymore lol...

I wouldn't have met 90% of my now best friends if it weren't for that site so yeah, love it :-)"

Posted by: Susie Nutbar 

Enough said! 99.9% of the web 2.0 services out there would sell their granny into slavery to get this kind of emotional attachment from their users. 

How to promote yourself on myspace pt8

# 8 Put a massive sticker with your myspace name on it on a phone box

Saw this one this morning on the way to the tube - a massive sticker on a phone box just by Old St tube promoting the myspace name of a band called Martian Heatray http://www.myspace.com/martianheatray

Here's the phone box - the sticker is on the right

Here's the full sticker

Bit of a close up here

Update: here's what the band say about using myspace to promote themselves:

"Well, there really is no way of telling how many people the stickers pull in, but I'd say at least one. Myspace on the other hand, is an invaluable tool of promotion and I cannot recommend it highly enough. At present, our site has had nearly 1,000 hits and well over 2,000 listens, a vast majority of these are people who would have never heard of us before.
DO it!

Ricky Lee
Martian Heat Ray"

# 7 Print your myspace name on some old fashioned A6 paper flyers

# 6 Include your myspace name in a Police Wanted poster

# 5 Flypost!

# 4 Get your myspace profile name on a poster on the outside wall of a trendy bar in Shoreditch

# 3 - Get your myspace name in a magazine distributed in a trendy bar in Shoreditch

#2: Add your myspace name to a flyer distributed in a trendy bar in Shoreditch

#1 Write your profile name on toilet walls in trendy bars in Shoreditch

How to promote yourself on myspace pt5

# 5 Flypost!

Down in Shoreditch, Camden and other parts of London flyposting is a way of life - no need to buy Time Out when there's 200 flyposters advertising everything from electro-house after hours parties to Indie Gigs.  It is noticable that an increasing proportion of these flyposters have myspace names included as a matter of course - this encourages people to look up the account when they get a chance.

Heres the first one found at the top of Old St for Battery Operated a DJ? Concept? who have gone for the old fashioned white flypost stylee and are pimping their myspace account at the bottom of their poster.

Here's the myspace name at the bottom of the poster.

Here's another found on Great Eastern Street - promoting a club night called Night of the Long Swords (reference to Hitler's night of the Long Knives?).  Their myspace name gets prominent billing - that's the way forward - burn it into people's memory. 

Here's the last of the bunch - slightly different approach here with not one but two myspace name's in effect - they've basically used their personal names on there as they are co-promotors of "A Night of Music and Magique" (see below).

Here's a close up of the two myspace names for http://myspace.com/palomafaith and http://myspace.com/nervousnellie the promoters of the event.

That's it - previous editions of the Trendcatching guide to promoting your band, club, gig or event on myspace shown below:

# 4 Get your myspace profile name on a poster on the outside wall of a trendy bar in Shoreditch

# 3 - Get your myspace name in a magazine distributed in a trendy bar in Shoreditch

#2: Add your myspace name to a flyer distributed in a trendy bar in Shoreditch 

#1 Write your profile name on toilet walls in trendy bars in Shoreditch

I've been stalking you on myspace

My good friend JohnB introduced me to myspace.com when it was just the cool LA emo kids using it not Rupert Murdoch.  John's now got a new single out called "I've been stalking you on myspace"  - pretty appropriate for someone with 14000 (count them) friends on the site!

There's some amusing T-shirts for sale at the Beta Recordings store too...