It’s the first Louisiana’s Online Lagniappe of March! In case you’ve missed our past updates, here is where we spotlight organizations around our great state who are doing a wonderful job marketing themselves through digital, social, and other non-traditional means. Then we look at what we highlighted, and see how you can apply it to your own business.
This week we’re covering groups that help promote musicians. So put on some beats in the background and start reading!
We’ll have to admit, WWOZ does have a little bit of an advantage – they’re currently in the middle of their membership drive, so they’re pushing full-throttle on all fronts, particularly social media. With over 30,000 likes on Facebook and 10,000 Twitter followers, we’re pretty confident in saying that this push is going to help their drive. Dozens of posts on both social networks during the day are helping the promotion, but one of the key ideas we appreciate the most is how all of their profiles have been edited to reflect the current membership drive. Header pictures on Facebook, Twitter, and even their own website include information on the drive – both the dates it’s occurring, and ways you can donate. It’s a smart idea that hints visitors into donating from the second they arrive on WWOZ’s pages. When was the last time you updated your cover photo? Is there a big promotional event coming up that you could tie it into?
Many organizations simply use Facebook to promote themselves. This makes sense – after all, it’s your own darn profile, why should you be helping out anyone else? But Facebook isn’t your website. Facebook is a place for your fans to form a community, if you’re doing it right. And that means understanding that your fans probably like both you and some of your competitors. For WTUL, this meant targeting everyone that appreciates music rather than only appreciating WTUL, so they share information that music lovers all around the city want to know. Whether it’s a ticket contest from Howlin’ Wolf, or some cool pictures from a DJ’s time at a record store, they’re working hard to give music lovers a reason to return to the page day after day. What else could you be promoting on your Facebook page?
Look at the picture on the right – those are seven possible ways for visitors to the website to connect with this organization. Seven! Some people might just have a Facebook, some may have sworn off everything except e-mail. Some may have even solely dedicated themselves to checking in to places on Foursquare. All of these people would be satiated by Frenchmen Street Live’s website, because it presents essentially every significant social networking website (if they had a phone number too we’d really be excited.) What new networks should your organization join? And are you prominently displaying all of them?
And the Lagniappe’s Lagniappe
Our extra shout-out this week goes to the two radio stations above that are doing donation drives right now. They’re both great organizations that do a lot for this city, so help them out! WTUL’s donation page is here, and WWOZ’s donation page is here.
Send In Your Lagniappe
Is your Louisiana-based business doing absolutely wonderous things online? Send Flynn Zaiger of Online Optimism a note at Flynn@onlineoptimism.com and it just might be included in next week’s column.