Backstage With the Band

[Potts]

So I'm putting myself "out there" by posting all these, but hopefully we can all gain something and get some ideas flowing. I use photoshop, but there are a number of free programs that are available that will accomplish the same tasks. The attachments are just simple and creative ways that I've found that generate likes and comments on Facebook. I don't have time to find out if they actually work or not.

• I usually don't post any promo on Monday but I like to throw out a quick blurb about the past weekend's gigs and issue a heart-felt thanks to those that came out. I'll occassionally tag the venue and they seem to like that once in awhile. Not too often though because it can come across cheesy if it's more than a few times a year.
• I'll normally keep the promo stuff at a minimum until Wednesday. Sometimes I'll post a monthly calendar, a recorded original or a video or something on Tuesday.
• I'll hit it pretty hard on Thursday and Friday and post a few updates with an attached image throughout the day on Thursday.  
• Friday- I'll normally add a video, poster or one of the othe things on the venue's Facebook page. And "share" Thursday's image (for consistancy) on my own page.
• I've found that new pictures on these promo images usually get a lot of likes.

New Facebook Banner I made today

Half-assed Calendar for mid-week

Another half-assed Calendar for mid-week

Basic "Facebook" Poster

Business Card Facebook Promo

[Blackbird 13]

It can be difficult for us.. because on the weeks where we're playing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.. getting each gig to seem "special" can be a really hard thing to do.

Also.. in the last picture with the hat, you look like Daniel Negraneau. 

[Potts]

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Blackbird 13 wrote:

It can be difficult for us.. because on the weeks where we're playing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.. getting each gig to seem "special" can be a really hard thing to do.

Also.. in the last picture with the hat, you look like Daniel Negraneau. 

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Yeah it's the same with me too- more during the summer though. You just change it up to make the "week" seem special. (Happy to hear you're playing that much)

Daniel Negraneau...lol

[Potts]

Damn.. I thought this post would have taken off. Maybe I should have discussed what everyone is wearing to their next gig.  

[Potts]

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Blackbird 13 wrote:

It can be difficult for us.. because on the weeks where we're playing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.. getting each gig to seem "special" can be a really hard thing to do.

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After reading this again I'd have to say don't give up so easily. None of the promo pics I put up advertise a single show. Let me ask you this. Do you use Facebook for "advertising" your gigs? If the answer is "yes" then do you think an image or text will better convey the message? Which one will almost guarentee that it's looked at? It's the image. It's always the image. 

I'm just throwing some ideas out there- nothing personal of course.

[Blackbird 13]

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Potts wrote:

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Blackbird 13 wrote:

It can be difficult for us.. because on the weeks where we're playing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.. getting each gig to seem "special" can be a really hard thing to do.

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After reading this again I'd have to say don't give up so easily. None of the promo pics I put up advertise a single show. Let me ask you this. Do you use Facebook for "advertising" your gigs? If the answer is "yes" then do you think an image or text will better convey the message? Which one will almost guarentee that it's looked at? It's the image. It's always the image. 

I'm just throwing some ideas out there- nothing personal of course.

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An image... for a while, we made "Facebook flyers" for each show. That didn't really increase the draw to the shows, but it did result in a lot of "oh, I've heard of you guys". It got our name out there, even though that didn't directly result in an increased draw at the time.

What I would LIKE to do is make a video promoting the week's upcoming shows.. or even a video recap of the previous week's shows.. but I haven't quite gotten to that point yet.

[Potts]

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Blackbird 13 wrote:

What I would LIKE to do is make a video promoting the week's upcoming shows.. or even a video recap of the previous week's shows.. but I haven't quite gotten to that point yet.

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Great idea! The user name escapes me but a popular contributor here does that and has an entire libray of them I guess.

[Howie22]

For a while I was trying to snap pictures of the crowd during shows and post them the following week. Out of that habit lately.

What free software can you use to do the picture edits?

[Potts]

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Howie22 wrote:
For a while I was trying to snap pictures of the crowd during shows and post them the following week. Out of that habit lately.

What free software can you use to do the picture edits?

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Gimp is the big one...

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/11-free-alternatives-softwares-to-adobe-photoshop/

http://sixrevisions.com/graphics-design/10-excellent-open-source-and-free-alternatives-to-photoshop/

[SaintJames]

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Howie22 wrote:
For a while I was trying to snap pictures of the crowd during shows and post them the following week. Out of that habit lately.

What free software can you use to do the picture edits?

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Picasa is pretty good for simple filters and caption stuff too. 

[mstreck]

It varies according to how many gig we have that week. We try to get up something once a day - it usually depends on my work schedule and energy level.

[jimiv]

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Potts wrote:

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Blackbird 13 wrote:

What I would LIKE to do is make a video promoting the week's upcoming shows.. or even a video recap of the previous week's shows.. but I haven't quite gotten to that point yet.

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Great idea! The user name escapes me but a popular contributor here does that and has an entire libray of them I guess.

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You're probably referring to Grant (wheresgrant).

[Potts]

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jimiv wrote:

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Potts wrote:

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Blackbird 13 wrote:

What I would LIKE to do is make a video promoting the week's upcoming shows.. or even a video recap of the previous week's shows.. but I haven't quite gotten to that point yet.

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Great idea! The user name escapes me but a popular contributor here does that and has an entire libray of them I guess.

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You're probably referring to Grant (wheresgrant).

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LOL! Nice- yep it's Grant!

[ckcondon]

We always promo our shows on FB with some video clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-vp0ENo5kg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xIs34PKfIY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lL_l9c92-s

Also post random clips from the shows and stay fairly active on FB even when we aren't playing.

[Potts]

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ckcondon wrote:

We always promo our shows on FB with some video clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-vp0ENo5kg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xIs34PKfIY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lL_l9c92-s

Also post random clips from the shows and stay fairly active on FB even when we aren't playing.

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Those are great man! I wish I knew how to do stuff like that! I have the entire Adobe Suite but I have no idea how to use the video software.  Do you do these with IMovie?

[ckcondon]

Thanks. It's all done in Imovie. There are some movie trailer templates that you just drop the clips in and type your titles. There are also transition templates you can use as a theme.
Most of the footage is GoPro rigged around the stage. Not too hard to figure out.
BTW, some of the outtakes are hilarious!