Week of March 3-7

You may wonder, "why is social media important for  musicians and what guidelines do they follow?" Well ladies and gentlemen, Blog Post Number 8!

Social Media: The Benefits of the Modern Day

       Today the internet is the main resource to multiple organizations and industries because it is undoubtably the easiest way to share information. Social Media began once people started developing small hubs and nodes and then one day (long story short….) someone said, "Hey, why don't we use these to share our interest and ideas to others? Maybe we can meet new people too?" Anyways.. Social Media became a great tool for artists and organizations such as J. Cole, Jay Z, and Roc Nation because of "effective sharing." By "effective sharing," I mean by advertising their product and then putting the product online for other people who enjoy the same music genre. For example if I here a new song from J Cole, and that piece is bumping, I will quickly post it on twitter or Facebook for my other friends to here, who will probably end up sharing it to their friends… and so on.. (catch my drift? yes? okay lets continue.) This domino effect allows artist, new and old, to get their voices heard and hopefully create a strong fan base. As for record labels such as Roc Nation, tweeting and Facebook posting is the quickest way to tell fans about new releases or information on those within the label. No more seeing people on the streets holding CD's screaming "YO! Check my mixtape," because nowadays, it is easier to just create a social media page, follow/friend people who share the same interest and show them what you got on the mic. Jen Foster of NSAI wrote "the advantages of social network marketing for musicians are: It removes geographical boundaries, empowers fans to be the musicians greatest promoters, and its free to use!" I feel you on that Jen, right on. Like I say over, and over, its all about that sharing. But know, artist don't make it unless they emotionally connect as well. The Stanford General Atlantic Professor of Marketing at the Graduate School of Business, Jennifer Aaker said, "You can't use social media effectively unless you know how to capture people's emotions… People only advance the message about something they care about." J. Cole is known for his poetic ability to reach the hearts of millions of his fans. Crooked Smile, Lost Ones, Dollar and a Dream, Nobody's Perfect, these are types of songs that build up his fan base because of the emotion and reality found within his lyrics that increase his ethos. His ethos as a real person, not just a rap artist, which is very important for his image. He's too real and down to earth. But if he were to lose that spark, that lyrical pathos, his career would stop short. William Arruda of Forbes.com stated that the three elements of an effective social media strategy are 1. Be real  2 .Be Focused and 3. Be Consistent. My two artist have no doubt followed these three guidelines, which is why they don't lose there fan base. Look at Miley Cyrus… now look at J. Cole and Jay Z… now back at Miley… Do you need any more explanation?

Sorry, I rambled on a little in this post, DeBritto out. Peace, Love, and Blogging.