Greetings friends. As I sit here writing this, I am juggling. Not juggling chainsaws, knives, or anything else tangible--- but juggling my many faces in the "blogosphere" , "social networks", "inter-webs"... whathaveyou.   I am doing this because I feel that it is important for not only my social life, but for MY brand. My brand is an identity based on my outide-looking-in image which is an amalgamation of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, my blog, Delicious, Linked In and I am sure a few I have forgotten. Of course we all know this is important... CNN and Fox both tell us so... but how do these resources become such a part of who we are? and How do they help us in the "real world?" In my case, I mention my own brand. The truth is, everything today is about brand whether it's your own, your company's, or an alter-ego brand such as my friend's "fat kid at camp" moniker. It is all about that image and everything that surrounds it. This means in order to be truly engaged, you have to Twitter, be on Facebook, Myspace, blogs, etc. Here is where it gets really fun/tricky though. In order to truly be a part of the global conversation you have to be on these various networks, but your message must be original (not contrived). Classic Marketing 1.0 techniques will not gain you traction in this world. Marketing in social media is all about creating a conversation with your consumer. It is about the human side of marketing.
While this works for our personal, corporate and alter-ego brands--- one of the venues this type of social marketing really applies itself is in the marketing of bands. The catalyst for this post happens to be the great post I read this morning on "Hit Singularity" . This is a great overview of free, easy social networking that can really make a difference.
10 Fast and Free Strategies To Market Your Band (Without Resorting To Spamming People On Myspace)
This is probably one of the most complete descriptions I have seen thus-far in the social-media-as-promotion movement. Short of writing a book on it like Barack 2.0, this is short, sweet and to the point. The fact remains that in order to succeed in the virtual world, you must have a strong footprint. Following the points mentioned in the blog above will help you to create that footprint.