Do you know who you are talking to when you send someone a personal message… email, Facebook or Twitter? Is the person a music fan? Do they like your genre of music? Are they a musician? Or are you just creating one message and sending it out to everyone? This is a continuation of the spam problem I discussed a couple weeks ago.
Recently on Twitter I had posted the following Tweet:
Takes Questions Announced by SoundCloud – Ask Michael Brandvold Marketing a Question http://t.co/eInprhk0
To which I received the following reply:
SweetTastyPromo: @michaelsb Heard ur track HIT me @ xxx xxx xxxx Im a bookin rep I book opening tour slots SERIOUS ARTIST ONLY & follow @xxxxxxxxx.
That tweet I received was automated, it obviously had nothing to do with the post they replied to. But even more important, they had no idea who they were Tweeting, who they were talking to. They listened to my track? What track? They don’t even know I am not a musician, I have never recorded music. Although maybe I could get booked on a tour, that might be fun.
When I replied to the Tweet asking them why they sent the message to someone who is not a musician, I got no reply. Makes me wonder if anyone is even watching their replies. They did get reported as a spammer.
Automated posts can have a place in your marketing efforts, but you need to be in control of them and think about what is being sent out and who you are sending them to. You should be constantly monitoring any automation you have setup. Adjust and make changes when you notice things not working. If you can’t control the message and who it is being sent to, then do not automate it.
Interesting to note that as technology improves, there is a greater need for old-school manners, and morals. You were rudely auto-solicited by a person that immediately revealed themselves to be a liar, trolling for starry-eyed musicians to rip off.
The sad part is that it’s likely to work.