27 engaging Twitter tips for musicians

How to network successfully via Twitter

Tom Porter, Wed 6 May 2009, 4:18 pm UTC

8. Think big

It could be as simple as allowing fans to choose your setlist, but why stop there? Let them plot your tour. The bigger you think, the better. Twitter is still relatively young so, like Paul Smith, it's not too late to be a trailblazer.

9. Talk topical

A fail-safe way to get noticed is to have an opinion… on anything. OK, perhaps Noel Gallagher's relentless spiel of social commentary can grate after a while, so let's keep on subject. Talk about the music you like, make and the gear you make it with.

10. Search for it

The social networking industry (that's Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc to you and me) is making a lot of fuss about Twitter's search functionality. It's advanced, so let's use it. Search for keywords and join in other conversations.

11. Be specific

The search facility is 'advanced', remember? If you want to talk about your new synthesizer, don't just search for 'synth', search for "Moog Little Phatty" etc. The quotations tell the search engine you're interested in a specific string of words.

12. Eliminate the useless

You can also use the minus sign (-) to eliminate words: search for "Moog Little Phatty" –virtual, if you're only interested in hardware, for example.

13. Or, let Twitterfall do the hard work

There are countless applications for keeping up-to-date with Twitter. Twitterfall is one of our favourites for following trends and feeding us content we care about most (er, music). Twitterfall's concept is explained rather neatly here.

14. Use the hash tag (#)

When you've finally decided what you're going to Tweet about, add a hash tag to your keywords like this: "Anyone else going to #SXSW this year?" It helps the search functionality and helps people find you.

15. Retweet

Copying is a form of flattery (unless it's copyright material, of course!), so follow your peers and Retweet their most interesting content. Write 'RT @musicradar' followed by the Tweet you want to copy. Hopefully they'll repay the favour, spreading your updates around for all and sundry to see.

16. Always use the @ tag before a username

If you click on the reply link next to, say, one of MC Hammer's Tweets, the reply box opens up with an @ before the username (@MCHammer). If you're referring to any other Twitter user, always manually add the @ tag. It creates a link back to their Twitter homepage and, as before, hopefully they'll repay the favour. More eyes = more followers = more exposure for your music.

17. Follow the 90/10 rule

"90% of what you share on Twitter should be made up of personal insights and thoughts along with a heavy dose of helpful links, while 10% should be made up of messages that more directly benefit you." TwiTips 90/10 argument is a compelling one – try and stick to it.

18. Use Twitpic

Everybody loves looking at pictures – it's easier than reading and can be a lot more insightful. Post a photo of your new guitar, a studio session or even the sorry excuse for a backstage area at your local pub's gig night. The average Joe will be impressed, even if you weren't.

19. Share your music

Don't forget you're a musician – so share you music! Post interesting remixes and demos or early tracks that your new-found audience might not be aware of. You can post links to YouTube or your MySpace page in the usual way but if you're feeling adventurous use Twt.fm of Blip.fm. Sign-up for a DJ account and amaze your audience with your musical taste.