A Composer’s Guide to Social Media

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It's the hot buzzword right now, and everybody and their monkey's uncle is a so-called "expert" on it. While I find a lot of "experts" on social media to pretty much be full of shit, I do believe that social media is a worthy asset to the business of anyone working in film and TV music—it just needs to be used correctly. The business has changed dramatically over the last several years. How we as film and TV music professionals find work—and KEEP working—has changed with the advent of social media. Whether you have posted music on your social networks for the world to hear or not, those networks can be used in a manner which furthers the online experience of anyone in your sphere of influence. It’s not without a little sweat equity from you, however, and it may require you to make some small but significant changes in how you view your online presence. You may have to shift from “peddling your wares” to being a little more aware of what people need, want, and look for in a “status update.” Altering your focus might be tough at first, but I think you’ll come to appreciate the rewards that it will reap you in the long run. As they used to say, “You attract more bees with honey than with vinegar.”

Here are a handful of my own thoughts, and then I'd like to hear yours in the COMMENTS below.

Listen More. Talk Less.

I’ve found a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience online with Facebook and Twitter by posing questions that are relevant to the broader community, rather than touting my own personal accomplishments. Of course, if I’m relieved to have finished a particularly tough musical endeavor, or if I just had a ragingly successful day in the Musicave, I’m sure as hell going to post about it! Celebration is a core value around here at my studio and on my team. However, listening to what others have to say about things that interest me as a composer is a better use of my time online. I already know all about my stuff — I'd rather hear about yours.

In many ways, building a solid career is like working your way through a video game: You cannot go to the next level until you master the current one. Anyone who’s ever played a video game remembers getting together with someone who already knew the ins and outs of the upper levels. I never want to stop learning, and when you have a community as diverse as ours is, there are too many great opportunities to sit at the feet of masters. Some of what frustrates me about my career are things that several of you might already have worked through, and I’m all about learning from the experiences of others.

Try using your social networks to… er.. um… NETWORK! Ask questions that illicit a response from members of the community, or post a comment that requires action on the part of the reader. Social networks can be incredibly effective places to facilitate major discussions with those who are in the same boat as you, as well as those who are simply piloting larger vessels. Some of my most trusted friendships have been built on Facebook. I’ve gained access to people all over the world that I might otherwise have never met if it weren’t for that website. Those relationships, however, did not come about by me displaying my mind-bending music for comment or posting pictures of my multi-million dollar studio setup for them to drool over. (If they only knew!) No. Those friendships were forged out of respect, appreciation, and humble inquiry. It is much harder to do it that way, but the rewards of genuine friendship are worth the effort.

Show Yourself (And Be Proud About It, Dammit!)

I’m often annoyed by people who use social media to “preach.” For example, I have a few online “friends” that I know absolutely nothing about. I know nothing about them… because they tell me NOTHING about them. Their statuses are always some ancient proverb, a regurgitation of some Tony Robbins self-help slogan, or what they feel is a cute little word of encouragement ripped from another status that they read somewhere (and haven't given credit). When a person’s Twitter feed or Facebook wall is littered with these little spiritual generalizations, I almost always hide that person from my news feed.

The truth is, social media is all about transparency. Some people on Facebook refuse to add their picture to their profile. I know a few of these people and when pressed about it, their excuse is usually something like, "I like to go against the grain." The reality is that most of these people are just cowards. They don't like how they look in pictures, so they don't post one. It's fear, really. Being scared. I know we are only talking about Facebook, but seriously… show your face! What could you possibly have to be afraid of? You are already a member of the community, yet you have a blank avatar where your face should be. I’m sure to some, this is splitting hairs at the molecular level, but to me—someone who is all about community and relationship-building—this is the door slamming shut on any possibility of honesty or genuine relationship.

Along the same vein, I know several people who post nothing but "happy thoughts" or "quotes" or YouTube videos, or what a good friend of mine refers to as “pep-talk posts.” My thought is: “Why would I bother reading this person’s stuff?” A genuine relationship is a two-way street. It doesn’t work if one person operates in a vacuum. Don’t get me wrong, everyone needs encouragement. Everybody likes to watch an old Bon Jovi video. (Well... not everybody!) But enough already. Tell me something about YOU. I don’t need to hear a track or see a vid — just tell me something  that only YOU can tell me. What do you like? What do you hate? What makes you tick? You are not Jesus Junior and you certainly are not Gandhi re-incarnated… so who are YOU?

The bottom line is this: You cannot expect to become a vital part of a community without being KNOWN. It makes zero sense. If you refuse to be known—whether out of fear, anxiety (which is really just more fear), or because you are self-conscious (again… fear), then you are selling yourself short in a community of supportive people who could be helping you get to where you want to go.

Know Your Audience (and Respect Their Attention)

How much attention do you pay to who is in your Facebook friend list or in your Twitter feed? Your Twitter and Facebook audiences are often the same. Therefore, if you are cross-promoting everything in both spots then you are almost certainly spamming everyone with the same stuff twice.

Also, I see a lot of people “advertising” to people who don’t give a shit. Film composers are notorious for doing this. Many film composers put their music or videos up, but their friend pool consists solely of other composers. It you are promoting to get work, or at least to raise awareness of your work, this is an ill-conceived strategy, and you might want to reconsider it. If there are no directors in your friend pool (you know... the people who HIRE composers!), then you have more footwork to do in terms of broadening your territory. Your time should not yet be spent perfecting your music uploads as much as it should be spent forming relationships with filmmakers.

In our business, relationships are everything. That principle works in all aspects of this game:

Composers (minus) Relationships (equals) No opportunities.
Agents (minus) Relationships (equals) No value.
Producers (minus) Relationships (equals) No films.

Know your audience in EVERY form of social media that you take part in. Make sure that if your Twitter audience is fan-based, that you are promoting to them appropriately. However, if the majority of your Facebook friend pool consists of other composers, all the music and video in the world might garner a few nice compliments, but we cannot give you a paycheck.

Make sure that you put in the due diligence of at least knowing who you are talking to.

Selflessly Self-Promote

Lastly, here’s what might come as a painful truth: it’s not all about you.

During his administration, Ronald Reagan is said to have had a sign in the Oval Office that read, “There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Reagan often stood his staffers up at press conferences and initiated audience applause for a job well done. You might not agree with his politics, but for the Commander-In-Chief to do something like that... well, it’s true leadership, pure and simple.

In my opinion, Twitter is best used as a platform for kudos. I’m no Twitter aficionado, and I was a late-bloomer in the sense that I came to the platform way after it was already a staple for most. I quickly learned, however, that my favorite people on Twitter were those who consistently re-tweeted other people’s music, articles, and advice. These people rarely toot their own horns, but instead provide those of us who follow them with a steady diet of links to other sources of cool. Unbeknownst to them (or maybe not!), this ends up being the best kind of self-promotion they could ever ask for. In fact, it’s sort of “selfless self-promotion.” I’m not sure there is any better advertising method than spotlighting the WIN of another person.

On Facebook, it’s a little different. You have to work a little harder to spotlight another person’s accomplishments... but, of course, it can be done. Recently, I devoted an entire day’s worth of Facebook status updates to all of my composer friends who'd been nominated for awards, complete with links to their music and websites. I often visit Bill Brown’s Facebook page, as Bill is great about highlighting the soloists and musicians he uses for his scores and always takes care to mention them whenever he can. Since I'm always on the hunt for great people to work with, Bill's page is a great source.

My point here is that nothing screams louder than humility. There is nothing more repulsive than someone who is always out for themselves... not to mention the pity I feel for people who are hopelessly desperate to get their names constantly in the limelight. I could go off on a tangent here about how desperation is a sure-fire brand killer... but I’ll save that one for some other time. Unfortunately, Facebook breeds this mindset to some extent, and many composers fall into the trap.

Allow your music to do your talking for you, when appropriate. Listen more and talk less. When you do have something to say, don’t rip it off from some Chicken Soup book... use your own voice. Know your audience. Promote others often. It won’t kill you. “Planet You” will survive to see another day.

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