Promoting gigs as a promotion company

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Ticket sales are not great at the moment any tips to make sure your numbers at gigs improve. using social media seems to be the norm but not had that much success. here is a example of the events we are putting on cheers guys.

https://www.facebook.com/events/303186631162952/?ref=newsfeed
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  • roundthebendroundthebend Frets: 1129
    I like what Skiddle are doing. They encourage the bands and other audience members to promote by giving them points and cash in return as commission. It makes it competitive.
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  • spark240spark240 Frets: 2073
    Facebook Ads…target your Audience to your locality 


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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7349
    edited July 2021
    The world is stuffed full of promoters who believe that social media is an adequate solution. 

    Ad reach is patchy, targeting and timing are flawed, - please consider actual posters and information in the actual real world. 

    I've missed gigs I'd have gone to despite walking past or drinking in the relevant venue in the weeks before. I've seen social.media promotion that gets into my timeline one the day in question and never before.

    Creating a Facebook event and sing people to share it isn't promotion.

    (This frustration aimed at my experiences, not at you) 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • maltingsaudiomaltingsaudio Frets: 3098
    edited July 2021
    IMHO relying on social media to  get bums on seats doesn’t work,mind you I don’t know  does at local level short off pressgangs
    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
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  • StratavariousStratavarious Frets: 3595
    edited July 2021
    We have a few hundred followers/subscribers on YT and facebook but they are not all local or even in the same country.   We drop updates and videos regularly, but TBH, i think the venue and the physical posters we send and put up are what gets the actual audience.  It’s only the real enthusiasts that follow regional music notices on FB. 

    You can’t replace the old school methods.  People are more oriented around the venue than the band, unless you are a ‘name’ act they will travel to see.   We played a local country festival recently and put inviting posters about the event in the eyeline at all the local shops and a load of locals and families turned up. Great gig.   You can target communities / geographical areas with online ads to do similar, but it is extra work.  

    For new venues, we do pressgang own friends and family networks to get info out and we will come with our own crowd of an extra couple of dozen people.  Bringing a crowd, usually gets us an immediate repeat booking.

    Chat to the venue about promotion and give them what they need.  Our website has posters and printables for download with QR codes to our video media/audio channels to make it easy.

    At the link at the OP, there was no video / showreel.. so it was scanned but skipped by me.  Just words but no real content.  An embedded video promo would grab attention.
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    edited July 2021

    People are more oriented around the venue than the band, unless you are a ‘name’ act they will travel to see.
    I had a proper argument with a promoter on Facebook about this years ago, to the point where he threatened to find my address and "sort (me) out", when he was pissing and moaning about how people never turn up to his shows.

    His position was that it was the exclusive responsibility of the bands on the bill to bring people to shows, and therefore the bands' fault when there are never more than 20-30 people at his shows.

    Mine was...on the toilet circuit, the majority of audience members who show up for the whole show will be there because they a) like the venue and know they put on quality bands, or b) because they know the promoter always puts on quality shows. All of the other people, who've usually been browbeaten, begged and/or guilted into showing up by their mates (one of the bands), will largely show up to watch one band and then go home.

    This was borne out of the fact that all of the most enjoyable shows I've ever played were at venues known for our type of music and which put on bands they know their audience will love.

    Ergo...stop putting on shows, consisting of shitty three-chord pop-punk bands who can't get a gig anywhere else, based on pay-to-play and threats of being blacklisted if they don't bring enough people, and start actually promoting and building a fan base around the venue itself.
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  • roundthebendroundthebend Frets: 1129
    I've only just clicked the link. If Dodgy Nige tickets aren't selling then something is wrong. He's got a solid following of fans that will be looking out for gigs near him.

    It's a Saturday which should be a winner. I've no idea of the pub or location are good but I'm assuming they are.

    Have you got support acts lined up? They ought to be begging to play and will be keen to promote who they are supporting. I recently got a lucky call to support his mate Mark Morriss (Bluetones) and managed to sell a few tickets during the latter stages of lockdown.

    I would also expect Nigel to be promoting this on his own social media, so share his posts etc.

    A local promotor to me does quite well. He posts live videos of the bands in advance, he asks questions like "do you remember this 2004 hit?" and "best song by XXXX?" to get some interaction going. I think it's a long game though, there's no quick win. If this is your first gig at this venue then people might not be sure.


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  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3627

    People are more oriented around the venue than the band, unless you are a ‘name’ act they will travel to see.
    I had a proper argument with a promoter on Facebook about this years ago, to the point where he threatened to find my address and "sort (me) out", when he was pissing and moaning about how people never turn up to his shows.

    His position was that it was the exclusive responsibility of the bands on the bill to bring people to shows, and therefore the bands' fault when there are never more than 20-30 people at his shows.

    Mine was...on the toilet circuit, the majority of audience members who show up for the whole show will be there because they a) like the venue and know they put on quality bands, or b) because they know the promoter always puts on quality shows. All of the other people, who've usually been browbeaten, begged and/or guilted into showing up by their mates (one of the bands), will largely show up to watch one band and then go home.

    This was borne out of the fact that all of the most enjoyable shows I've ever played were at venues known for our type of music and which put on bands they know their audience will love.

    Ergo...stop putting on shows consisting of shitty three-chord pop-punk bands who can't get a gig anywhere else based on pay-to-play and threats of being blacklisted if they don't bring enough people, and start actually promoting and building a fan base around the venue itself.

    Exactly.  It's like opening a restaurant with a bad chef, working with low quality ingredients, and then saying that's all you can afford to do because there aren't enough diners.

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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    Reading bunches of stuff on facebook there's a lot of 'I can't wait for the return of live music [ and comedy in my case] but I'm not going just yet.' So for a gig in mid September there may be a lot of people waiting to see if by nearer the time they feel safe or if we are engulfed in some horrid Omega Man type scenario.  
     
    I agree that a lot of people have preferred venues so if the Hop and Hazelwood isn't somewhere that is normally busy on a Saturday night then it's going to be an uphill battle. Took me five minutes to work out where it is so for Clark/ Dodgy fans who might make the journey half a line about the venue wouldn't hurt.   
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • JasonJason Frets: 1103
    tFB Trader
    As an event promoter/organiser I can confirm that it takes a huge amount of effort to get people out of their house and into a venue.

    Social media posts
    Social media adverts
    Posters
    Flyers
    Getting the artists to share posts
    Video is more effective than a picture
    Location is important - info on location is equally important
    People buy last minute if it isn't going to sell out - I sell more tickets in the last week than the three months prior combined (I have many squeaky bum moments)
    Consistency of branding
    Consistency of timing of posts - you will have to try what time works best and then stick with that
    Don't oversell, post stuff for info not just to sell tickets
    I think the figure is that people have to see something 7 times before they will connect with it
    Know exactly who your audience is - I'm assuming 40+ males from seeing Dodgy back in the day, what else are they interested in too

    You just have to understand that people are on the whole quite lazy, you have to give them a reason not to be.

    As I have read many times from my students "Promoters are the risk-takers" - Ann Harrison, The Music Business

    We are, but someone has to do it. I love doing it, even in the bad times

    The Guitar Show, Cranmore Park, Birmingham | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Podcast
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    Jason said:
    As an event promoter/organiser I can confirm that it takes a huge amount of effort to get people out of their house and into a venue.

    The problem is...I think we're talking about different kinds of promoter.

    I've not met a promoter in the context of gigs who ever did more than #1 and #5 in your list...
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  • roundthebendroundthebend Frets: 1129
    @Wrighty22 ;
    Another thing which may go against you (though I don't know the venue/location) is that your post says tickets are available at the bar. That pretty much limits advance purchases to those who live nearby, or who will be going to another gig in advance.

    You should definitely look at eTicket options. I frequently go down to Cambridge from Peterborough to see decent bands at a pub venue. If I had to get physical tickets in advance I just wouldn't bother.

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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    @Wrighty22 ;
    Another thing which may go against you (though I don't know the venue/location) is that your post says tickets are available at the bar. That pretty much limits advance purchases to those who live nearby, or who will be going to another gig in advance.

    You should definitely look at eTicket options. I frequently go down to Cambridge from Peterborough to see decent bands at a pub venue. If I had to get physical tickets in advance I just wouldn't bother.

    I clicked on Find Tickets which took me to the venue facebook page so you got further than me. But if tickets are being sold on that basis only advance sales are going to be pretty much zero. 

    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • JasonJason Frets: 1103
    tFB Trader
    Jason said:
    As an event promoter/organiser I can confirm that it takes a huge amount of effort to get people out of their house and into a venue.

    The problem is...I think we're talking about different kinds of promoter.

    I've not met a promoter in the context of gigs who ever did more than #1 and #5 in your list...

    I know, depends if you want to be good at it or not, when I gigged it was pretty much the same, that is how I learned how to do a lot.

    I have met good ones, but they tend to get snapped up by the bigger agencies quite quickly
    The Guitar Show, Cranmore Park, Birmingham | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Podcast
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