5 Steps to Social Media Success as Taught by a Live Band

Dot Dot Dot Demonstrates Social Media Success in Their Live Performances

Last night, Trina and I attended a business event in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Performing live was Dot Dot Dot. Here is how the band taught me 5 steps to social media success with their performance:

Step 1. Attract Attention

The band begins the evening playing unique variations on popular cover songs. Hearing the great music, a crowd of dancers quickly grows to about 25% of the attendees.

Step 2. Get Personal

As it grows dark, the music gets a bit louder and the intensity of dancing increases. With roughly 1/4 of the party dancing in front of the stage, the lead singer, Adam, addresses the dancers*:

You know, I feel like we’ve made a connection here tonight. Do you feel like we’ve made a connection?

<Cheers from the crowd confirm a mutual sentiment.>

Step 3. Ask Permission

Alright, so I want to try something, would you mind if we did something a little different?

<Cheers from the crowd confirm their permission.>

Adam then explains how the band has a little competition among themselves. The Keyboardist plays a few notes of a song to see if the rest of the band knows the song and can keep up. After describing how this works, Adam asks the crowd one last time:

Sound good?

Of course, the crowd cheers their confirmation.

Step 4. Provide Your Audience Something Unique, Concise and Valuable

As the keyboardist plays classic hit after hit, the band responds and dancers cheer. There is a rapid succession of classic dance and party songs. Each song lasts just long enough to let the crowd appreciate it, dance a bit and then get ready for the next hit.

Step 5. Leave Them Wanting More

After many songs, the band cools down with a slower tempo song. Adam returns to Microphone explaining the band is about to go on break. But we’re not to worry, there’s a great DJ that will spin some music for dancing. Then, the band will be back on stage in just a bit.

Leaders in this social media revolution can learn a great deal from Adam and Dot Dot Dot. These same steps that generated great engagement from dancers at a party can do the same for your social media engagement.

Step 1. Attract Attention

Meet your followers where they are and provide attractive content. The band came to the party and played great music. You should appear on platforms where your followers already exist (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs…). Provide them content that attracts their attention.

Step 2. Get Personal

Once you have their attention, get more personal. The band addressed the crowd and noted the feeling of a “connection”. You can do the same – establish one-on-one dialogue. Reference how much you appreciate their interest and note your sense of a connection.

Step 3. Ask Permission

The band asked permission from their followers to do something a bit different. This engaged the crowd. You can do the same. Invite followers to meet you offline, review new content or provide product feedback. Ask them for permission to address them in a new manner.

Step 4. Engage Your Audience With Something Unique, Concise and Valuable

The competition among the band and rapid fire hit songs was quick and valuable to dancers. Your content should be the same. Your message should be concise. Value your followers’ time by not wasting it on frivolous details. Your message should also be unique – if they can get the content elsewhere, why should they come to you?

Step 5. Leave Them Wanting More

The band’s content was exciting and enticing. The crowd wanted more. Leave your followers with similar sentiments. There’s no need to answer every possible question. If the content is valuable, followers will return for more.

 I’m glad I got to see this great performance and learn a valuable lesson on how to engage an audience. I hope you can benefit from this lesson as well.

Question: What other lessons can live performances teach us about successful social media engagement?

* Given the late hour, alchohol consumed and other factors, these quotes may not be entirely accurate.