So you’re in a cover band and it’s Monday morning. Time to get out the checklist!  Where will you be performing this coming weekend?  Do you have a Facebook event page (Not a consumer Page)  set up to invite friends and fans? Do you have a simple flyer that shows where and when you will be performing?  Is your Facebook and website band pages showing an up-to-date list of all your upcoming gigs? Is your band's website URL on the Facebook Page?  How about the venue where you are playing – do they have your band listed on their Facebook page and website? This isn’t rocket science!  Are you posting your events a few weeks in advance to allow time for Facebook to publish impressions of the event to newsfeeds, develop interest and sharing, and interaction with your fan base or do you do it a day or two before which is horrible.  Are you using the bands same cover photo on every event? Not good! You should use different photos for different events to distinguish between the venues and gigs. It kills me to see bands out there that have not updated their Facebook page in years yet want venues to take a chance and book them. In today's Social Digital world, every band needs to have a Facebook Page at a minimum. Don't have the time? Maybe have your spouse or teenage children manage it for your band. When I am considering a band for a gig at a particular venue I'm booking I look at

• How many Followers the band has.

• Is the Bands Facebook page up to date? Does the band even set up events?

• Where has the band played in the past? What type of venue? Is the venue I'm looking to book this band similar to a venue they have played or will be playing?

• Is the band playing close by to the venues competition? You would'nt want to book a band playing your competitor's venue the night before that's right next door or nearby.

• How many people actually went to a past event? How many are interested or going to a future event? 

• What type of following does the band have?

• How does the band promote itself? Will it promote the event if it is booked at a venue or just sit back, take the money and not care how many show up? This is a business! Every band needs to promote itself!

​

Here are some basic Tips

​

Facebook Events

Facebook events  serve two purposes.  First, they act like a calendar.  If you click on the EVENTS tab on any band’s page (And every band page should have an events tab), you can see where they will be performing and where they have been previously.  Second, they are a great way to spread the word.  Here are some tips:

​

1. Make sure the event is set up under the band’s page, NOT your personal page although you can share it later to your personal page as well.

2. Set up an event a minimum two weeks prior to the gig. Not the night before or same day.

3. Upload an event photo that is appealing to the eye and does not look like your band is rehearsing in a garage filled with junk. Include a photo of the venue or the band playing. Don't use a photo of the band playing in a different venue than the one you will be playing in where the venues name appears in the photo. It's  not proper to have another venues name in the photo to a diff venue you will be playing.         Note:  A Facebook event photo is 1200 X 628 px. Creating a photo that size fits right into a Facebook Event.

4. Fill in ALL of the blanks.  That means writing out a description that talks about the band, the venue and includes drink specials and any special celebrations such as birthdays and anniversaries.  The more exciting, the better!

5. There are some metadata blanks that are used by Facebook to better understand when they should show your event to people who are interested in other events that are similar.  So, for category, be sure to indicate MUSIC.  Is there anything else?  For tags, you might have to try a few different keywords before you figure out which ones are in the Facebook dictionary.  For  example Nightlife, Drinks, Dance Music, etc… You won’t find Rock Music or Party or other keywords that you might think should be there but work with what is available – you only get to use three.

6. If you look carefully, you will see another blank for co-host.  Be sure to add the venue as co-host so that when they accept it, your event will automatically be listed on their Facebook page. 

7. Ask each band member to RSVP and invite friends from their personal Facebook page who live within driving distance of the venue. Also, be careful who you invite! The worst thing you can do is invite out of town friends and then have them comment “wish I could attend but I am attending your aunt’s birthday party in Rhode Island”. Also, try not to invite musicians from other cover bands who you know will have a gig the same night as your event.  They will end up leaving comments advertising their gig instead and that’s a faux-pas as far as Facebook etiquette in my book.

8. If you run into technical difficulties with any of the above, it might be due to the fact that Facebook mobile is not exactly the same as the desktop version which usually offers more features. An example I've learned the hard way is you cannot add someone elses Facebook event to your page unless you are on a desktop computer. It does not work on a mobile or tablet.