So I have been using Twitter for awhile and was going nuts trying to find a tool to clean things up. A big trick of spammers is to follow a ton of people to get them to follow back. Then a week or so latter unfollow the person. So then the honest people end up with a horrid ratio between followers and the accounts they are following. It is a trick to make the spammers look honest and to make the honest people look like spammers. So what do honest people do to defend themselves?

Well I hunted down a tool called SocialToo. It has many options. Some of them I strongly recommend you avoid. However the other half are very powerful and I can’t recommend them enough. When I tried this service out it worked so well that I thought it had messed up. It cleaned out more than 100 people that were not following me back. So when I looked at my numbers I thought it has made my following higher than my followers. Not sure why I only saw the last two digits of the numbers, but I made a total douche of myself and kind of freaked out over the guy who created the thing. When I saw my mistake I made my humble and embarrassing public apology. It worked so well it threw me off!

So let me be as clear as I can with this part. Stay clear of any and all auto-follow features. It will make you look spammy. However, there are two unfollow tools you can pick within the SocialToo service. One of them will cost you a one time $5 fee. After using it I would pay $5 per use. This feature will get you all cleaned up so you can start psedo-fresh. I say psedo because you will still be following everyone that is following you. Just the people that are not following you back will be removed.

Now to keep your account clean, take the guy up on his free stuff too. If someone unfollows you at any time, this will automatically unfollow them right back. These two features will keep your ratio looking very professional. If you are active on Twitter and really trying to get the most out of it this is a must have! If you have way more followers than you are following it makes people think you are important.

When you follow SocialToo creator Jesse Stay, let him know I’m thrilled to find out he is way more cool tempered than I am. Unlike me, he acts like a professional. DOH!

Important links:

• Follow SocialToo
• Follow Jesse Stay
• Sign Up for the SocialToo service
• Follow me!

So why is #followfriday on Twitter so important? How can you get the most out of it? Many use it to find people to blind follow. If I say #followfriday @darknemesis618 but don’t give you any reason, why should you care? Many will follow Keith, but will he get quality followers? Now if I said “#followfriday @DarkNemesis618 because he is a great programmer and fan of hard rock, metal, and punk.” That would mean something! That is the proper way to do a #followfriday in my opinion.

Now why go through the trouble of doing #followfriday this way? Sure the spammers just want to blindly follow anyone who will follow them back. They know that in marketing you almost always get a one percent reaction. So for them it’s just a numbers game. Your band should only want people that might be interested in your music. So if you can get the people in your network to post a #followfriday featuring your account, you get your target audience. I have said it many times before that getting the word out on your band is all about target audience. Twitter is a social thing and in most cases if you scratch peoples proverbial back, they will scratch your back in return. So pimping out other peoples account and recommending them can get them to do the same for you. Helping others in this way gets you not only more followers but more quality followers.

#followfriday is a great thing that can really help you if done right. Feel free to give me a #followFriday and if I can tell you love heavy music I will do my best to give you a #followFriday in return. That’s how it’s done. Next week I will follow up this by ranking my top 100 Twitter users. Yup, 100 #followFridays at once. Beat that!

I have noticed something about the Twitter elite. You know who I’m talking about, the people that have thousands of followers without blind following ten thousand people in a desperate attempt to be relevant? If I have only a few hundred followers why should I care that they are “only 50 followers from 3,000.” Why should I help them if I am thousands away from 3,000? Honestly no one should care. Will they help you get to that same goal? Probably not. The sad thing is though that it works! They get these lap dogs that jump as soon as they say jump. So all their little lap dogs re-tweet the message and the person gets to their next follower goal in seconds. It’s lame, but it works.

So how will this help you? Well, keep percentages in mind. If someone is 200 away from hitting 100,000 people will pay attention because it would be a small percentage of the total goal. Plus, they are sending the request out to way more people than you will be. So for example let’s say in a few weeks I get 20 followers away from hitting 400 followers. If I sent the message out to 380 people I will probably get those 20 extra followers because of their contacts. If you are at 90 followers I would send out a request to make it to 100. It will work!

Now keep in mind that this will not work as well if the goal is not a number you round up to. Keep it to goals that end in a few zeros. If I sent a Twitter message that said “I need 9 followers to reach 340 followers I might not get the impact I would if I waited until I was to at least 375 and only asking for 25. Sure I’m asking for more that way, but the goal is a rounded number. The human brain loves easy rounded numbers.

Now why should you care about how many followers you have? Well without making this article twice as long, let’s just say that when you send out a Twitter message to promote your band (or anything else) you will always get a 1% result. So for every 100 followers you will get one person responding. This is why people are trying for thousands of followers. This rule has been the same since the word marketing was invented. Email lists, clicks on a website from your visitors, paper flyers you hand out at other shows, or even midgets you hire to go door to door. Your return will always be about one percent.

I know this can sound depressing, but remember when you first tried to learn how to ride a bike, drive a car, jump into the working world, or even learn to play your first instrument? Important things take time and you will get out of Twitter what you put into it. Good luck and make sure and follow me, because I’m about to rank the top 100 Twitter users in Rock and Metal to follow up my top 50.

CLICK HERE for the current version of this list

The hardest rocking music industry Twitter users & why you should follow them!

No, really. This list is outdated. CLICK HERE for the current version.

So when I set out to make this list my original goal was to rank the top 100 people in the heavy music industry. I wanted to list the people that were most likely to help a struggling metal or hard rock band. I recently saw some really lame list of several hundred so called rock bands and to be honest it pissed me off! The band’s on that list wouldn’t know rock if Lemmy from Motorhead kicked it up their backside with the end of his boot! Just like Digg is filed with nothing but a bunch of 3 piece suit band fanboys, Twitter was being made out to be the same thing. I knew there were some metal lovin’ geek out in Twitter land and they needed to be ranked. So I tried my best to find the top 100 of real rock and metal people on Twitter. The small problem was I couldn’t find 100. So for this list I rounded it down to the top 50, but in a few months I plan to try this again.

No, really. This list is outdated. CLICK HERE for the current version.

Please know that there are some that didn’t make the list because they hadn’t updated in about a year. Some very high profile metal industry companies that have left their Twitter accounts lay dead. This is also how I ranked this list. Does the person follow people back? Do they respond to fans or unsigned bands in a reasonable manner? Do they have the power to help unknown bands and will they? Don’t like it? Make your own list! Send me the link and I will send it out to everyone on my list.

No, really. This list is outdated. CLICK HERE for the current version.

If you have someone (including yourself) that should be on the list when I do make it the top 100, please send me the link on Twitter! I didn’t put myself on this list because you all probably already follow me. Plus I’m not sure I am as powerful as these people. Enjoy!

No, really. This list is outdated. CLICK HERE for the current version.

50. http://twitter.com/eveofdoom
Editor of Geeks of Doom, heavy metal-lovin’, headbanging, bass-playing, vegan chick

49. http://twitter.com/recsoftheflesh
An unknown band that is using technology to push themselves to the next level at all times.

48. http://twitter.com/plugola
PLUGOLA is a social music community & digital marketplace, for independent musicians AND their fans.

47. http://twitter.com/XTRMPromotions
He may not be too tech savvy, but he is learning and is the go to guy for “get in the van” tours for bands on a budget.

46. http://twitter.com/RocmanUSA
Video editor extraordinaire! May not be the cheapest, but he is one of the best.

45. http://twitter.com/Mick_Shrimpton
Claims to be the former drummer of Spinal Tap. Legit or not he has a very comedic way of looking at the music industry.

44. http://twitter.com/Stickam
Ever thought of streaming your concert live for the world to see? This contact can set you up with no charge at all!

43. http://twitter.com/unsect
The official band channel. They play Hard rock with electronic elements and ambient textures.

42. http://twitter.com/metalextremo
Online Metal fanzine from Brazil. Very passionate!

41. http://twitter.com/HeavyAsHell
Official Twitter account for the hardest rocking social news site on the net!

40. http://twitter.com/nicefishfilms
He does a podcast that combines music and tech as well as blogs about music industry news a lot.

39. http://twitter.com/FTWM
Feed the world with a song! Altruism is great PR.

38. http://twitter.com/gladhandermusic
Great band using tech to get the word out on their music.

37. http://twitter.com/decepticrat
Not sure he wants it out why he is important to metal, but he is very powerful in social news circles.

36. http://twitter.com/MusicGoat
Podcaster, blogger, and music fan…a great part of which is metal!

35. http://twitter.com/polymath22
His major passion is a site called Ning. He is a heavy music fan.

34. http://twitter.com/Mortalwind
Very well known in social news circles. If you can get him into your music he might use his power to help you.

33. http://twitter.com/DarkNemesis618
Programmer for both RockMyMonkey.com & HeavyAsHell.com

32. http://twitter.com/SilentJay74
One of the top users of Mixx.com and a total heavy music fan. Part of the social news podcast Social Blend. Total smartass!

31. http://twitter.com/cGt2099
Another key member of the Social Blend crew as well as a top user of Mixx.com

30. http://twitter.com/metalsucks
The number one metal loving Word Press blog.

29. http://twitter.com/aversionline
Webzine

28. http://twitter.com/robinjection
Robert Pasbani of Metal Injection fame.

27. http://twitter.com/Sleazegrinder
Sleaze Grinder webzine.

26. http://twitter.com/deathisgain713
Death Is Gain webzine

25. http://twitter.com/metaledgeblog
Although not the Metal Edge magazine in the U.S. that recently went under, this one still seems to be active. Not sure what country they are from though.

24. http://twitter.com/censoredmetal
A Metal Webzine/Blog

23. http://twitter.com/MetalMartyr
Webzine

22. http://twitter.com/apeshit
APESHIT is an extreme metal webzine.

21. http://twitter.com/ThrashHits
Webzine

20. http://twitter.com/HallOfMetal
webzine

19. http://twitter.com/metalinjection
Watch br00tal videos or upload your own. Get your fix!

18. http://twitter.com/rnrgeek
Live podcaster

17. http://twitter.com/chriscornell
Ex-singer for Soundgarden not too metal anymore, but still worth a mention.

16. http://twitter.com/bumblefoot
Guitarist for the current Guns And Roses

15. http://twitter.com/sebastianbach
Ex-lead singer of Skid Row. Current band are the same guy Rob Halford from Judas Priest uses on his solo stuff. Amazing stuff!

14. http://twitter.com/victoryrecords
It’s a record label. Look ‘em up!

13. http://twitter.com/dillingerescpln
The band Dillinger Escape Plan

12. http://twitter.com/Download2009
The legendary music festival. Line up is always the best Rock, heavy metal, & punk of that year.

11. http://twitter.com/vurnt22
Remember the band Living Color? They had a few pop rock singles, but most of their stuff is closer to the Bad Brains. Check ‘em out!

10. http://twitter.com/HeadbangersBlog
The blog version of Headbangers Ball

9. http://twitter.com/Revolvermag
One of the few metal magazines still in print.

8. http://twitter.com/kerrangmagazine
One of the longest running print metal magazines in the world.

7. http://twitter.com/EaracheRecords
If I have to explain who Earache Records are I’m gonna have to smack you upside your head!

6. http://twitter.com/digearache
Head guy at Earache Records

5. http://twitter.com/ChrisSteffen
Writer from Rolling Stone magazine. Writes about metal often for them.

4. http://twitter.com/thatmetalshow
Talk show on VH1 about metal

3. http://twitter.com/ianchriste
Author of the best metal encyclopedia Sounds Of The Beast, SiriusXM Satellite Radio dj, his band appears on the soundtrack to the cult film Gummo.

2. http://twitter.com/talkingmetal
One of the leading metal podcasts.

1. http://twitter.com/CotterCity
Not only does he run the most powerful ad network for metal websites, but he also started Blistering.com

No, really. This list is outdated. CLICK HERE for the current version.

Well there it is. What do you think? Please feel free to let the people on this list know about it, because it would look kind of strange if I sent 50 individual messages out myself. That would be bad etiquette. However, if everyone that reads this sends it to one person that would be a good thing. As always, if you need something sent out just let me know. Thanks.

This list has been moved, updated, and automated!

CLICK HERE for the current version!

One of the most important things to remember when using social marketing is target audience. In other words, why follow people that have nothing to do with music? There are tons of SEO, Internet marketers, and bloggers out there that are no better than the spammers that fill your email inbox with phishing scams trying to get your bank info. Not saying all of them are that way, but social networks seem to attract the worst of them like flies on crap.

The best way to find the music people you want is to first find just one legit music type. Then go through their friend list and grab the ones that look like they might be able to help get the word out on your band. As I have pointed out before, you want to follow back every legit person that follows you. It’s just good Internet etiquette. However, you should be careful about not following back the low life scum. These people will follow several thousand people in hopes they get followed back. They prey on your guilty conscience. You are better off without them in your circle because they are not your target audience. The band that has 100,000 followers on Twitter can get way less reaction than the band with 100 quality followers because if you have thousands of followers most of them really don’t care about your music. In fact it may be less than 1%. It’s like spending a few thousand dollars on a specific metal ad network like Fixion Media or spending thousands advertising on the Today show. Just as middle age housewives won’t care about your band, neither will SEO spammers. It’s all about target audience!

Now we’ve talked about reaching music industry people like the music specific bloggers, booking agents, record labels, and other music industry people your band should network with, but what about actual fans? Well you need to make sure and use the embeddable widgets on every website the band is part of. Both MySpace and Facebook have ways to do this. Put it on your main official website as well. Put it everywhere you can. This way your fans can follow you on all these social networks. Then they will bring in their friends and your fan base can grow. This is better because it gets you your target audience. Plus because of this you will end up with way more followers than people you are following. This makes you look more legit. Remember that a social networking profile that has way less followers than people they are following shouldn’t be trusted.

Of course a good start to finding that target audience is to follow me on both Twitter & Plurk. If always plug the music profiles I think deserve more followers.

So now that you have created tons of social networking accounts to promote your band, how do you use them? As with anything there are unspoken rules. Imagine all the horrid stuff noobs do when they come to see your band for the first time. There are so many noob mistakes you can do at a metal show, there are just as many in social networking. Mostly you have to keep in mind that it is about being social. Don’t just post stuff about your band. Reply to others about the things that are important to them as well.

1. Talk to people about stuff other than your band
2. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS EVER!
3. Don’t post a flood of stuff in a small amount of time.
4. Post at least a few times a day whenever possible
5. Keep it “work safe” because most are surfing from their job
6. Make sure you get as many fans & friends to join you on these social networks
7. Run tons of giveaways through just those social networks
8. Friend people back or you look like a snob.
9. Don’t use trickery to get attention. Always be honest!
10. Keep your followers & followed ratio close

These are pretty general things. This stuff works on Twitter, Plurk, Facebook, MySpace bulletins, or any others. I hope they help.

Now there is tons more we could get into but I like to keep these updates nice and simple. This kind of thing can be a lot to swallow at times. Some people will come at you with tons of unwanted advice and will make you feel like a 13 year old kid being taught guitar by Yngwie Malmsteen. Yngwie only knows how to go full speed, so his lessons are pretty useless. So I hope I don’t go Yngwie on you people. If I do let me know.

So Plurk is a strange beast, but once you get hooked it is like a big bag of crack. I have only known of one person who gave it a real honest chance before giving up on it. That would be the hardest rockin’ programmer in the world…Mr DarkNemesis himself (RockMyMonkey.com & HeavyAsHell.com).Most people who give it a chance are hooked.

Now at first Plurk was looked at as a Twitter clone. I think once you have used both services enough, you will find they have many things that separate them. As far as bands and other music industry types are concerned I will keep it simple. Twitter is for getting a message out instantly to a ton of people at once. Plurk is for conversation. Imagine a band forum, but way more fluid and interactive. Plus a band forum keeps outsiders away. Plurk is part of a very large network, so if a band is conversing with all their fans through Plurk instead they will end up conversing with tons of potential new fans as well. It is about bringing in new people.

Now many people talk back and forth through Twitter, but there is a very large problem with doing that. it annoys the hell out of anyone who follows you that is not part of that specific conversation. Plurk totally separates new topics and threaded conversations. Now we host several official band forums at RockMyMonkey.com, but I honestly wish they would all leave us for something that would serve them better. Plurk would be so much better for a band if all the band members jumped in and got all their fans excited about it.

So Plurk should be a replacement for official band forums, but how else can it serve a band? Well, what if you only have one tech savy band member that wants to be social with the fans while on the road? There is a great mobile version of Plurk that works well on almost any mobile phone browser. Bored on the bus? Talk to the fans.

Now the important thing to remember for both Twitter and Plurk is to embed your profile into the sidebar of the official website, MySpace, and Facebook. This not only gets the message out to all your fans that you are on this exciting new social network, but it also kind of shows them what it’s all about.

So what about the smaller more unknown bands? Well interaction with fans is even more important for the unsigned and unknown. So it’s even more important you spread the widget mentioned above around. Not just to keep fans posted, but with Plurk casual conversation is more accepted. This helps you be more intimate with your fans while probably ending up with new fans at the same time (being part of a large network). I also notice that more traffic comes from links I post on Plurk than any other social network. Because of the more social aspect of Plurk, people are more likely to check out your stuff. So make sure and post links to news on your official site along with the casual conversation with your fans.

So Twitter is for getting a message out, but Plurk is for true interaction and conversation. Being more social with fans will help your band’s fanbase grow.

Most important of course is to follow me on Plurk.

http://www.plurk.com/MarkCarras