Building A Fanbase With Facebook Music Video Ads

Thanks to social media, buying advertising to promote music is no longer just for deep pocketed major labels. But where is the best place to spend limited funds? That's a question we're working to answer in a series of posts produced with the help of entertainment advertising experts Dash Two.

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By Clyde Smith for Dash TwoThough Facebook has lost some of its luster for organic growth of one's music fanbase, its ad targeting abilities are quite powerful and video viewing is surging. I recently spoke with Dash Two's Miguel Jimenez about the power of Facebook Video Ads for developing new artists. He explained that the strength of such ads goes even beyond targeting and views. As an example he pointed to Evan Blum who used Facebook Ads featuring his music videos to grow his Facebook followers from less than 500 to over 10,000.One of Facebook's greatest strengths for advertising is due to its targeting so ads can be shown to very specific audiences. But according to Miguel Jimenez, an Account Manager at media buying agency Dash Two, that's just the beginning. Facebook Video Ads run in the newsfeed and typically include a brief bit of text as well as calls to action if desired as shown in the ad below for Evan Blum:

The ad copy comes from the artist and Jimenez points out that this results in a more genuine feel since even a simple statement is in the artist's own voice. In the case of Evan Blum, Dash Two targeted Facebook users who were fans of bands with music similar to Blum's. This approach introduced Blum to a wide range of potential fans with thousands expressing their approval by liking his page.

"Love You Today by Evan Blum"

But such fans also got an opportunity to interact with Blum, to repost the video and to tag friends. In addition, their likes and comments increased the possibility that their friends would see the video in their newsfeeds. All these elements combine to create the potential for a video to go viral and take the whole process to a new level. Though one could also target potential fans on YouTube, Jimenez has seen that YouTube ads don't result in the same level of interaction and that comments aren't as visible. In addition, he's found that it's more difficult to get YouTube subscribers from YouTube ads than Facebook followers from Facebook Video Ads. And as a Facebook audience grows, organic views grow as well. Facebook Video Ads can also be used to introduce more established artists to new audiences. Facebook Success Stories recently featured Dash Two's campaign for Fueled By Ramen artists Chef’Special. In addition to introducing the Dutch band to potential fans in U.S. markets where they were touring, the campaign helped increase music downloads and streaming.