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Guest post by Gavin Whitner from Indie on the MoveGavin Whitner ius an F1-loving guitarist of an alt-rock band. He’s also a songwriter and composer. In his free time, Gavin blogs about musical instruments and music in general at Music Oomph."As a musician, whether you’re a solo artist or in a band, building your fanbase is one of the toughest jobs there is. Of course, you can tell your friends and your family, share your tracks on platforms like YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify, but, as you’ll know, this is a slow process.In today’s world, if you’re looking to build your fanbase to huge numbers, you're going to have to be proactive in your marketing. While performing and selling merch at your gigs is one way of getting your name out there, there is an all-powerful tool that is renowned for being the best way to introduce yourself to new fans − social media.The chances are that you’ll already have social media accounts set up for your music page, but once again, this is a slow process when you’re trying to build your audience. However, many of these social media platforms have a selection of tools you can use to boost your pages even further into the public eye.Today, we’re going to zero in on Facebook and its targeted ads feature. This is a very powerful feature that, when used in the right way, can get your music and social pages, including your website, in front of the people that are most likely to listen to you.But how can you do this successfully? After all, you want to make the most of the limited budget that you have. Below, we’re going to explore everything you need to know.
What is a Targeted Facebook Ad?
When you’re using Facebook, you’ve more than likely seen ads on your News Feed and timeline. What many people don’t realize is that Facebook hosts a selection of powerful tools and data-oriented services that allow you to pinpoint exactly who sees your advertisements.As with all advertisements, you’re going to need to pay per group of people who your ads are served to. But, using the tools available to you, you’ll be able to control exactly who sees your ads, maximizing the opportunities you have to get yourself or your band in front of the people who are most likely to listen to you.Ultimately, this will result in a rapidly expanding fanbase where you can grow and grow, perhaps even going viral if you’re capable of producing the right content.How Does a Targeted Facebook Ad Work?When you’re starting the process of creating your own Facebook Ad, you’ll have the ability to choose exactly who sees your ad based on a demographic, or group of demographics, that you choose.For example, if you’re a band who creates classical music, you’ll be able to only show your ad to people who have purposefully added the information (either directly or via other hints or indications) that they like classical music, to their profile. Does your band sound like the Chemical Brothers? Again, you can market to only people who have the Chemical Brothers in their Likes.There is a full range of demographic data for you to use. Some of the most important ones that you’ll be thinking of include:- Age
- Gender
- Job/Career
- Geographical Location
- Likes
- Music preferences
- Language
- Personal interests



