ReverbNation has launched "Promote It For Shows", a Facebook promotion tool design to help music venues drive attendance. Promote It is currently in open beta, but an earlier version that I test drove impressed me enough that we're suggesting it to the thousands of venues that Hypebot's sister company Skyline Music works with.
There's no questioning the power of Facebook to connect with fans. Studies by Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, Ticketfly and others, put the value of a Facebook "Like" to drive tickets sales at between $2 and $9. Our own experiments with Facebook ads have convinced us that small investments of $25-$100 can jumpstart viral chat and sales weeks prior to show date.
Facebook has its own self-service ad placement system, but ReverbNation's Promote It For Shows both simplifies and expands upon that offering. ReverbNation generated campaigns take minutes to set up, reach local fans and encourages them to invite friends to buy tickets and join them. Promote It For Shows also “learns” what works for venues from previous campaigns.
Major venues like The Roxy in LA, and NYC's Knitting Factory and Brooklyn Bowl are already using the system. I addition to selling tickets, Promote It For Shows is driving "Likes" for these venues and encouraging subscribers to join mailing lists.
The system also has an optional incentive element that venues can activate to offer free tickets for early responders. “The free ticket incentive is really helpful,” explains to Tonya Cooke, Social Media Manager for The Roxy. “But it’s also the landing page that takes this to a whole new level. Once they click, in addition to seeing who else is going to the show, they can listen to the band, see show details and claim their free ticket.”
Is It A Band Marketing Tool Too?
ReverbNation has already launched Promote It platforms for Songs and Facebook Pages, and while the new Promote It For Shows is built for venues, bands may want to experiment with using it to promote their own shows, as well. Try it out here and tell us what you think.
