What do you do to get the word out about upcoming shows?  What works the best? What doesn't work at all? Do you do anything with social media or videos that your fans love on the road?

Ron Pope - 253,229 Trackers

We try to be mindful that people are getting a ton of noise on the internet, so we want to mention the shows early and often. Get those shows on sale as far in advance as possible. The more time you have to talk about them, the more likely your fans are to find out about them.

Mary Lambert - 138,235 Trackers

On my last tour, I offered my fans (via social media) the chance to be on my "Unicorn Rainbow Babe Squad." It was basically a fan club with different chapters! It took a ton of planning, but I found someone in each city we were touring in, and sent each of them a huge pack of posters and extra exclusive goodies for doing the postering. I comped both them and a friend a VIP and a show ticket. It was an absolute hit, and I sold out most of my tour!

Hollis Brown - 8,086 Trackers

We list our tour dates on Bandsintown and other websites, use the Bandsintown messaging to reach our fans, and record voice messages on Pandora. We have a great team who sends out posters to venues, cafes, record stores, and more. We also have an awesome street team of fans who help hang posters at their favorite local hot spots.  

Fabrizio Paterlini - 6,864 Trackers

Geo localization is the key factor! Using geo stats from Bandsintown and similar sites, together with the ones provided by digital distributors, makes it easy to find the cities in which it is worth to concentrate my touring efforts. Once you put your shows on the net in the right city, all the promoting efforts (mostly targeted advertising) are focused in the right directions, and help to have a great show. 

The Commonheart - 5,066 Trackers

In my opinion, and I am still learning all the time, it's a combination of everything. Having consistent high quality imagery and video of what you're doing all the time is challenging, but it's the name of the game right now. You need to hustle content like it's your job, because it is. 

Rebecca Loebe - 4,508 Trackers

I'm very active on all social media platforms and I have no idea what works or what doesn't, specifically...All I know for sure is that people want to connect with YOU as a human being. I can post about upcoming gigs until I'm blue in the face and it feels like no one sees anything...then I post a question about local restaurants, or a picture of a cute kitten, or a post about a freak hives outbreak and suddenly BAM! My feed blows up. So I try to give people mostly what they want and use my social media as a way for people to get a sense of who I am. Then, every now and then, I'll try to nudge them to my email list where I can more directly share gig info. 

The Talbott Brothers - 3,928 Trackers

Bandsintown! sign up for our mailing list, follow us on social media, Spotify, YouTube, etc.

Jeff Crosby - 3,856 Trackers

Anything and everything. It's a warzone out here nowadays and people have lots of options so without bombarding people with too many social media posts try to be effective without being overbearing. I find a little humor and quick personal stories garner a lot of attention from our fans. Be relatable and honest and maybe don't mention your shows EVERY POST. If people are engaged they'll look at your tour dates themselves. Also, look up local bands that are active in the town you're playing and offer trading shows in each other's strong markets. It's a win-win and you end up making friends in the end (usually). No one thing is more effective than the other in my opinion. Yeah, Facebook is great but you should still send posters and handbills and texts and email lists and make videos and tag friends. Anything you can do anymore is worth it even if it only brings a few more people.

Sarah Peacock - 2,534 Trackers

Promoting shows these days is a full-time job. Facebook has a monopoly on the advertising front. And, you really can’t get away without spending money on ads to let your fans know about shows. Photos and videos with little to no text do best in ads. On top of ads, I try to post fun photos and videos from the road. Fans love that! Developing a healthy email list is also huge. If your shows are small enough (150-200 capacity venues), pass around a clipboard sign up sheet. Get as many emails as you can. In Mailchimp, there are so many tools to help you promote to the right people on your email list. I’ve set up a subscribe link as well on my website, which helps collect email addresses. Not only are emails valuable for potential ticket sales, but you can market your new records, new merch, share exciting news, etc. Fans LOVE taking ownership of your success. Build a tribe. I also have a publicist that pitches my shows to local newspapers and tv/radio outlets. You have to hit it from all angles!

LowDown Brass Band - 2,280 Trackers 

Social media is the absolute key.  Make sure your shit is together online.  Pics and videos of tour life really help connect with fans.  

Trying to connect radio outlets in various markets is also a great way to drum up some buzz (i.e. in-studio performances,  on-air interviews, etc). 

Touring ain't a vacation! You want your time on the road to be productive so you gotta put the time in to "pound the pavement" in each local market you hit in order to maximize your time and effect there.  That includes putting up fliers at record stores and coffee shops, arranging clinics and workshops, impromptu street performances, etc. Get creative. Don't watch TV at the hotel.  

Showing up to a city and assuming people are coming to your show doesn't work.

The Vindys (Jackie) - 2,093 Trackers

We find that covering different media platforms regularly is the best way to promote upcoming shows. This includes any social media platforms, newspaper, magazine, and local TV news.  We have been doing a weekly Facebook LIVE show called Whiskey Wednesday that works really well for us as far as fan outreach. This is where we promote upcoming shows, talk to fans directly, play songs, and discuss music news. Best advice I could give is to stay on top of posting daily, interact with fans, and reply to all emails ASAP.