What's the difference between letting people know about an upcoming gig, and getting them to actually come out for it? It's a principle of persuasion known in the political and public speaking fields as a Call to Action.
The importance of moving beyond spreading-the-word and instilling actual motivation was recently illustrated by Invisible Children's Kony 2012 campaign. Invisible Children's Kony 2012 video urging US military action against the notorious African warlord was held up as the poster child for effective viral social media activism. The video was viewed by tens of millions of people, and raised money through online donations and through merchandise sales at college campuses across the U.S.
One focus of the video was to promote an event on April 20, 2012, called Cover the Night. The theory was that millions of college students would spend the night plastering walls with posters and murals advocating that the U.S. stop at nothing to secure Kony's capture.
Despite the viral popularity of the video, however, almost no one showed up on April 20, and Cover the Night didn't happen. What was the disconnect?
There were actually two main disconnects, one being that the Invisible Children leader who had made the video and focused the video's message strongly on himself and his own righteousness, had a very public breakdown when the film was subject to cultural criticism. News reports talked about being naked and beating on cars in the street, and the family begged for privacy. College students looking for a leader drifted away from the cause instantly when that leader collapsed.
Take away lesson for bands: If you are basing your marketing around an individual front-person, make sure that person is up for the task. If you are trying to sell your fans on the idea of coming out to see Joe or Mary Rock Star, then Joe or Mary Rock Star better be there with bells and whistles on to give them the show they want, and not stuck in a drunk tank or sitting home with a cold having a break down because the stress of popularity is too much to handle.
The other main disconnect was the content of the message, which was lacking in the elements needed for genuine persuasion. Key among these elements is convincing your audience that the experience they will have coming to your event is far superior than that they will have sitting home on the couch. This usually involves offering your audience a choice to stay home or go out, while making it clear that they will regret it if they stay home.
The Kony Cover the Night event encouraged people to participate in activities for which they might get arrested for vandalism and property damage (plastering posters on private and public property), but most importantly for which there was no image offered of how great their night or next day would be if they did this. There was no hint offered that the audience would regret not going out that night -- so not going out became the easier, default course of action.
Take away lesson for bands: It takes a lot of effort to come out to one of your gigs. It means paying money for transportation and tickets and drinks; it means being too tired the next day to work or spend time with friends and family; it means getting pried out of the comfort zone of the couch and whatever video games or TV shows the person would otherwise be cozily engaged in that night. You need to convey to your audience that the experience of coming out to your show will far, far outweigh these negatives. Make it clear that they will have a great time, and if their friends go and they don't, they'll totally regret that they weren't there. Don't belittle them; don't tell them that they owe it to you or that you're broke and if they were really a friend they'd come see you; don't guilt or berate them into going. Persuade them that they will leave your show feeling happier than they have ever felt.
And then, of course -- deliver. Make your audience smile, laugh, dance, hug one another, feel the love, and leave wanting more. Make sure they go back and tell their friends -- Yah shoulda been there!
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