by Rhetta Akamatsu

Twitter is a wonderful tool that will allow you to get the news out about where you are performing, your newest musical projects and recordings, personal band news and anything else you want your fans to know. You will be able to interact with hundreds and even thousands of fans, if you are willing to put in even 15 minutes a day four or five days a week!

For instance, one of my Twitter accounts is @bluesATL. I sharer 1 news about blues in the Atlanta area and beyond and I have over 1,000 followers. I also have over 1,000 at @rhettaa and at the account I manage for Darwin’s Blues Club in Marietta, GA, @DarwinsBurgers.

Follow these 10 Twitter tips for musicians and you will be successfully gaining more fans before you might imagine!

1. Set up your Twitter account as attractively as possible. You must have a header photo and a profile photo and a very short bio that lets followers know who you are!

2. Use the suggestions and the search field on Twitter to find blues clubs, other musicians, equipment companies, and other people of interest to you. Follow them.

3. When new people start to find you through those people, follow them back if they have a photo and a bio and they are relevant to your band interests.

4. Tweet! Share where you are playing, what you are doing in the studio, any news that you want your fans to know. Do this at least once a day. You can set up an account at Bufferapps.com which will allow you to have the tweets you choose tweeted again at the times of day you specify so more followers will have a chance to  see them.

5. Retweet! Don’t just share your own news. Share any news your followers share that you think will interest your fans.

6. Make sure you pay attention to your notifications and direct messages. Retweet any mentions of you that you get in your notifications and respond to direct messages that are not form messages.

7. Don’t just share your own news. If you hear another band or musician you like or share a stage with someone interesting, hear a song or see a video you like, shar it. Sharing is the key to everything!

8. You don’t have to follow everyone who follows you but make sure you keep an eye on them so you can follow the ones that are relevant and interesting. Don’t follow anyone who does not have a photo or bio or who offers to get you thousands of followers. You want real, interested followers, not empty inflated numbers.

9. Join Klout or Twitter Counter to keep up with how your account is doing after you’ve been on Twitter for a while. Klout also gives you perks from time to time as your influence in social media grows.

10. Share pictures. It’s easy to share photos on Twitter and it really catches people’s attention.

Most of all, have fun. And be consistent. So many times I see musicians who have accounts they never use. What a waste! I manage 6 accounts for myself and others and it takes me less than half an hour to manage all of them! And the rewards are great, not just for publicity but for all the great people you meet and news you learn.

So go ahead, go to Twitter and get started! If you need help, just follow me at @rhettaa, send me a message and I will help you if I can!