KOMPA! MAGAZINE

[kompamagazine]

ARTICLE by MELISSA (From Miami) sent to Kompa Magazine.

Why aren’t our HMI stars using social networking more?

Back in 2000 when we were still grasping the wonderful wonders of the Internet, having a website was the ultimate tool to reach millions of Internet users around the world. While the need for a website has not lessened, it is certainly not enough when it comes to using the Internet to promote a band (or anything else for that matter). We’re living in a world of YouTube, blogs, Twitters, and Facebook.

The bad thing about technology is that it keeps evolving and you cannot get too cozy with a trend, you always have to be on the lookout for new ones, and use them to your advantage as they appear. And that is also the good thing about technology. Though there are lots HMI personalities with websites, Hi5, and Facebook accounts, very few of them know how to use them well. A good thing isn’t one when it’s not being utilized in the right way. So, with all due respect, I have a few advices.

Let’s start with the website. First of all, every band in HMI right now should be able to hire a good web designer/programmer to design a user friendly, appealing, pop up free, and easy to manage website. But the work does not stop there; you need to keep it updated with tour dates, videos, announcements, and other fundamentals that come with running a successful website. While keeping brand identity unscathed (group logo, flags, colors, ect), a website can afford a face lift every once in a while. Do not design a website just for having one if it’s not going to be refreshed. If the site is having technical difficulties and is down, it does not have to stay like that for weeks; a programmer can look into it and have the problem fixed. Did I mention that payments to the hosting company are to be made according to what was originally agreed on? Having a space on the Internet is not too costly, but it doesn’t come on the house either.

Second, if social media is being used to interact with fans, there is, in my opinion a certain way to do it. Carimi is a good example on how to use a site like Facebook to keep up with their fans. First they had Carimi Haiti, but added every single friend request they received. When they reached their limit, they went on and created Carimi Nation, their official facebook fan page. Since then, they have talked about tour dates, made corrections about their venues, thanked fans for birthday wishes, posted pictures (about 15 photo albums) spoken about the Roberto incident, and most importantly, if a fan ask a question or make a comment on their page, they respond promptly and clearly; all that while they are promoting the release of their new album and maintaining the level of professionalism they are known for. In my opinion, this is a clever business tactic, because it makes me feel part of the group and you can see that they are thinking about us fans.

Artists like Nickenson Prud’homme also went on to create a fan page when he reached the friend limit. My advice to some HMI bands if they want to go the Facebook route(a lot of us are addicted to it), is to create a fan page even before the 5,000 friends limit is reached. Keep us updated and if you do not have time to monitor the ins and outs of the page, get someone to do that for you; or do not create one at all.

Nia also has a facebook page and though I appreciate the easiness and the honesty found on her updates, I sometimes wonder if she’s not getting too personal on what she posts because I wouldn’t want her own words to come back and bite her in the near future. Not everyone who wears the tag “friend” is that. Honorable mentions go to facebook users like Mika who was mixing the, as he put it, “ann viv” project and told us to “not listen to haters”; to Pierro Alkhal who broke the news of Roberto’s incident on Facebook first and is promoting the return of the Gypsies de Petion Ville, to Michel Martelly who has recovered from the flu and thanked the fans for their well wishes this morning.

Overall, not all social networking/Internet resources need to be brought into play, but those that are employed can help bands make huge profits when used correctly.

I’d like to add a few things so people can understand where I am coming from. Let’s take a group like Kreyol la for example (one of my favorites) If you Google their name, the first page results you get are a www.kreyolla.com site and a MySpace page. Guess what? None of them are relevant. To start with, that web address is being used to promote the sale of “cheap generic amoxicillin”, why a person would use the words kreyolla to promote a side like that remains a mystery to me.

Now, let’s say you click on the MySpace page of Kreyol la, you’ll quickly realize that whoever created it has not log in since January 2nd 2008 and what’s worse, the band has a link to that bogus kreyolla.com site listed has theirs. While this may seem like a small error, it can have costly legal consequences. For example, if that the amoxicillin website is deemed illegal and given that Kreyol la MySpace page has linked to it, it can mean trouble for the band. If we operate under the assumption that perhaps the band members did not create the site or aren’t even aware of it; however it’s their name, image, and reputation. Lesson in this story? Google your name to see what is being posted about you online.

Take a group like Tvice for example. From visiting their website, I already know that on October 31st they’ll be in Washington, DC and no venue has been confirmed yet, it would have been preferable to wait until all the details were settled to post the date. Washington, DC what? Where? When? If I wanted to book a hotel to go seem them now, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Also, most of the links on the site aren’t working. When you go to their discography, you see a list of their CDs, but it would help matters if this section had a link where they can be purchased or have an online store.

Crowd favorite Carimi’s site look so good and accessible, the only thing is that it’s not. The last time the news section was last updated in 2006. Click on the “Store” section and nothing happens. However, if you go on Calendar where bal dates are posted, the first one is for March 3rd 2009, second is April 3rd 2009, and the last one is May 17th 2009. What are the odds of someone sticking through the website to find out when the next bal is when we are in October 2009? Well, I must confess that I only did that just so I could give you the fact. The savvy internet user does not have time to read about past events when they are looking for the next best thing. They just move on.

So, like I said, if you’re going to use it, do so correctly, or don’t do it at all. Ou ka achte yon cornflake pou 1.20 Euro sou Ebay epui ou pa ka jwenn yon CD kreyol la? Ni sou Amazon non plus. Eske se mal nou mal konsa? It’s time that the HMI bands start selling tickets online, set up online stores, streaming live videos, organize virtual events, ect.

Because of the Internet, the words “this is it” will never come up again without the name of Michael Jackson attached to them. It is a multibillion dollar industry and huge profits can be made from it. Just ask Perez Hilton with his 18-50k a day ad blog.

KM!
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phpbb:echo dicks;

[RICKY]

Hope our bands take notes. alot of useful info.. especially updating the fans and interacting with them as much as possible.

[PhizUniq]

There's absolutely no way I can disagree with this letter.

I think about this all the time. I'm sorry but I gotta say like it is: how stupid can these bands and artists be to not use the Internet to their FULL advantage?

Like she mentioned in the letter, they can't even maintain an updated website. For example T-Vice, their discography on their website has incorrect album release dates. Until today, I don't think T-Vice has ever corrected it. They have the same Roberto "welcome to T-vice new website" intro that they had since the website first came up. That's ridiculous. What is so hard to update with correct information and news, etc? That's just one example out of many.

Another big problem with the bands' websites, most of them use the services of the same web designer/programmer or however you call it. Why don't they diversify?

What about YouTube now? How come the bands, especially the most popular don't have an official YouTube channel? They could use it to post their videos, performances, interviews, and even some videos while they're on tour, in studio, or random stuff that will attract the fans and media and keep them in the news as well? What is so hard to do?

In this era of technology and Internet, every band should or better must be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, have a functioning and updated website.
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Yo di djaz sa frekan... Se pa fòt nou. Nou just RESAN!

[LouisJeanBeauge]

Can't disagree with that. A lot of valid points were made on the article. This is a reflection on how we are behind the curve on everything else. AMI artists are milking the social networking sites. Some of our artists are using very efficiently. Most of them are not taking advantage of them. Hate them or love them CaRiMi is a very good example of being accessible to their fans.
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"Mesye bliye chèz la, al nan sena a, oubyen al fè sinema" Beethova Obas.

[Gentleman1]

Me-Moi-Mwen-I-Je-Yo aprouve mesaj sa san retire tikal....
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ZENGLEN PI RED

[Almonor]

Amen to that
most bands in the HMI don't have a website and they're not even on FB and I don't even go to their sites anymore
T-Vice don't even have an official FB fan page, I'm following you guys on twitter but the last tweet was RIP MJ
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T-Vice djazz S. P.S la

Twin, jratwin, Ronald Almonor

[BABYFACE]

Thank you Melissa, i hope that the hmi will wake up and smell the coffee.
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HARMONIKER FOR LIFE

[Ronald]

Post sa se yonn nan meilleur post ke m li sou KM...That person makes a lot of sense and thanks for coming with such an idea. Hope dem Bands will take notes and keep us fans update, shift the HMI into a brand new one...Nou nan 21e Siecle e fok nou mache avek le temps et la technologie... Kudos
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T-VICE SE KIF KIF OU SPS KREYOL LA APACH 4 LIFE/ ZENGLEN JAZZ DOGGYSTYLE LA
Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.

[Yvika]

I could have written this post myself. I agree 100% with her. Those bands who do NOT have website, it's more than time they have one. Those who do please updated them. T-Vice, Zenglen, etc... Tour dates.

Faites un effort. Most of us are using social website to some extent and have sites we regularly visit, so why not our favorite bands' ?
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Life is short. Break the rules.

[Melfanatik]

Thanks Pat for posting the letter. Part of my job is being an IT consultant and I got really frustrated with the way things are. There are rooms for a lot of improvements in regards to the HMI using the Internet to their full advantage. Thanks also to the board members for their reponse.