Artists are often said to live in their own world. And some of them really do, especially when it comes to their public relations.
The other day I got in email-contact with a schoolmate again. He has become a professional singer and will even make his debut in Bayreuth next year. He sent me the link to his website which turned out to be the typical kind of “someone I know has done it for me for free”.
Offering my help
I am specialised in helping artists with their communication. I thought he had sent me the link because he wanted my professional opinion on it. So I told him that there was a great potential to optimize his website and that he could get back to me if he wanted to know more.
As I wrote before many people in Germany haven’t even arrived in web 1.0 yet because they think that a website is just a topping, something you don’t really need. And if you have one then it is just for leisure.
“Just narcism”
And indeed my schoolmate replied today that his website was his father’s hobby and nothing more. And that a singer didn’t need “a stylish website” and that websites were “just narcism” anyway.
As I didn’t intend to work for him in the first place I didn’t bother to get into long discussions about this subject. But it struck me once again how unaware and biased people can be about the web – especially for someone in my age!
What can you do?
How can you explain to someone with this prejudice what the web is about? Or even convince them to try out something like social media? Is there any use in telling them at all?
I think what you’re hitting on here is something that is very common. A musician recently asked me to do a site and provide some advertising copy but when he realised it cost more than a couple of beers he was like: “Hey, I didn’t realise those kind of skills actually cost so much.” In other words he was hoping I could knock something out on a wet and windy Wednesday afternoon in my spare time.
The web doesn’t work like that anymore because professionalism has snuck in.
I find the same thing with clients and English-copy. Just because someone can write English doesn’t mean they actually know how to craft the language for professional use. An American friend asked me to run my eye over a piece of advertising copy she had been asked to produce for her company here in Stockholm. She’s a published author but she doesn’t write advertising copy for a living. They just figured she could handle the task. Unfortunately the text was horrendous. She hadn’t thought enough about her target audience (corporate managers working in the financial sector).
I think the bottom line is that whether we’re working with the web or words, we need to find strategies to convince clients (and potential clients) of the value of the services we provide.
Unfortunately it’s tough out there. A CEO recently said to me: “Hey, I don’t have to worry about my website’s English. My customers never complain about it.”
“Really?” I said. “But I guess they don’t hang around long enough to even give you their opinion.”
If a client picks up on something negative about a website whether it is design or copy, I’m sure they vote with their mouse and simply click on.
Hello Nette. When I visit a musician’s website, the better designed it is, the more I perceive their career to be a success. And as we know, perception is half the battle. A shoddy website gives you the impression that the record company is not supporting them or that they are not very professional or committed.
9er
Hi Jon and Graham!
I agree with both of you:
a) Many clients have no idea what communication is about, that a well planned website has to be part of this and that this isn’t something you can do without the necessary skills and time.
b) Customers will NEVER complain or criticize, they will just leave a bad website and go to another one they consider to be better. If ever they’ll speak about the bad one again then it will be in a negative way. Both cannot be in the interst of the owner of this website.
c) A musician’s website is just another customer-orientated website too. Musicians want to sell music. That’s why they need a good PR including a good website – which leads us back to a…
I think we have to be aware of the fact that many businesses still work fairly well without getting in touch with the internet.
So you should be able to tell your musician what advantages he will have from a well designed website (or blog): Will it be able to attract (enough) visitors who do not only know to surf the web but appreciate the sort of music he performs?
In addition to that you should not emphasize to much the possibility of attracting “new audiences” for his kind of music on the web! This is an often used but misleading argument. Any communication strategy should work well with the main target groups of a given business and only in addition to that on matters like “new audiences”.
Be sure that I have learned my lesson with German “Mittelstand” (machinery for example) and know to distinguish between the ideas of web 2.0 evangelists and basic facts in specific industries. The gaps sometimes still can be huge…
@Matthias: Yes, the gaps are often huge. Especially if they have heard about page ranking but still refuse the basics of web1.0…
I had another mail of an artist today asking me “what else a website could be than flattering the owner’s ego”.
Usually I don’t even start with the “new audiences” but try to describe what kind of impression a bad website or just a badly made myspace is transporting. And that they should care about the way they present themselves on the web.
But so many people still think the web is just a place for freaks…
Whats wrong with narcism? In some professions you have “love me – walls” where you hang diploma, fotos and other personalized items to impress people – and websites are just a modern extension.
Apart form selling yourself or your products for professional reasons we all like to be liked.
If you don’t like yourselves, how can you expect to be liked by others?
Hi Friedrich!
Interesting point of view though I still don’t consider websites to be there to flatter one’s ego.
In web1.0 websites were extended visiting cards or say digital brochures going one way from sender to reader.
In web2.0 interactive websites, blogs etc. have become much more than that. They offer you the possibility to have a real exchange with your audience.
So no matter if you’re an artist or anyone else who wants to reach a certain audience, you should have a web presence in order to present (as the word already says) yourself actively – instead of only being an object to what is said about you.
Which means: websites are not narcism but a form of communication that nowadays is even expected of you if you want to be taken seriously.