Just published an interesting piece by an expert in music marketing about how social media appears to have reached a point where it's become a lot less useful and important for musicians to use it http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4147232-music-vs-the-web--have-we-reached-social-medias-tipping-point

I'd argue as a fan, that following a band you like on FB and Twitter has been quite frustrating for quite some time. I often 'follow' acts I like, and then only every six months or so do I manage to spot one of their updates - meanwhile, my feeds end up being hammered by sponsored posts for new tracks by major label signings like Foxes or brand-supported events with bills featuring acts who were hyped 18months ago that I can retweet to win tickets to gain free entry.

Attempting to promote DiS content through social media can often free quite pointless (300 or so clicks from 60k people, and even when a band like Paramore shares something to 25million fans, it only ends up generated a 1000 or so visits). Perhaps I could be using these networks better, and occasionally it feels like my posts (as there isn't some 'social media manager' around to post things, like some big companies, just me) seem to do okay once in a blue moon, but it seems more to be from luck rather than design.

For a few acts I love I've found that you can get notifications everytime an artist posts on Facebook. To do that simply
- goto the page you don't want to miss updates from i.e. http://facebook.com/drownedinsound
- like the page (if you're not already)
- hover over the "Liked" button and click on "Get notifications"

I also found making a list like this of musicians I like was quite handy to create and bookmark https://www.facebook.com/lists/10151026286906113 . Also made one for music websites/blogs https://www.facebook.com/lists/10151012079451113 (although that mostly just ends up showing me that most sites post the same things minutes apart)

As a manager, I've found looking at Ed Harcourt's social networks quite depressing. We announced a tour, and the week before the shows had people posting "come to Sweden" and I had to reply saying he'll be playing there next week. In fact, most of the 'interactions' on social media for most acts seem to be fans begging for an artist to come play a show near them - and this is kinda why Songkick's Detour project exists. I know that FB have added ways in which we can 'promote' posts to ensure all relevant fans see the posts, but it's often quite complicated to get it to work properly (I think I 'get' how it works, but it took a fair bit of reading to fine-tune it and save money) and can be quite expensive.

As a fan, how useful is social media for you now to keep up with bands you like? How does your band use it? Does DiS just post rubbish? Have you found ways to make social media work better for you? Or has it always been and will always be little more than something for socially-inept needy-nerds?