I've had some free time on my side for a few days now and I've been thinking of scribbling something down.

I contemplated on various topics and remained undecided until I saw a post on Twitter by legendary Nigerian music executive and producer, Don Jazzy on fans engagement and it hit me. This it! I said.

Don Jazzy was advising artistes to take seriously their engagement with their fans and make efforts to move away from the norm of engaging their audience mainly through social media.

He argued that times have changed and musicians need to restrategize their mode of communication.

Don Jazzy in a vintage satirical manner wrote on Twitter; "Dear artists. Times have changed o. This Chris brown’s post is enough to let you know that water don pass garri. Engage with your fans. This is not the time to form Jugunu for algorithm ooo. Twitter and Instagram Algo no send person".

Now, someone will ask why is Don Jazzy an authority on the matter.
Don Jazzy is definitely not an expert in the communication field and may not know the technicalities involved in engaging an audience effectively BUT Don Jazzy has been in the forefront of African music since 2002 and knows a lot about how your fans can determine your success or failure in the industry.

Don Jazzy has managed and worked with some of Nigeria's biggest music stars under his Mo'hits record and subsequently Mavins records so yes he is an authority when it comes to the music industry.

However, I'm writing this piece with a spectacle of a PR person, an entertainment writer and the point of view of a music lover.

The music industry in Ghana is fast growing albeit at a very unimpressive pace which can be alloted to a number of factors but that is another topic for another day.

One of the factors delaying the progress of the industry internally is lack of effective communication on the part of musicians and their management teams.

Recently, I conducted a study on the effectiveness of Public Relations in the Ghanaian music industry which confirmed my suspicion that most artistes in Ghana do not know the relevance of effective communication in relation to their music.

Although my sample size was very small due to time constraint, majority of the musicians interviewed had little or no idea about the impact of constant communication with their fans.

The findings indicated that the most commonly used communication tool among the musicians was social media.

Social media, although a very powerful communication tool is not enough to effectively engage an audience.

Here's why:

True, the emergence of social media has brought musicians closer to their fans than in the past. Fans are able to interact with their music icons more often now than in the past.

Most importantly, musicians cash in with their social media presence.

But this is not enough.

I have no empirical evidence to back my claims but as a music fan I know I would love to meet my favourite music stars not when he's releasing a project or having a concert but to have a hearty chat.

Interpersonal communication on a periodic or ad hoc basis can massively improve the fanbase of an artiste.

With social media, there seem to be a bridge that separates the artiste from his fans. They can relate to their music star but they can't feel the closeness.

With an audience that is more discerning now, musicians need to rethink their stance on their communication goals.

Having a massive following on social media does not mean your communication goals will be achieved as a musician.

There are various reasons for which a fan will remain loyal to a musician and sometimes, the music alone is not enough.

Here's an instance.

A friend who is a huge fan of Sarkodie was explaining to me why he loved the rapper and to my surprise, it wasn't only the music.

According to him, he had met Sarkodie few years ago when the rapper was at his peak but wasn't this big and he was offered a lift. That's all it took for him to remain loyal to the rapper; an interpersonal interaction.

The mistake with most of these musicians and their management team is that, they are convinced social media will do the job.

Undeniably so, but not as much as a periodic interpersonal relationship can do.

Top and well established musicians across the globe including Jay Z, Chris Brown, Beyonce, Drake, Rihanna among others have explored this avenue of getting personal with their fans.

Connecting with your fans as artiste on a personal level is nothing new but it is lacking at this part of the globe.

Here's what I propose:

Artistes can host their fans for breakfast, lunch, dinner (anyhow they want it) from time to time.

In these meetings, they can share their journey with them and make them feel a part of that journey. People never forget these little details.

Another way can be surprising them on special occassions. The musician can do this by asking fans to drop their birth dates, wedding anniversaries among others. Randomly select some few and visit them on the said day.

In furtherance, artistes can select few fans and invite them to the backstage of a major event they are billed to perform for them to have a feel of what goes on in there.

Another way to kill two birds with stone is by inviting fans over to listen to your unreleased album or EP. Artistes usually give this privilege to industry players.

True, they'll give it audience and talk about it on their shows but how many of them do you reckon buy the music when they know the artiste needs them more. They want it for free because "they are helping the musician blow".

But music fans who want to earn the bragging right of being your biggest fan will go through every length of knowing the lyrics to your songs verbatim. They will purchase the music to ensure that happens.

Better still, seek the opinions of your fans on an album or EP title.

This will give them more reason to anticipate the work.

For us PR heads, return on investments isn't always the focal point because your image to us is key.

But if these tips are thoroughly adhered to, then you'll be smiling to the bank soon.

Basically, this long speech is to reecho to artistes that times have changed, your fans are discerning therefore engage your fans regularly.

To end this, my two cent is that stick to the social media; it is hugely impactful but explore a more interpersonal approach of communication.

Regards, FBM.

Source: Farida B. Mohammed | Entertainment writer | Creative lead, CommHubGh