Morth is a band from Bendigo, Victoria and they have to be one of the hardest working bands I’ve come across. I first met Morth when they shared the stage with a band my son was playing in at the time
They describe themselves as Heavy Metal/Shock Rock, a theatrical band influenced by Kiss, Alice Cooper and 80s metal. The influence is clear in their styling and stage set ups. Morth doesn’t just perform for you; they involve you in an experience.
After watching their show I was hooked and wanted to know more about them, so off I went to their Facebook page. I didn’t expect a lot because most bands seem to be pretty casual about their social media presence, but what I found was a band which really knows how to use social media.
Morth can certainly teach small business and most other bands, including the better known ones, a thing or two about how to use Facebook as a marketing tool.
I spoke to Morth’s manager, Marlowe Lee, and drummer, Billy Lee, to see if I could uncover their strategy.
What social media platforms do you use?
We only use our website, YouTube and Facebook. We put videos of our shows on YouTube but Facebook is the place we rely on to communicate with our fans.
What’s so good about Facebook?
We love the way you can add pretty much anything to the page, from video to photos or even just text. What we are after are the quick shares, so we are constantly feeding things onto the page for our likers to share with their friends. That’s how people find out about us. We rely on word of mouth and word of Facebook to help get us known.
Do you have an actual strategy that you follow?
We don’t have anything written down but each of us knows what we’re supposed to be doing. While it’s Marlowe who manages the page, the whole band monitors what’s happening. Marlowe handles private messages and Billy usually replies to questions and comments on the page. There’s always someone watching the page and ready to talk to anyone who wants to chat.
I’ve noticed that you reply to every comment on your page or that you’re tagged in, and that’s usually done within minutes.
In a way it’s part of our promotional strategy. Replying to comments or tags, especially on other pages, is another way of getting our name out there, but primarily we do it for the conversation. Without fans, we have nothing.
We think that acknowledging tags and comments is pure etiquette – manners. Facebook is designed for two-way communication and i
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can’t be two-way if we don’t reply. We communicate with the people who want to communicate with us. It’s how we get to know each other, and it’s how we find out what people want from us, and what they like or don’t like. It’s how we know what to give them more of. If we can reply pretty quickly after a comment is made, we’re more likely to be able to establish a connection with the person and that’s always a good thing to do.
How has your strategy worked for you?
It has been great. Other than people talking about us after they’ve seen our shows, most of our exposure comes from Facebook. That’s why it’s important to keep feeding information through the page. It gives people something to talk about, and the more we’re talked about, the more notice we get. And the beauty of it is that we’re reaching a world-wide audience. And it’s free. All it takes is a bit of thought and a bit of time, and you have a successful marketing platform happening.
Finally, for people who don’t know Morth, tell us about the band.
The band is made up of Marlowe Lee-Manager/Photographer, Dylan Lee on-lead vocals, Chris Hughes on lead guitar and backing vocals, Brandon Lee on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Lenny Conroy on bass guitar and also backing vocals, and finally Billy Lee on drums and backing vocals. We’re a band made up of family and friends. We work hard and we have a lot of fun.
It takes a lot of time to get ready for a gig. We have to set up the stage so our effects work properly and the props are in the right place. It also takes a long time to put on our makeup and get our look right for the show. We’re at a gig way before anyone else so we can set up, and we’re there way after everyone has gone home so we can pack up our gear and get home. But we love it and can’t imagine doing anything else.
Do you have a message you’d like to share with your fans and my readers?
Yes, we do. Get off Facebook and get out to our gigs. And if not ours, get out and support your local music scene.
Actually, we have a lot of people who use their phones when they are at our gigs. They are taking photos and filming, so they are engaged with us and involved in our show, and we know the photos and videos will probably show up on Facebook later. We love that because we put a lot of effort into setting up the stage and our effects. It’s great to see people enjoying it all.
So don’t just sit at home on Facebook. Get out and into the world with the rest of us.
If you’re free on October 11th we’d love to see you at the Emergenza Festival in Melbourne, at Max Watt’s House of Music, 125 Swanston Street. FOR TICKETS CONTACT Marlowe Lee on the Facebook page.
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Now, just in case you were side-tracked by the fabulous Morth….
Let me recap the key lessons we can all learn from this clever band.
- Monitor your page regularly and reply to comments that pop up.
- Remember that Facebook is for two-way conversation so engage with the chat, don’t just click the like button and think you’ve done enough.
- Keep feeding new and interesting material onto your page. If there’s nothing there, there’s nothing for your likers to share.
- Give your likers what they want. If they like what you post, they are more likely to share it.
- Remember your etiquette. It’s about conversation, not pushing sales onto people. When you reply to comments, do it for the right reasons.
- Understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. There should be a strategy behind the way you use Facebook that underpins everything. Know who is responsible for doing what and just do it.
- The more you put in – the more active and involved you are – the more you will get back.
I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Morth and you’ve found some useful social media advice to take away and apply.
And if you’re love live music and local bands, I encourage you to go to one of the Morth shows. Remember, it’s an experience, not just a show. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for upcoming dates.