The Grateful Dead And Social Networking

I follow the Grateful Dead on Facebook. They might be an older band that doesn’t get a whole lot of attention today, but they sure know how to capitalize on the latest social technology trends.

Aside from giving bits of band history, updates on living band members and interesting GD trivia, fans who follow the GD on Facebook get free songs! I think I’ve downloaded three in the past couple of weeks. We’re talking about full tracks here, not just 30-second samples.

Does this take profits away from the band? Not in the least. Does it cheapen their brand? No way. In fact, since downloading those free songs I’ve been inclined to go onto iTunes and buy some more GD music. The key word being buy.

This is just one more anecdotal example of how giving away free stuff can help increase your profits. Indie authors out there, take note. If you have a lot of back titles, give a few away to your readers for free. If you’re just starting out, give your ebook away for free to build a name for yourself.

Say what you want about their music (as long as it’s not negative!), but the GD were/are marketing geniuses. We all can learn something from them.

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