Online chats provide press conference worthy communication in the direct to fan world
We held a live online chat with Justin Pierre on Monday to announce the Motion City Soundtrack / Say Anything co-headline tour. We collectively thought of the idea as we were closing in on the announce day and thought that the best way to deliver the “news” was direct from the band to their fans through this medium. Posting information on the website and the social networks, through press releases, etc., are routine requirements. Online chats take it a step further.
In essence, Motion City Soundtrack held their very own press conference but press credentials were not needed. Viewers from all over the world logged in to participate, and they heard the news first about the tour and got to ask questions directly. And, Justin really enjoyed the interaction.
I monitored and assisted the chat and am further convinced that it’s a highly effective way to communicate with fans. The band to fan relationship can strengthen through this format. The biggest problem I see is that the process in the chat is not conducive for two way communication — the chaos that ensues when fans are sending messages is not easily manageable. There has to be a fix to this — maybe a monitor system that can crawl through the stream and grab the questions and place them in a separate box?
Overall, the technology provides a good value proposition for a person to deliver information in real time to a dedicated group of people and receive instantaneous feedback, without overt formality.
