A few weeks ago I gave some advice on using video and Facebook to gain some clout when following up with potential fans at a music conference. We recently employed this tactic at the NACA conference at East Stroudsburg University. But this time, instead of paying people to eat random things (like we did in Lancaster), we decided to go a different route.

Using Curtis “King” Crispin’s big brain and laser-pointer thermometer, we created a mini-event in our booth. The “Hottest Ass Contest” was born:

The execution of the contest was a 3-step method that happened in tandem. Ryan would talk people into our booth and explain our contest. Curtis would use the laser-thermometer to take the temp. All the while I would write down the info presented on each person’s badge (name and school) with their individual ass temperature. We’d leave them with a postcard and a copy of Die Humpin! and a dollar for participating.

The week that followed was hectic. We searched for everybody we talked to on Facebook and friend-requested them with a message that read like this:

Yo! Thanks for stopping by and talking to us at NACA. Also thanks for participating in our “Hot Ass” Contest. The average temp was 80.17907 degrees. You registered [their temp], so you’re right on track. We’ll have some video of the whole thing posted soon. Have a good one!

The beauty of this technique was that we didn’t have to waste time rehashing the details about our band, or worry about them not responding if they didn’t like our music. In fact, we didn’t talk about our band at all, we talked about THEM and they definitely remembered us.

Not only did most of the people we met accept our request. We got a couple of sweet messages back like this:

this:

and this:

Compared to the really lackluster results we got last time by doing the standard thing (emailing the attendee list that’s given to everyone who presents), this method was a smashing success.

Next week: The prank we pulled on Scott Alexander at NACA!

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If you like this article, check out:

The Mild Facebook Stalking Technique For Bands At Conferences: A quick primer on how to use video to follow up and connect with the people you meet at conferences.

What We Learned At NACA: A few things we learned from the last stunt we pulled at NACA

A Few More Things We Learned At NACA: Some quick tips about what to bring and do while you’re at NACA

As the music conference season blasts off with South by Southwest just a few weeks away, I thought I’d share a tip that Ryan and I stumbled upon at the last NACA conference we attended in Lancaster, PA.

As you can see we had a hell of a time:

The way it turned out was that I had recently bought a Flip Mino HD camera and was using it to shoot, well, everything. When we returned, we got the bright idea to cut this video together post it on Facebook and tag some of the folks we met on the video. These people turned into Facebook friends, and then eventually Facebook fans. Had we planned the whole thing out we probably could have maximized this technique to gain at least 100 fans for Facebook.

The moral of the story: Most people will be curious to see themselves in your video. Compared to a standard email, it is so much more effective as a context-building tool. As long as the video is decent and not exploitive, they probably won’t get pissed at you for tagging them.

By the way, I created this video for Derek Sivers’ presentation at South by Southwest, which I highly recommend contributing to if you are a musician. Hopefully he will be teaching people our little trick of being mildly obtrusive using video and Facebook!

1. Bring Video

The videos we made for the conference were a great way to quickly show off our bands to potential show promoters. Having video readily available is a great way to get into a rhythm of pitching several folks at one time, without spending too much time on one person. While that in itself sounds terribly impersonal, the fact of the matter is that there are a ton of bookers at NACA who want to quickly get your message and move on. It’s important to maximize their time at your booth by quickly leaving a lasting impression.

2. Take Video

All the video I took at the event was taken with the awesome and fairly unobtrusive Flip Mino HD camera ($150 at Costco). While this camera has some flaws, its a great way to cheaply document your experience. And while we were mostly just fooling around, it made our booth a bit more of a spectacle and therefore much more memorable to those who stopped by to speak with us.

3. “I got my own booth!”

It seems to be a great advantage to “have your own booth.” We joke about it in the video, but it’s true. At agency booths, there is a wall behind the representative plastered with pictures of 10-50 artists. If you are represented by an agency your picture will be posted amongst these artists. Instead of creating a personal interaction with potential bookers, you are ultra-genericized. You basically trade your awesome individuality for a little more credibility, a deal that I don’t think is necessary until you’ve reached saturation in your own market.

4. Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding) Is Awesome

Yup. Looking past all the sleaziness that you can find out about Dennis Haskins on Google Image Search he seems to be a genuinely nice guy who was more than happy to put up with our stupid shit.

A week ago, Ryan and I went to the NACA conference in Lancaster, Pennslvania to hopefully get gigs for our 3 bands. Here’s video of our experience with a few fun facts about having a booth at a conference:

1. Food Is Key

Having something to eat at the booth is key to having a popular booth. While a couple of booths had candy, we had the freshly baked vegan cookies of Scott Alexander. The fact that they were vegan was a huge selling point too. Since there is a ton of junk food available in Lancaster, many of the visiting students were burnt out on it. But its not everyday that you can try a vegan cookie, and hell it may even be good for you.

We still got weird excuses about food allergies and stuff. Honestly, they probably thought we laced the cookies with drugs or something, we’re pretty strange looking dudes. Add to the that the fact that two out of three of us in the booth were dressed in costume.

2. The Kazoo Paradox

While 90% of the college students are delighted to receive a free kazoo (one of our promo items), only 10% of that group know how to play one. I’ve always thought that kazoos were the most intuitively designed instruments. I was wrong.

As it turns out, people tend to first try to play the kazoo backwards (using the air hole as a mouthpiece). They then figure out the correct orientation only to fail by simply blowing air through it. Next, they blow harder, thinking that more air may create some kind of sound. Fourth, they take the kazoo out of their mouth in frustration. Finally, someone says “Just hum something.” Bingo!

3. Hall & Oates Are No Longer Popular

When pitching our cover project Wild Bonerz, I kept using the fact that we cover Hall & Oates as a selling point. I got a lot of blank stares. As it turns out, if you were born in 1990 or later you probably have no idea who Hall & Oates are, but you probably know the songs. Instead I should have mentioned the fact that we cover Michael Jackson since he just recently, ya know, died. Sorry Hall & Oates, but one of you will have to die to reclaim your spot in popular culture. Sad.