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Social Media Banter: The Strategic Power of Controversy

Attracting and holding the attention is the bread and butter of an artist. With the popularity of social media, artists and their teams have consistently used social media-focused marketing practices. Artists have found creative ways to keep their audience interested, engaged, and entertained. The ethics of some of these practices is a topic for another day. At Royalti.io, we do not judge, we simply provide the best tool to manage music catalogs and contracts, track royalties, and analyze metadata. Social media banter can be humorous and light-hearted, but it is often the opposite. Regardless of the tone, it is carefully curated as part of a broader marketing strategy. We will explore how it is used and why. Additionally, we’ll highlight successful scenarios where artists achieved commercial success amidst settled or ongoing social media banter.

The Art of Banter

Provocative interactions on social media draw attention—it’s as simple as that. It’s the art of stirring public interest by leveraging the public’s fascination with the private lives of celebrities. Call it a distraction from reality or a brief respite from everything else they have going on, but humans have always been fascinated by others’ business. As someone wisely said, it’s about “validating our own humanity through other people’s problems,” making us feel less alone. Whatever the reason, one thing is clear: someone realized one day that attention could translate into commercial success if properly channeled. The rest, as they say, is history.

How Does Social Media Banter Function As A Strategic Tool

Viral Potential:

Banter enhances visibility and reach. A well-placed tweet or Instagram post can quickly go viral, extending its reach far beyond an artist’s immediate fanbase. With each like or retweet, the artist’s potential to go viral increases. This surge in visibility often leads to more followers, greater media coverage, and higher streaming numbers. Sometimes, these activities spill over from one social media platform to another, offering cost-effective cross-platform promotion. There’s no better way to boost engagement than by sharing content so juicy that it gets reshared and commented on without solicitation.

Managing Controversy:

Using social media, artists can effectively manage controversy and negative press by controlling their narrative. When artists respond to criticism with humor or a clever retort, they can defuse potentially damaging situations. This approach allows them to share their side of the story and turn the situation into a positive engagement opportunity. Creating and maintaining a public persona has become easier than ever. Social media banter allows artists to reinforce these personas and project the image they and their team want the world to see.

Creating Buzz:

When banter centers around an upcoming event or tour, it creates a sense of urgency and feverish anticipation among fans. Garnering extensive media attention and amplifying the event’s reach is seemingly a worthy consolation for being ‘dragged’ across the streets of social media. The bigger the buzz, the higher the potential sales, from concert tickets to streaming numbers, all thanks to a cleverly timed tweet.

Has Banter Ever Worked 

Naira Marley’s “Am I a Yahoo Boy”  was released amidst a social media firestorm, keeping the artist in the headlines whilst witnessing a surge in popularity.

Time and again, we have seen big names in the music scene take jabs at each other on social media, sometimes subtle, sometimes overt, each time keeping the focus on the combatants and building anticipation for their upcoming projects. 

The 2015 feud between Drake Vs. Meek Mill,  the 2018 clash between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, and the 2020 rivalry between Burna Boy and Davido are just a few that come to mind. As tensions rise and fans rally behind their favorite artists, the spotlight remains on them, providing dedicated media coverage, increased streams, album sales, and social media engagement—a perfectly executed marketing strategy.

Conclusion

Misjudged jokes or comments, as well as playful banter, can easily be interpreted as offensive or inappropriate. These risks are important to consider when using social media banter as a marketing tactic.  Therefore, it is still a good idea for artists and their teams to consider the potential impact of their posts and interactions. In an industry where staying relevant and engaging with the audience is crucial, mastering the art of social media banter is becoming an informal skill.

Positive or negative, the impact of banter on an artist’s career can vary based on the circumstances. While we haven’t seen an artist canceled specifically due to social media banter in Nigeria, over-reliance on this tactic can sometimes overshadow the artist’s music or message. It’s essential to balance it with other forms of content and engagement.

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