ARKELLS

Who are the Arkells?- The Arkells are a Canadian Indie Rock band from

Hamilton, Ontario- Max Kerman, Mike DeAngelis, Anthony Carone,

Nick Dika, and Tim Oxford formed the band while studying at McMaster University

- The band named themselves after the street they lived on which is where they would practice their music

- In 2006 they signed with Dine Alone Records, but later signed with Universal Records Canada

- The band has released two albums, the first being “Jackson Square” in 2008 and the second “Michigan Left” in 2011

Rise to Stardom - In 2008 the band preformed the halftime show

at the Vanier Cup in Hamilton, ON- In 2008 they won a favourite new artist CASBY

Award- In 2010, the group won the Juno Award for

“New Group of the Year”- In 2012, the group won the Juno Award for

“Group of the Year”- The band as toured with other musical acts such

as Lights, Tokyo Police Club, The Postellels, The Maine, Billy Talent, The Tragically and so on

Album Hits

“Oh, the Boss Is Coming” (October, 2008)“The Ballad of Hugo Chavez” (April, 2009)“Pullin’ Punches” (October, 2009)“John Lennon” (March 2010)

“Whistleblower” (July, 2011)“Michigan Left” (September, 2011)

Social Media Presence

Official Site: http://www.arkells.caFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArkellsTwitter: https://twitter.com/arkellsmusicMyspace: https://myspace.com/arkellsmusicYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/arkellsofficialSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/arkells

Interaction Through Social Media

The Arkells have multiple social media sites that allow them to interact with their fans. The official site for the band provides information on upcoming albums, tour dates, events, and so forth, and also has an online store where you can purchase merchandise. Facebook and Twitter allows interaction with fans as well with over 29, 000 followers. SoundCloud and YouTube allow the band to share their music with people so they can listen to it whenever they want.

Online Communities

The Arkells have created an online community that has allowed fans to interact with each other as well as the band. On YouTube the band uploads travel posts where you can see what the band is up to when they are on tour. Over Twitter and Facebook there are “Q & A” sessions where you can ask the band questions. Another interesting thing the Arkells do is their give aways over these social media sites. For example this past Christmas you could enter a contest to have the band send a signed Christmas card to your house, over 1000 people received one. Social media allows fans to interact with the band and for the band to interact with the fans.

The Arkells on SoundCloud

One of the things I like about the Arkells on SoundCloud is that they post all of their songs. Not only do they post their songs but also the songs they cover while performing. I like the fact that they do this because it allows fans who may not be able to make it to a concert, to listen to songs that they may not hear otherwise.

Debra Eckerling’s 5 Social Media Tips

1) Find your audience2) Post meaningful/sharable content3) Engage Fans 4) Handout swag/put up flyers5) Post constantly

1) Finding a Following

I believe that the Arkells have found a following of loyal fans, and I think that being a local band from Hamilton has contributed to the majority of their following being in the Hamilton, Toronto or Niagara areas. Through local performances at bars, clubs, and universities (they performed at brock this past September), and performing across Canada and world wide, their following will only continue to grow.

2) Post Meaningful/Sharable Content

Although the majority of posts on social media sites are about the band, whether it be recording, or tour dates or just random things they do post things that are meaningful to fans. They often respond to fans, and thank fans for continuing to support them. And they sometimes post inspiration quotes from other people.

3) Engage Fans

Fans are engaged with the bands through social media. They are able to connect through “Q & A” on Twitter and Facebook, and contests. You can see what the band is up to on tour with their online video blogs posted to YouTube and so forth.

4) Hand Out Swag/Put Up Flyers

The official site allows you to purchase Arkells merchandise, although I do not know if they hand out merchandise at their concerts or other events. Flyers have been used to promote the Arkells, at Brock this past fall you could find Homecoming posters all around campus with the Arkells name on them.

5) Post Constantly

Facebook and Twitter are probably the most constantly posted on. Twitter seems to be updated daily with information about the band through Tweets. YouTube seems to updated a lot as well with the band posting their travel videos. Songs are added to SoundCloud whenever they record something new!