A street team is a group of fans brought together to help promote an artist or band. Street team members help the artists by bringing friends to shows, convincing others to buy the artists' music and merchandise, contacting radio stations and requesting the artists, putting up posters, sending emails and online bulletins and announcements, posting to online message boards, creating graphics and website devoted to artists and more.
A street team can be an independent band's lifeline - taking what is more than likely a limited promotional budget and making the most of the most effective advertising available: word of mouth. A street team is more than just a group of fans who have come together. These fans become evangelists and spread the word about you and your music.
Just think about it: your fans have friends who have similar interest to theirs. They talk to these friends about you and your music and create new fans in the process. And the new fans tell others about your music and so on and so on and so on. That might sound like an old shampoo commercial, but it really works. And the name of your act and your music spreads in a way that traditional advertising cannot provide. And given the technology that's out there now, the possibilities are endless.
Now take these new fans and create a community for them. Make them feel special and give them the tools that they need to promote you. Companies such as FanRising.com have been created to give you a way to set this up and also gives you a way to reward your fans for their efforts as well. Stay connected with them through the community and offer them prizes and rewards for their continuing devotion. This helps them feel as if they're a process of your success and also keeps them energized because they feel a personal connection with you and your musical career.
What's in it for you? You get a promotional team willing to do whatever it takes to tell others about you and your music.
So how do you get started? Set up a team with a company like FanRising.com and invite your current fanbase to join. Set up activities to recruit others to the team, as well as tell others' about your music. Offer new street team members an exclusive item, be it a t-shirt, a CD or an MP3 not found anywhere else. Chat and post on the street team's message boards to let those who have joined know that you're appreciate of their efforts. Encourage them to send in their ideas about promoting you and consider utilizing some of those ideas. If you're looking for gigs, have them contact venues locally for you and help you get shows set up. If you're looking to promote gigs, offer your team members posters to put up around the venue, at record stores and elsewhere. Have them post links and banners to sell your CD's.
How do you keep the team active? Continue to give them a way to communicate with you and each other and those in charge of the team. It's best to get someone to help you run the team so that when you're busy making music, someone else can be spending time with your team members and keeping them active. Many street teams are set up on any given day, but much less are actually active. MAKE your team active and always have something going on.
See what other bands/musicians are doing with their teams and take your cue from those that seem to have been successful at it. Take time at your shows to meet with your street team members and to thank them in person.
All of these things will ensure your team does what it's supposed to do: promote you and continue to do so.