What I Actually Need From You This Halloween (Patreon)

Why Meaningful Comments Matter More Than Links with my next Livestream Celtic Halloween show

The reach problem

Every time I post a link off Facebook, that post gets buried. That's just how the algorithm works. Links to Bandcamp, my website, or anywhere else outside the platform tell Facebook I'm trying to pull people away. So it shows the post to fewer people. Which means fewer of you ever see the concert announcement in the first place.

So for my next livestream, the Bandcamp link only lives in one place: the Facebook event page itself. Every other social post, on Facebook, Instagram, anywhere, points people to the event page, never straight to Bandcamp. If that sounds like an extra step, it is, until you understand what actually does get seen.

What actually gets seen

There are really only two ways you'll reliably see what I post:

You've become one of my top follows, meaning Facebook has learned from your past behavior that you engage with my posts, so it keeps showing you more of them.

You interact directly with the event page itself, and not with a quick Like or a one-word comment. A real comment, a genuine reaction, a question, a memory, something with substance. Even "you have cdeeees" LOL

That second one is the part fans can actually control right now, today, without waiting for the algorithm to learn anything about you. A meaningful comment tells Facebook this post is worth showing to more people. Which is the only kind of "share" that doesn't get penalized.

The example: Ghost Stories & Drinking Songs

Take my upcoming Halloween livestream, Ghost Stories & Drinking Songs: A Celtic Halloween Special, on Thursday, October 15 at 8:00 PM Eastern. It's free to watch.

Most fans who support the show give between $15 and $25, and it all goes toward keeping these livestreams going.

The Bandcamp link lives on the Facebook event page and nowhere else. Every other post I make about this show, on my feed, on Instagram, wherever, points to the event page itself. If you want to make sure you catch it, or help other fans find it, here's what actually works:

Comment on the event page itself, not just a Like

Tell me why you're excited, or share a ghost story or a favorite drinking song of your own, or what you'd like to hear

Tag a friend who'd love a Celtic Halloween show, with a real sentence, not just their name

Turn on notifications for the page so you don't miss the next post

Every real comment does two things at once: it tells Facebook to show the event to more people, and it builds the kind of community around the music that a link never could.

Why it's worth the extra effort

A Like takes half a second and does almost nothing. A comment takes ten seconds and does a lot: it puts the show in front of someone who's never heard of me, and it turns a broadcast into an actual conversation. That's the trade I'm asking fans to make, a small bit of extra effort from you in exchange for a lot more reach for the music.

It also means the fans who show up in the comments become part of how new people discover the show in the first place. You're not just watching. You're part of how the word gets out.

Tell me this

Ghost stories run deep in Celtic tradition, tales passed around a fire or a pub table for generations. So here's my question for you:

What's a ghost story or a spooky legend from your own family, hometown, or heritage? Drop it in the comments, on the event page or right here. I might just tell a few of my favorites during the livestream.