AI Summary
→ WHAT IT COVERS Heavy metal musician Zeke Sky explains how he built a social media following during COVID by focusing on Instagram and Facebook ads, spending $5,000-6,000 over years while creating music videos and maintaining consistent posting. → KEY INSIGHTS - **Social media durability over physical venues:** COVID exposed physical music venues as vulnerable while internet infrastructure proved durable. Sky pivoted entirely to digital presence, recognizing direct artist-to-fan interaction through social platforms represents the future model for musicians and brands. - **Ad testing with limited budget:** Sky ran ads for approximately $1,000 yearly, testing 10 video variations to identify top performers. He left the best-performing content running for a year, focusing on cost-per-click to YouTube rather than spreading budget across multiple campaigns simultaneously. - **Process-focused goals over outcome metrics:** Sky advocates setting victory conditions around constant growth and meaningful work rather than specific follower counts or record deals. He emphasizes that achievement milestones become normal quickly, making process commitment more sustainable than chasing external validation or material rewards. - **Niche carving through persona clarity:** Sky combined fitness content, guitar performance, and inspirational messaging because it authentically represented him, not as calculated persona building. He focused on defining success parameters within his specific niche rather than broadly picking a category, creating distinction in heavy metal's crowded landscape. → NOTABLE MOMENT Sky describes reaching 20,000 Instagram and 100,000 Facebook followers as creating an addictive mental state requiring deliberate recalibration. He compares the dopamine rush from thousands of likes per post to Gollum finding the ring, acknowledging the psychological difficulty of maintaining perspective. 💼 SPONSORS None detected 🏷️ Social Media Marketing, Music Industry, Personal Branding, Audience Building