It amazes me, sometimes, how much of social media savvy is just common sense. While marketers can spend all their time reading books and consuming webinars without ever “getting it”, some non-marketing-pros (ie, people with intact souls) can just get it right naturally.

A couple of years ago, I noticed that an old friend who owns a record store in Kingston had befriended Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club drummer Cris Frantz on Facebook. Intrigued, I sent Chris a request as well, and was pleased to be added to a growing list of fans.

This was no fanpage, though. It was (and is) just another down-to-earth Facebook presence where the mature rock star shares pictures of his family, his dog, classic music videos, pretty actresses — along with casual updates on Tom Tom Club‘s reunion tour and upcoming album.

Oh, and his dog pictures occasionally include other New Wave legends:

(For you Millennials, that’s Debbie Harry from Blondie, not Madonna or Lady Gaga)

For almost two years, Chris has been building and cultivating a social media community with humble authenticity. As a result, he has earned a devoted following for Tom Tom Club’s new endeavours. That’s because he never tries to sell us anything. He is just himself, a personal online brand, and he’s so likeable and — well — normal that even those who don’t break into an ’80s dance every time “Genius of Love” or “Once in a Lifetime” comes on the radio will want to see or hear him and Tina play.

Will Chris’ daily time commitment to making a few posts and chatting with new friends sell more tickets or albums than not putting himself out there? I certainly assume so. But that’s not the point. What Chris has really achieved is what social media music marketers should really be reaching for: he is relevant and real, and people give a damn what he’s up to these days. And that, in our heavily media-filtered world, is priceless.

Tom also blogs about social marketing (and advertising issues in general) on Osocio and Work That Matters.