VIEW
Three audiences. One strategy built on organic growth first — then expand reach through ads once the foundation is working.
since before we could drive."
- Unproven Reach — 1.6M TikTok views likely came from paid spend, not organic content. There is no proof yet that content can generate its own audience, a full strategy overhaul is needed.
- Broken Conversion — When applying paid reach, views aren't becoming follows, saves, likes, or shares. The content isn't giving people a reason to stay connected after watching. Building community is a needed focus to drive meaningful engagement.
- Organic Content First — Spending money on ads while there are conversion issues will waste money.
| Audience | Age | Platform | Hook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy fans | 42+ | Nostalgia and genre recognition | |
| Millennials | 28–41 | TikTok + Instagram + Facebook | Established, expendable income, culturally hungry — highest conversion potential for merch, tickets, and album sales |
| Gen Z shoegaze revival | 18–27 | TikTok + Instagram | Discovery audience — volume and reach |
AUDIT
A near-zero social presence across every platform. The numbers aren't a failure — they're a starting line. The potential scores below show where the real opportunity lives.
Not every platform is worth equal energy. Understanding where the real growth potential lives and why is what makes the difference between scattered posting and a strategy that builds.
Gen Z shoegaze lives here natively. Short atmospheric clips and motion graphics are the exact format TikTok rewards. The content style — vibes-based, visual, musical — is built for this platform. Highest priority for organic growth.
The legacy audience lives here alongside older millennials. Strong audience fit but Facebook's organic reach has been declining for years, so growth potential is real, but likely capped compared to TikTok. Best used for community building and Meta ad targeting rather than discovery.
Millennials and Gen Z are both active here. The aesthetic grid and Reels format suit the visual brand well. Millennials on this platform are career-established with expendable income — highest conversion potential for merch, tickets, and album sales. Secondary discovery platform behind TikTok.
YouTube rewards consistent long-form output and SEO strategy, which is not our best strategy. The best way to use this platform is to make solid use of the description section to divert users to a sales funnel. Not a primary growth platform for this campaign, but still useful.
VOICE
Three qualities that live in every piece of copy. Not loud — present. Not performed — felt.
since before we could drive."
Every piece of copy lives in the world this line creates. If it doesn't feel like it belongs next to this sentence, it doesn't belong.
- Doesn't announce themselves but their energy stays with you
- Reads the room and moves on its behalf for the sake of joymaking
- Bold and big at the right time in order to bring everyone together
- Funny but never makes you the butt of the joke
- Says the thing everyone was thinking, but understated
- Moves with intention rather than urgency — still punchy, never sluggish
- Willing to try new things and ideas
- Discourse is easy — disagreeing is allowed for the sake of growth
- Everyone is welcome to the fun
- Join the ride
- Feels things in the gut — raw, instinctual, sensory
- Responds to sensed things without being ruled by it
- Underneath everything is a rich, unique, inner world with layers and depth
The specific nostalgia of being in a car, windows down, a song playing that feels like it was written for exactly that moment. Going nowhere in particular. Not sad. Not happy. Just completely, electrically present. Alone or with the right people — both feel the same in this music. Every caption should make someone feel like they're already in that moment — wherever and whoever they're with.
| Voice | Used For | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| In Person | Bedroom sessions, gear, behind the scenes, talking head | TikTok primary |
| We / Band Collective | Announcements, releases, show posts — develops organically | Facebook primary |
| Third Person / Cinematic | Music video drops, press content, motion graphic captions | IG, YouTube, press |
| Gear / Craft | Equipment, studio process, technical details — warm, informed, precise. Loves what it knows without performing the knowledge | TikTok + IG |
| Context | Caption |
|---|---|
| Atmospheric Visual | "This is our favorite song off our new album, [album name]. We recommend the following listening applications: drive to nowhere, work hyper-focus, dark alley with bad guys (motivational track to inspire the right amount of chaos). What's your favorite way to listen? Tell us in the comments." |
| Music Video | "Machines started as a little baby song seed. Now look at it. We're so proud of our little bundle of joy. Do you have song seeds? Tell us about something you're writing." |
| Nostalgia | "Remember crappy bars? How they smell like old beer and cigarettes? Let this be an olfactory revival. @favorite-band-to-play-with remembers, don't you ;)" |
| Sync Placement | "Borderlands 4 put us on the in-game radio. Apparently the apocalypse has taste. #borderlands4 @borderlands" |
| Gear | "The [pedal name] has been on every record we've made. It does one thing and it does it perfectly. Shout out to @pedal-company for making a real work horse. We love it. May we never part ♥" |
FUNNEL
How attention becomes community and community becomes revenue. Two states: what exists now and what gets built as the audience grows.
- TikTok video — primary discovery for Gen Z and Millennials
- Facebook post — primary discovery for Legacy and older Millennials
- Instagram reel or post — secondary discovery across all audiences
- YouTube Short — mirrors TikTok content, passive discovery
- Stream / Buy Machines — primary music CTA
- TikTok Shop — CD and album purchase
- Early Access to the New Album — email capture. Leave your email, we'll send it before anyone else hears it.
- Website — general brand home
Info Capture Only
CD / Album
Early Album Access
A giveaway mechanic gives people a specific reason to act at the bottom of the funnel rather than passively watching and moving on. Two types worth discussing with the band:
- Info Grab Giveaway — sign up for early album access and get entered to win something exclusive. Low barrier, high list-building value. The prize doesn't have to be physical.
- Sale Giveaway — make a purchase and get automatically entered to win something bigger. Turns every transaction into a two-for-one moment.
Specific prizes and mechanics to be decided with the band.
- No merch beyond CDs — limited purchase options at point of discovery
- No email list infrastructure yet — early access CTA needs a home before it goes live
- No giveaway mechanic — nothing creating urgency to follow or sign up
- Funnel is short — awareness to purchase with very little in between
- Follower growth rate per platform
- Post engagement rate — likes, shares, saves, comments
- Video completion rate — are people watching all the way through
- Organic reach per post — views without paid support
- Linktree click-through rate
- Emails captured via early access CTA
- Merch bought — CD and album sales
- Breakout post tracking — first post to hit organic threshold
T-shirt, hoodie, and mug giveaways are low-cost, high-return engagement tools. Structure every giveaway to require a follow and an email sign-up to enter. The prize is the product. The real win is the list and the follower count.
- Follow on TikTok + drop your email = giveaway entry
- Share the post = bonus entry
- Tag a friend = additional reach at zero cost
When the following has more traction, we introduce High Tea with Julie. A live call with more dedicated fans where Julie has baked something the previous day and is having tea on the live call with followers. Three to five subjects get the tea conversation going. Julie "shares the tea" if there's any insider news and updates. Followers are invited to bring their own tea and bakes to the call and share about it.
The invite mechanic flips the typical email grab — fans send Julie an invitation to High Tea via an email capture form in the Linktree. The inverse approach makes engagement desire visible and is more playful than a standard sign-up. The invite form itself is a Capsules-branded card — as close as cyber brutalism can get to a frilly tea invitation. Julie goes live when enough invites come in.
Not ready to execute yet — build the audience first. Lives in the Linktree once email infrastructure is in place.
- Stream / Buy — music across all platforms
- Shop — POD merch store
- TikTok Shop — native purchase for TikTok audience
- Early Access to the New Album — email capture
- Vinyl Pre-Order — Qrates campaign when album is announced
- Invite Julie to High Tea — email capture, future community activation
- Pre-Save on Spotify — when album is announced
| Stage | What Happens | Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Content reaches new audience through organic posting and paid ads | TikTok, FB, IG, YouTube |
| Interest | Follow, visit profile, click link in bio | Linktree, TikTok profile |
| Conversion | Buy merch, sign up for early access, enter giveaway, pre-save album | TikTok Shop, POD store, email capture |
| Loyalty | Email list member, repeat buyer, High Tea attendee, superfan | Email list, live activations |
- Everything from current analytics
- TikTok Shop sales and SKU performance
- Merch revenue per SKU — which products are selling
- Vinyl pre-order units
- Cost per email acquired once ads run
- High Tea sign-up rate
- High Tea live engagement — viewers, comments, retention
- Follower-to-engagement ratio — are followers actually engaging
- Return visitor rate to Linktree
- Revenue per audience segment — legacy vs millennial vs Gen Z
Not a month one priority, but worth thinking about early. An email list is one of the few things a band fully owns. Every social platform can change its algorithm, restrict reach, or disappear. An email list doesn't — and it's often the unsung hero of community building.
Email is often the highest-converting channel available. It has your core, tried and true community that chose to give you information about them, not just a loose social connection. Email open rates run 30–40% on average, far above any social platform's organic reach. When the album drops, the list is how you tell the people who actually care.
- Link-in-bio opt-in page — one clear CTA across all platforms
- Lead magnet — offer something worth signing up for: early access, an unreleased track, exclusive content, first listen to the album
- Pre-save page — when the album is announced, pre-save captures an email and a Spotify follow in one action
- Live shows — QR code at merch table, simple sign-up on the spot
- Keep it personal — write like the band, not like a newsletter
- Don't over-send — 2x per month is enough to stay present without burning people out
- Give before you ask — exclusive content, early access, behind the scenes before any sales push
- Release week is when it earns its keep — a day-of email to a warm list converts better than any ad
DAY PLAN
Three phases. Each one builds on the last. No ad spend until the funnel is fixed.
Rewrite all platform bios — consistent voice, Borderlands hook. Confirm Meta Business Suite, pull baseline analytics across all platforms and deliver full audit. Set up TikTok Shop with existing CD and album inventory. Begin posting from content bank — TT 4–5x/week, FB 3x/week, IG 3x/week, YouTube Shorts mirrors all vertical content. Every TikTok post includes a follow CTA.
Begin engaging shoegaze revival creators on TikTok — targeted follows, genuine comments across 15–40 accounts per week. Tag gear brands in all studio content. Tag and engage partnered bands to begin organic cross-pollination. No ad spend until organic content shows a breakout moment.
Pull month 1 analytics — what content performed, what didn't, which audience segments are responding. Adjust content strategy based on data. Begin The Capsules Story Arc — a defined sequence of content that moves audiences from discovery to investment. Origin story, the music, the process, the people behind it. This runs across all platforms simultaneously in platform-appropriate formats.
Set up email capture infrastructure — early access CTA goes live in Linktree. Begin first giveaway campaign to drive follows and email sign-ups. Once an organic breakout post is confirmed, boost that post as first ad spend. Three audience sets: legacy (42+), millennial (28–41), Gen Z (18–27). Album announcement tied to social metrics, not a fixed date.
Launch mode is shaped by what the data shows. If accounts are warm and readiness metrics are met, begin album launch after the first 90 days. If not warm, continue with the 90 day growth path until metrics are hit.
Drop singles and clip teasers using music videos with coordinated campaign across all platforms. Pre-save campaign live across all platforms. Meta ads expand to three audience sets. TikTok Shop expanded with new merch line if built — ideally live before album drop week. Release week: album drops Friday, daily TT posts, IG grid takeover, email blast to full list, paid ads spike. Post-release: one focus track per week, tour conversation begins.
The album launch is the destination. Every social decision in the 180 day plan is building toward this moment. These metrics determine when the account is ready to release — not a calendar date.
- TikTok followers 25k–50k — minimum audience size for meaningful organic album reach at launch
- Organic breakout confirmed — at least one post has hit significant views without paid support, proving the content can move on its own
- Engagement rate above 3% — followers are real and responding, not passive numbers
- Email list active — a warm list exists and has been sent to at least twice before launch week
- Giveaway run at least once — proves the audience will take action, not just watch
- Linktree CTR showing intent — people are clicking through from content to action, not just consuming
- POD merch live before album drop — missed revenue window if merch isn't ready before release week
AVENUES
Beyond the core strategy — specific opportunities to accelerate growth across discovery, revenue, and reach.
Tag every piece of gear in every studio and live post. Brands reshare tagged content — free reach into gear communities. Fender, Boss, EHX, Strymon, Walrus Audio are all active on social and responsive to organic tags. Every tag is a potential amplification with zero cost.
Identify accounts worth building genuine relationships with — venues, bands, brands, and community figures in the shoegaze and darkwave space. Engage in their comments before asking for anything. Tag them in relevant content. The goal is organic cross-pollination where their audience is already pre-qualified for The Capsules' sound. This lives in Social Strategy execution, not just growth planning.
No inventory risk, no upfront cost. T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, art prints using the wire figure illustrations — all through a print-on-demand service like Printful or Printify, synced to TikTok Shop. Vinyl as a pre-order campaign via Qrates — manufacturing only triggers when the minimum order threshold is met. A simple storefront connected to TikTok Shop handles everything.
Build before album drop. Vinyl tied to album announcement.
When the following has more traction, introduce High Tea with Julie — a live call with dedicated fans where Julie has baked something the previous day and is having tea on the live call with followers. Three to five subjects get the tea conversation going. Julie shares the tea on any insider news and updates. Followers are invited to bring their own tea and bakes to the call and share about it.
Fans send Julie an invitation to High Tea via an email capture form in the Linktree. The inverse mechanic makes engagement desire visible and is more playful than a standard sign-up. The invite form is a Capsules-branded card — as close as cyber brutalism can get to a frilly tea invitation. Julie goes live when enough invites come in.
Not ready to execute yet — build the audience first.
& PRICING
The previous engagement delivered content. This engagement delivers strategy, direction, and paid ad management built around a plan — not three posts and a graphic.
Social strategy sprint delivered at no charge. Bloom builds the foundation, you see the work before committing to a retainer.
- Strategy portal — full campaign document
- All platform bios rewritten for conversion
- 30-day content bank — 32 post concepts and briefs
- 4–6 finished platform-ready assets
- Meta Business Suite setup confirmed
- Platform analytics baseline report
- Monthly strategy session
- 30-day content calendar
- Copy and captions for all posts
- Platform briefs with creative direction
- Hashtag and tagging strategy
- Video editing — raw assets in, platform-ready reels out
- Static graphic production from brand assets
- All content exported and spec'd per platform
- Monthly performance report
- 25 finished posts/mo
- Everything in Phase 2
- TikTok ad campaign setup and management
- Meta ad campaign setup and management
- Three-audience targeting — legacy, millennial, and Gen Z
- Weekly ad performance check
- Pre-save campaign coordination
- Spotify editorial pitch via distributor
- Release week campaign management
- 25 finished posts/mo
- Post volumes are customizable — starter packages available for early growth phases or smaller content pipelines
- Paid ads are not introduced until organic content is converting — follows, saves, and engagement must show meaningful growth before ad spend begins. Typically month 2–3
STRATEGY
Platform roles, content pillars, posting cadence, and the content idea bank for month one.
No ad spend until there is one organic breakout moment. An organic breakout is defined as a single post hitting 10K+ views without paid support, with a meaningfully higher follow rate than average posts. Both conditions must be met — views alone don't prove conversion.
When a breakout happens, the first ad spend boosts that post. Everything after is built on what that post teaches us about the audience. Spending before a breakout means paying to guess. Spending after means paying to scale something proven.
ENGINE
HUB
HOME
ARCHIVE
Build genuine relationships with accounts worth knowing — venues, bands, brands, and community figures in the shoegaze and darkwave space. Engage in their comments before asking for anything. Tag them in relevant content. The goal is organic cross-pollination — their audience is already pre-qualified for The Capsules' sound. This is not about transactions, it's about showing up consistently in the right spaces.
32 post concepts across all pillars and platforms. Available as a separate editing document.
UPLOAD HERE