Hard rock band Halestorm won a Grammy Award in 2013 and is about to release its fourth album in nine years on Atlantic Records. Lead singer Lzzy Hale is one of the most popular and likeable frontwomen (or men) on social media, where she is pretty much ever-present on Twitter and Instagram. But does popularity pay?

I caught up with Lzzy and guitarist Joe Hottinger (who, incidentally, are two of the nicest people you could wish to meet) on a recent media trip to London to promote their new record. In this special episode of the Digital Download podcast, I chat to them about the band's very personal use of social media, the bond they have with fans, how their fans inspire their music, and ultimately how social media helps them to sell records and concert tickets. We also talk about dealing with trolls and even death threats, and about how to keep pushing yourself to achieve bigger and better things. There's a lot that marketers can learn about relationship building in this episode from the way Halestorm goes about things.

Here's what is discussed in this episode:

Why the band believes having a personal presence on social media is more authenticHow a supportive community has developed around Lzzy independent of her inputHow social media has helped the band sell themselves as artists and benefited themHow fans have come to feel a common bond with band members as human beingsWhy engaging with people on social media creates a personal connection with the bandThe evidence that being personally active on social media helps to sell records and concert ticketsHow Lzzy gains creative inspiration from conversations she has with fans onlineHow band members balance the responsibility of being public role models with being authenticWhy the band doesn't view Likes as currency but uses social media as a mouthpieceHow Lzzy deals with trolls and death threatsHow Lzzy tries to encourage positivity through social mediaHow Halestorm's music has developed over the last few yearsWhy the band believes there is always something to fight for despite its success to dateHow being pulled out of their comfort zone on the last record was the best thing to happen to them

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