Showerthought: I saw a busker in Chicago land 30 people in 20 minutes without saying a word
I was walking down Michigan Avenue last Saturday waiting on my wife to finish up at a store, and this guy was set up near the bridge with nothing but a bucket drum and a sign that said 'clap if you like it.' What got me was how many people stopped. I watched for about 20 minutes and counted at least 30 folks pull out their phones to film him, and a good handful dropped cash too. He never pitched anybody, never asked for follows, just played. It hit me that I have been doing the opposite with my posts, begging people to like and share, and it does nothing. He let the thing speak for itself and the crowd did the work for him. So I went home and tried posting a clip with zero call to action, just the thing itself, and it got more reach than anything I put up in the past month. Has anyone else noticed that asking for engagement tanks you, while just showing the goods pulls people in?
The same thing happens with street performers in general, the good ones never have to ask for attention because the show pulls people in on its own. I've seen it at farmers markets too, the vendors who just sit there quietly with great stuff outsell the ones yelling deals all day. Begging for attention makes people think you don't have anything worth their time, but showing off the real thing does the work for you.