Social media is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways for artists to promote their music.
However, promotion is more than posting random pictures on Facebook and Instagram. Crossing your fingers and hoping your following doubles overnight isn’t gonna get the job done.
Algorithms and technical aspects have made social media management more of a science than a hobby. There are now specific ways to use social media to increase your following and engage your fans. Let’s take a look at some tips to help you promote your music.
Write Blog Posts
Writing blog posts isn’t as daunting as it sounds. You don’t have to write a perfectly SEO optimized 1,000-word blog post for this tip to be effective. But by all means, if you do know how to do that then go right ahead!
All you have to do is write a few blurbs about a local show that you performed last night with some eye-catching pictures sprinkled throughout the text. Or you can write about a great line-up that you performed in on Saturday night. Write about a hidden meaning behind one of your songs or the story behind your band.
You could also do something about hiring a band for a wedding or house party. If you rank for keywords related to that subject, people will find your blog post and hire you instead of someone else.
The point of writing blog posts is that you can share them on your social media sites for other people to see. Tag your band partners, the venue that you performed in or even the other bands that were in that awesome lineup with you. Chances are, they will see it, like it and even share it. And the more engagement you receive on these social blog posts the better.
Create Contests
Everyone loves winning free stuff, right? One of the best ways to grow your social media audience is to include a few contests throughout the year that gives away some great prizes. Remember that contests aren’t only about getting entries. They are about getting entries that convert to followers and fans. So, give away prizes that relate to your band and your music.
With that said, your prizes don’t have to be anything crazy expensive like a $300 pair of headphones. Instead, give away something exciting and worth people’s time. Give away an autographed album or free tickets to your next show.
You can do photo contests, video contests, caption contests, a comment and share contest, or a sweepstakes. The more creative you are, the more engagement you should receive.
Post Content With A Wow Factor
The content that tends to do the best on social media is the content that exemplifies a wow factor. This can be anything from an intense guitar solo to your lead singer hitting a breathtaking note or a rapper with a crazy sick flow.
Keeping these wow factor clips short and sweet will increase the chance of your video being shared and going viral. It also makes sure to keep your audience’s interest and ensure that they watch the video until the end. Because who has time to watch a 10-minute long video of live songs with fans screaming in the background?
Set Up Google Alerts
Google Alerts are easy to set up and highly beneficial to your social media game. Setting up a Google Alert will allow you to receive email notifications when someone publishes new web content on your keyword. And you can set up as many Google Alerts as your heart desires.
You can set up Google Alerts for your band name, names of your singles, your EP, your personal name and anything else that you can think of. Once you receive your Google Alert for your keywords, you can take that content and share it on your social platforms. Showing your audience what others are saying about you can be beneficial to your brand.
You can also set up Google Alerts for content that you think your audience would find entertaining. For example, set up an alert for the genre of music you play or a performer that you look up to. You should share this content as well because your social content isn’t about you- it’s about your audience.
Make Your Social Platforms Interactive
Many people forget that social media is all about interacting with your fans. Of course, this includes responding to comments and direct messages. But you can be so much creative with it than that.
Once you have a decent following on your social platforms you can implement fun, interactive measures to engage your audience. You can do this by asking them to post homemade clips to one of your songs for you to feature in a music video. Then, edit all the clips together and create a fan mashup to your song.
You can also ask your followers to submit artwork for the cover of your next single. Creatively interacting with your fans yields free advertising to not only your followers but to all your fan’s followers as well. Plus, you get a free music video out of it.
Don’t Overwhelm Your Fans
With all these new tips and tricks to engage your audience on your social platforms, you are probably itching to start posting on your social media. However, while it’s important to engage your audience and post consistently, it is also important not to bombard your fans with content. This can become both overwhelming and flat out annoying.
You want to find a happy medium within your social calendar. Post enough to keep your audience engaged, but don’t post the same music video every other day in hopes that it will blow up.
Promote Your Music On Social Media
At the end of the day, social media is a great tool to connect with your current fans and promote your music to new fans. Remember to use social media as a marketing strategy for your music instead of posting pictures of you and your band drunk after your last show.
Take a look at our social media blog posts for more social media tips and tricks and expert advice on how to make money online.
