You’ve been practising your instrument for hours on end, you’re in a band with some of the best musicians around, and you’ve got a gig coming up. But how are people going to find out about it? Social media is so essential nowadays that many bands won’t even promote gigs without having an established social media presence. This blog post will cover some tips on how to get started with social media marketing as an artist and show you how to cultivate a loyal following of followers who will help bring your music into the spotlight.
Analyse Your Audience
To get more engagement on social media, you need to first learn about your audience. First off, ask yourself, “who am I talking to?” and then think about their interests. What are they into? What kind of music do they like? This will help you find the best way to reach them through posts on Facebook or Instagram, for example. You can also use Google Analytics (or another analytics program) to see how people found your page in the first place – this might give you a clue as well.
People use social media for different reasons. For example, some people might not want to follow you on Facebook because they don’t like the posts you put up there – but they may be interested in following you on Instagram because your content is exciting and relevant to them. So, you need to figure out who your audience is and what they want.
Post Regularly
Posting regularly means that you are posting on social media at least once a week. This is important because it keeps your fans updated with what’s going on in the band and what they can expect to hear next. If you only post every month, people might forget who you are and start following someone else instead of waiting for new content! It also helps build anticipation for when your music does finally come out.
If you’re not sure what to post, keep it simple. Sometimes, a good photo or video clip is all you need to engage and interact with your followers.
Take advantage of hashtags by using them as often as possible during updates about live shows or album releases – they will help bring more attention to those posts and allow others interested in the topic to find them more easily.
Interact With Your Fans
This is the key to success. It doesn’t matter how good your music is; if you’re not engaging with people on social media, they won’t know who you are and what you do. There’s a lot of advice out there about using hashtags and other sources, but it boils down to one thing: be yourself.
This means showing that fun side of yourself, too – playing some games or cracking jokes. You should also have something for everyone; don’t just share photos from last night’s gig. Instead, mix up your posts by posting pictures from rehearsal, an interview with someone in the industry, behind-the-scenes footage at a show or video clips from old gigs.
If you have a website and cannot access all the messages, hiring the best live chat provider to install chat software would be wise. This software could elevate your customer services and boost engagement even on social media when you cannot keep up with the massive requests online.
Schedule Your Posts
The best way to grow your followers is by scheduling posts on social media. Post pictures of yourself and links to new songs or previews for upcoming shows. If someone goes out and buys a CD after seeing one of your tweets about it – that’s the ultimate goal right there.
You should also make sure that when you schedule these posts, you are thoughtful enough to consider time differences, so they will go live at times when fans will have time to see them.
The best way to get started with scheduling posts is by using Hootsuite or Buffer, which allows users to schedule posts ahead of time across multiple platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Use a Personal Tone and Show Your Personality
The first step in successfully communicating with your audience is to show who you are as an artist. Using a personal tone will help you do this. Your social media should reflect how passionate and driven you are, as well as your personality in general. To show your personality, use quotes that you find meaningful, come up with a hashtag for your social media account that has something to do with who you are as an artist and what kind of music you create.
It’s crucial to establish a connection between the audience and yourself. Share things about yourself to help them get closer to knowing who you are- whether it’s a song you penned or an event coming up.
Share Engaging Visual Content
One of the most important things you can do on social media is engaging with your fans. When people see that they’re appreciated, it’s more likely that they’ll stick around and become long-term customers or supporters of your work! Engaging visuals are an easy way to show appreciation for those who have clicked ‘like’ or followed you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Visual content includes pictures of new outfits and short clips of you in the studio.
It also includes videos: these could be live performances, tutorials teaching how to play certain songs or even just clips showing behind the scenes moments at recording studios. If you’re not uploading consistently, it’s easy for people to forget who you are. So don’t wait too long between posts, and remember that the more content you share, the better!
Share Content With Your Fans
Social media is a great way to show your personality and share content from your fans. One of the best ways to do this is by creating an Instagram account that’s exclusive for sharing fan-generated content with followers, not just pictures of you on stage.
Use hashtags like #fansign or #proudfan when posting photos so people can find them more easily. It also helps if social networks are available in different languages – choose one that matches where most of your audience lives.
Don’t forget about video sites like YouTube, which enables you to upload concert footage and audio recordings to give music lovers around the world access without travelling anywhere near you.
Responding and sharing content regularly means you’re more likely to engage new fans, as well as retaining the ones who’ve already found you.
Some ways you can increase engagement:
– Add images or videos to your posts. This is especially important for Facebook and Instagram because they prioritise those types of media over text content.
– Engage your followers by asking them questions about their favourite bands, songs, albums and artists. You can even ask for song requests if they have any.
– Share diverse content that is more conversational rather than promotional. You want to create a community where people can feel like they’re talking with you.
– Use hashtags related to your post or industry and aren’t too specific so that more people will be able to find them.
Optimise Your Social Media Profile
It’s crucial to optimise your social media profile. This will help you connect with your fans. Website links are a good way of giving people who visit your profile more opportunities to engage with what you’re doing online. They are also a good way of drawing attention to your other online endeavours.
If you have an album available on iTunes, make sure to include the link in your profile. To optimise your social media profile, you’ll want to standardise your online identity.
First, choose a profile picture for yourself that’s representative of who you are. You can use an existing logo or images from your album cover that’s already on the internet.
Next, make sure that all other social media profiles have similar logos. This will help people recognise you more across multiple platforms. It also helps with branding consistency because every time someone sees the icons associated with your ID, then they know right away that it is you.
Create a Group for Your Fans
Some musicians have found success by creating a group for their fans to share content, photos, and, more importantly, their music premiers. For example, the musical act Pomplamoose has more than 450k followers on Facebook and regularly shares posts about upcoming shows and video previews of songs in progress.
If you’re not sure how to start a group, head over to Facebook and search for the term “group.” You’ll have the option of creating one yourself or joining an existing one. Once you establish your group, make it public so that anyone can join.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it’s important to remember that social media is an effective tool for musicians who want to get their music out there and reach new audiences. It can be difficult at first, but once you find your groove with a few critical strategies like scheduling tweets, joining Facebook groups explicitly tailored for musicians, and staying on top of trends in the music industry, you’ll start to see the benefits. With a bit of creativity and persistence, it can be incredibly rewarding for those who put in the effort!
