MAKE THE MOST OUT OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MUSICIAN 1

Remember a time when social media used to be fun and simple? You’d post random funny stuff and your friends would give you the thumbs up, you’d join relevant groups and get updates on the topics you’ve chosen and your biggest worry were those fake “Find out who’s looking at your profile” apps.

So, why is everyone so obsessed with social media today?

For an individual user, it’s an opportunity to present yourself in a completely new manner, a narrative you have complete control of, but that’s just scratching the surface because, for a brand or business, social media means exposure, recognizability, engagement and most importantly, sales. And all that for free (well, up to a point at least).

For an up-and-coming musician, using social media the right way is almost as key as the quality of music you create. It’s where people come into first contact with your music, become fans, and finally “customers” of your brand. Social media has become as important as the studio, as important as the stage. A well designed and perfectly placed music video could get shared thousands of times and you could become famous overnight.

Getting a viral video isn’t easy though, you need to establish a personal connection with your core audience, make them fans not only of your music but of you the person (or your band) as well and motivate them enough to serve as your ambassadors.

There is no magic stick that will take you to this desired place but fear not, luckily, there are some basic rules that can help guide you while creating original content for multiple platforms has never been easier, so, with a little devotion, you also can make great use of social media.

As with any other work, you need to start at the ground level. We already mentioned that social media is where fans come into first contact with your music but music is not the first impression they will have when they go to your profiles. Profile photos, cover videos, account descriptions and information are some of the aspects of social media that can make the difference between a user checking out your posts and the user leaving the page immediately and never coming back.

This is why it’s incredibly important to optimize your profiles and maintain brand consistency across all platforms. So how do you do that without devoting all of your time to social media while neglecting your music?

When it comes to optimizing your profiles, most of the work can be set up once and refreshed only occasionally. Every platform has a unique aspect on it's the profile page and you need to make as much use of them as possible. Facebook’s cover video option allows you to share whopping amounts of information the moment a person loads your page (we used a whole promo video). Instagram only allows a clickable link in the description so it’s important to link your YouTube channel, merch & gig info, etc. Your profile picture is, of course, key, this is how your fans recognize you so it’s best to keep this photo the same across all platforms, just make sure your photos and cover videos perfectly fit the required size so nothing is cut off.

On the road to becoming a successful artist, branding will become something you have to deal with on a regular basis, sooner or later. The images you use, videos you post, topics you talk about and even the fonts you use, all create a unique visual identity that separates you from thousands of other artists and bands.

Try to maintain your brand identity over different social platforms. This doesn’t mean you’re supposed to share the exact same stuff (far from it, more on that later), but make sure the content you do post contains elements that quite evidently represent you, starting with the colors, fonts, animations and finally, topics. Every video can have a unique intro and every new release can have a one-of-a-kind beat visualizer video. Make sure everyone recognizes your music, even on mute.

Another question that will trouble anyone new to running official social media pages is “How often should I post?

As productive you might be with your primary work, you will never have enough music content to keep your pages alive and truly engaging. Adding to that, your posts need to variate to keep different people interested.

Luckily creating content is easier than ever so you should be covered when it comes to content, but there’s no simple answer when it comes to regularity of posting. Some articles claim you need to post twice a day but for someone without a team dedicated to social media, that can be hard. Also, some research shows that for smaller pages (up to 10k), posting too much can have a negative effect:

According to HubSpot: “Companies with less than 10,000 followers that post more than 60 times a month receive 60% fewer clicks per post than those companies that post 5 or fewer times a month.”

This would mean you should post once a week but a post on most days will hardly be considered spamming. You need to find that sweet spot in between and unfortunately there's no substitute for trial and error. The sweet spot will be defined by a mix of your personality, the content you post and of course, your fans’ preferences.

Normally, your music is why you’re reading this and you’ll want to make it the centerpiece of every social platform page. Whether it’s your latest release, full album, a video of your live performance, or even a short teaser of an upcoming release, all channels should be overflowing with your music. Explore different ways of giving your music a more personal vibe. A backstage picture or a video from a band practice/recording room can make watchers feel included, building relationships and creating true, devoted fans.

When it comes to the music though, keep in mind that, unlike Soundcloud, the biggest social platforms don’t allow you to simply post audio. For Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. you will need to create some kind of video to go with your music. For years promotional YouTube channels have used awesome imagery from services like Unsplash, but as previously mentioned, you need to find a way to stand out so, assuming you don’t have the budget for recorded music videos, why not try music visualizers?

For a relatively low price, you can create stunning visuals directly from your beats and have every video branded with your logo, album cover, and brand colors. And the best part is the templates come in formats prepared for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and even vertical videos so you can share your music as stories.

In the time between new releases, gigs and sets you need to communicate your plans regularly, keep your fans in the loop and build excitement for whatever comes next.

A video slideshow report from an awesome gig, dates, and venues for your upcoming tour, merchandise websites, candid snaps from the studio, or even your free time, why not? Limited times for which Instagram stories appear to give them great power to build excitement and hype. Is the first song for your new album ready? Post a teaser on Instagram stories and give your biggest fans a time-limited chance to experience a future hit single. It will be a big reward for your everyday followers while driving crazy the ones that missed it.

As good as your music might be, you want to create a stronger connection with your followers. A good although a bit risky way to do this is to get involved in other topics, outside of music.

What are your hobbies, what are you passionate about? Decide on 2-3 key themes outside of music and try to stick by them, for a while at least. There are several safe themes when it comes to the internet, a cute pet will automatically get you tons of likes, gaming is grabbing insane amounts of attention but of course, you can always be a little bit edgier. Social topics might be touchy these days but if there’s a goal you’re passionate about, go for it. Never be afraid to show your true self.

As long as you keep it personal, sincere and respectful, any theme can do the work. The fans want a bond not only with the music but with the person behind the music. Put yourself out there, show them who you are and they will repay it in different creative ways.

We’ll pause it here, but make sure you check out part 2 where we’ll talk about triggering engagement and the problems of navigating between different social platforms and different audiences.