If you’re an aspiring music artist aiming to leverage social media to get in the limelight, look no further. Here’s an all-in-one guide to social media marketing for musicians!
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels
A survey conducted in 2018 showed that 57% of social media users had at least one musician in their following list. Today, more and more people are using social media to keep with their favorite artists.
As a musician, gone are the days when you’d hand out fliers before every concert. Instead, one post about it on your social media — and your fans will pour in to show support (provided you have aced your social media marketing strategies).
How will you plan a strategy to attract more audiences to your music then? Read on to find out all the techniques we have curated just for you!
Strategies for Social Media Marketing for Musicians
Social Media Marketing for Musicians #1 — Keep Your Profile Up-To-Date
From updating the most recent links to making sure your display and cover pictures support the given format of the social media site you’re on, every detail counts.
Doing so will help your fans differentiate you from other accounts made in your name. It will also give them easy access to the latest events in your life.
Of course, you do not need to post the link to your latest performance in your Twitter bio since there will be plenty of videos of it that they can find on YouTube.
Instead, if there’s a new pop-up store or gig coming up, you could post its link in your bio.
For instance, see how Taylor Swift promoted her new version of ‘Fearless’ and specified where her fans can find the link to listen to it.
Source: Twitter
Here’s another example of how Beyonce is promoting her new Icy Park collection on Instagram:
Source: Instagram
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Social Media Marketing for Musicians #2 — Make Your Posts Interactive
When your fans follow you on your social media, they are hoping to find a way to interact with you more. No one has the time or energy to go through their DMs after a tiring day, and this is where your posts can help you.
Ask your fans to caption a quick snapshot you might’ve taken during the day, or you could even ask them for their opinion on a snippet of your new song. The latter will build up anticipation amongst your fans, and you might even get some new ideas from them — who knows?
If you have some time on your hands, you can also repost some of your fans’ posts about you and reply to them as Halsey does on Twitter now and then.
Source: Twitter
Another way to make your posts more interactive is to post a link to an effect you might have used in one of your music videos. Check out how Coldplay did it:
Source: Instagram
Social Media Marketing for Musicians #3 — Use TikTok for Your Benefit
Given its sudden rise in the popularity charts, TikTok could be your strongest weapon.
After all, there must be a reason why almost a hundred million people from the United States are active users of the app.
Since youngsters today spend more time on this platform, you will have a broader reach with your videos if you post daily (or even weekly) content on here.
Unfortunately, your videos can only have a maximum duration of a minute, but we think that is enough time to get your message across to your fans. You could join one of the TikTok trends with your bandmates or manager and post about that.
As a follow-up, you could even post a behind-the-scenes video of it, portraying how you got the result. Stuff like that is always relatable to the public.
Look at how a member of BTS took up a dance challenge on TikTok and promoted their song at the same time.
Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@bts_official_bighit/video/6741282343362759938
Meanwhile, we have Lizzo participating in one of the #stitch trends and posting about her experience on the same platform. For this one, she collaborated with another TikTok star, which is yet another way you can increase your reach.
Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@bts_official_bighit/video/6741282343362759938
Social Media Marketing for Musicians #4 — Post More About Yourself
You need not be afraid of boring your fans out by posting about your experience on stage. This type of post is encouraged since it motivates your fans to give you even better feedback the next time you host a concert.
Suppose you do not have any performances to post about at the moment. In that case, you could even upload a short video clip of one of your past performances and reminisce about that day – kind of like a throwback to a specific time.
This post could soon turn into an interactive session with your fans. It’s a great way to keep your audience hooked while also generating more traffic to your social media account.
If you’re on vacation, post a picture of yourself to let them know how you’re doing so that they don’t forget about you. Caption it with something funny or with a reminder that a new album is in the works at the moment.
Doja Cat posted this on her Instagram, which gives us a glimpse of her chilling on a free day:
Source: Instagram
Doja even posted a baby picture of herself, albeit with an unrelated caption. Her fans treasure the picture as it gives some insight into what she looked like prior to the fame, and fans live for that.
Source: Instagram
Social Media Marketing for Musicians #5 — Host Live Events
At times when it’s impossible to perform in front of your fans in real life, you can switch to hosting similar events on social media. This one will require a bit of planning if it’s something large-scale — like an online concert, because you’ll then have to make preparations for the tickets and set the date and time of the event.
However, you could choose something on a smaller scale and go live on social media now and then. This can include live Q&A sessions with your fans, updating them on a new music piece you just made, or even describing the new album of yours that just came out.
The last one is very useful since fans also have their theories to share, and you could ask them to drop a few of their theories in an ask box on your Instagram and talk about them.
Here’s a recap of how John Legend hosted his very own concert from home.
Source: YouTube
Social Media Marketing for Musicians #6 — Tag Other Artists from Time to Time
Let’s face it: fans love a good collab between their favorite artists. Of course, your collaboration doesn’t need to stay limited to your soundtracks only. You can also extend it to your social media.
If there’s a certain collab coming up, you could post about that. But even if you aren’t meeting up with another celeb for this, you could still upload a picture of the two of you to boast about your friendship.
Can’t meet up at the moment? That’s fine, too! You can always retweet or reply to one of their posts on their social media. Fans love seeing these interactions!
After the ‘Save Your Tears’ remix came out, Ariana Grande posted a song trailer and tagged The Weeknd in it, thanking him for this opportunity.
Source: Twitter
On a similar note, Nicki Minaj also posted a video of her and Polo G vibing to their new song on Twitter after it came out:
Source: Twitter
Social Media Marketing for Musicians #7 — Throw In Some Funny Content
We are all naturally attracted to those who can make us laugh. As a musician, having this effect on others should be your main goal because it will prompt them to check out what you have to offer.
If you’re big into memes, you could make one or even share one on your story. Moreover, you might even like to post a funny video of yourself or someone you know, of course, after getting their permission first.
Not only will this help brighten up someone’s day, but it will also bring positive attention toward yourself. As fans, we don’t just want to see our favorite artists’ polished side, which pops up way too often in the media.
Being a bit goofy from time to time will help your fans relate to you on a more personal level, which might tempt others to follow you, too. Of course, there’s a limit to this, and you need to find the line that separates spam from serious.
Here’s how Doja Cat does it:
Source: Instagram
Rihanna is pretty famous for her wholesome posts, some of which also include memes or random pictures. For instance:
Source: Instagram
Social Media Marketing Tools for Musicians
When it comes to social media management software, not many can hold a candle to Postfity.
Postfity is a brilliant social media management tool that allows you to plan, schedule, and publish your content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more.
Features
Besides scheduling posts, Postfity offers features like photo editing and provides innovative templates. This cuts you some slack, as you no longer have to use a different third-party tool to edit photos.
Postfity also sends reminders and notifies you to open your Instagram app and post something yourself.
If you want to keep track of your analytics, Postfity has your back there as well! By providing up-to-date analytics, giving data on the number of shares, likes, and sharing improvement tips with you, Postfity ensures you can rely on it for anything social media marketing-related.
Pricing
Pricing starts at $14.99 a month for mini use and includes 15 accounts.
For pros, it’s $44.99 a month with 30 social accounts, while for agencies, it’s $119.99 a month with a whopping 200 social accounts.
- Spotify for Artists
Spotify for artists allows you to share your music with the world. It is an online platform that helps you with profile management and enables you to reach a much wider audience.
Moreover, it also allows you to pitch your latest ideas in the form of a playlist and highlight songs you want to focus on.
The best part is, you will be paid for your work since the ads generated are used to fund artists.
Features
Spotify for Artists includes several key features. The first of these is the profile tools.
With this feature, you can alter and update your biography whenever you like. You can post photos, quotes and even share links with your fans.
These links may be for fundraising events or concerts.
If you feel you need to promote yourself, make use of the amazing promo cards. These boost the promotion of tracks and albums.
Finally, data analytics keeps track of all your stats, updating you whenever needed!
Pricing
Spotify for Artists is a free platform, with at least one published song needed to access it.
Final Words
And there you have it! A list of all the strategies and tools needed for social media marketing for musicians. Remember to be friendly when posting your content and keep your fans updated on your life.
When not on tour, post some pictures about your daily life. And when you’re working, make sure you build up some anticipation.
Still not sure where to get started? There are several affordable social media marketing tools and agencies out there ready to cater to your needs. Take your time checking them out and choose the one that suits you best.
If you want to schedule your posts to grow your online presence, make sure you give Postfity a try. Sign up for our free 30-day trial today!