Remember: don’t spam, be polite, and don’t always expect a response. Tumblr? You created a Facebook account to connect with your friends. How to succeed on Twitter: Tweet several times per day. Although tags might not seem like a big deal, anything you can do to get more eyes on your profiles is a point in your favor. I try to moderate comments twice daily, but hey, weekends and crazy times happen. It doesn’t do you a whole lot of good to have 10 followers here, 15 followers there, two followers over here, and so on. by About Paul Loeb: Paul Loeb has been at the intersection of music and tech for 20 years. We were voted #1 Music Marketing Agency in 2015-2019 DIY Musician Conference Matching these fonts with the font from your website is a great idea as well. Reddit? For instance, if you write a lot of guitar music, you could have a playlist called “Great Guitar Music” that features all your favorite artists. Then get our free ‘5 Steps To Profitable Youtube Music Career’ ebook emailed directly to you! While they may not make it easy, you should be able to find general contact information – or, in some cases, specific “Submission Guidelines” – somewhere on the site. And if social media platforms don't work for you, there is a large selection of other live streaming platforms like Concert Window, Twitch.tv, YouNow, StageIt, Musical.ly, etc. Instead of offering a free download through SoundCloud, ask people for their email address to receive the song. A lot of that has to do with finding your ‘social voice’ and cadence, but a lot of it also has to do with pure experimentation – so have fun with it! You sort through the best of them, edit your video, and remove the red eyes from your photos. If you’re a smaller or niche artist, the below strategies won’t be all that useful to you. Get your ideas down on paper. Use advertising to boost views on your highest performing videos. According to Blue Hornet, it means opportunity. Free downloads or access to exclusive content can be offered in exchange for a fan’s email address. Because 72% of consumers sign up for an email list with the intent to get discounts, there’s your cue to give the people what they want. You could sneak in a couple of your own tracks too. You don’t need to jump on the latest trends to succeed on social media. If they end up closing their doors, your account will be gone. Instead of relying on ‘mix-tapes’ to share music, users are using social media services such as Facebook and Twitter to share their favorite songs and music videos. Upload videos, at least once per week. Instagram is a great place to get a lot of engagement on your visual content, I can’t argue with that. I was assigned to David, and he has been very patient and able to analyze and evaluate my needs, and solve a number of issues and problems that I needed to address. This includes any graphics you may be using in your profile pictures. Music Copyright Guide For Indie Musicians, 7 ways to make money through your music website. All audiences now expect that you keep up with your socials. When it comes right down to it, Twitter is easy, accessible and fun. Through creative promotions and sales, you can hawk your merch via social with no shame. Vary up your content – graphics, photos, videos, quotes, etc. When it’s time for your next release, you can spread the word by sending out an email to your fans! But if I was just getting my start in music today, I would put more energy into Facebook, Twitter and YouTube than Instagram. In the guide below, we’ve outlined the best practices of social media for musicians including how to set up your profiles and come up with a content calendar that totally kills it. What’s the difference between a Spotify pre-save and an Apple Music pre-add? Free musician guides They also have analytics now, so if you’re trying to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, all you need to do is comb through your data. So, when exactly are you posting? And, generally you won’t experience any backlash for making mistakes early on. Here are some artists who have utilized and expressed their color story really well: Next, what are your five social themes? Somos Música - Portuguese You just need to be active and personal. Now, there is a lot of talk out there as to whether you should share your music for free, share samples, or not share it at all. But ever-so-rewarding when it all comes together. Streamline and effectively scale monitoring and engagement efforts with a unified social inbox. Also, if you’re using TuneCore to distribute your newest music and you give yourself a minimum of three weeks lead time, you can take advantage of our Feature Release form that makes its way to editorial teams across digital stores. Interact with the community. There are tons of image creation tools out there like Canva that can help you create your own banner, tour announcement and everything in-between. Post something new, several times per day if possible. Unlike social media, with email marketing YOU own the data. How to Succeed on SoundCloud: Share something new (music or audio), once per week if possible. Why social media marketing for musicians matters so much. Just avoid the common trap of building a huge following on one platform and not collecting people’s email addresses on the backend. Both features let you reduce the amount of time you need to spend each day just figuring out what to post and when to post it, so you can spend more time on everything else on your to-do list. Required fields are marked *, you should not do more than you can do well. Which platforms are your top priorities? This ultimately has been a high-level look at some steps independent artists can begin taking when it comes to not only promoting and selling their music, but also building and engaging with a fan base. So, it’s a little uncertain as to whether it’ll be sticking around over the long haul or if they’ll have to close their doors at some point. That’s why streaming has laid a foundation for new levels of music discovery – and independent artists are not being left out of the fun! The media division consists of several disciplines including content creation, distribution, analytics and advertising technology to guarantee artist’s target audiences are hit. Learn best practices. For starters, consider that your audience is likely glued to social media regardless of your genre. That’s good news for marketers, musicians, and entrepreneurs. They can even embed your release on their website or blog, which could drive up sales, shares and exposure. But so long as they exist and you’re in good standing with them, there’s plenty to like about Bandcamp. Developing a social media calendar How to structure your social media team. Our LAB 7 Teacher Bobby Owsinski wrote a brilliant in-depth article on fonts for musicians here. Networking for new gigs. You can decide whether to allow your audience to stream your music. You can also interact with the community by liking, sharing, and commenting on other videos. But don’t get carried away. You will also join our newsletter list and may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. This involves publishing great content, listening to and engaging your followers, analyzing your results, and running social ads. The common thread between many of the biggest musical names on YouTube? Most of the time, it doesn’t even occur to artists that they can’t just post a picture whenever they’d want and expect to get the maximum amount of likes. Establishing a social media presence and developing a flow of content to share, making your digital assets available in one place, building an email list, and pitching your music to digital outlets are all efforts you can begin focusing on early on in your music career. Since YouTube gives you plenty of real estate in video descriptions, feel free to highlight as many promotions or social profiles as you see fit. Your email address will not be published. Are you stepping outside your comfort zone? Here are the facts when it comes to social media versus email marketing… Social Media vs Email Marketing. But once you do, an entire world of content ideas will be open for you, and the stress of posting will soon be alleviated. On a related note, a huge piece of social media marketing for musicians is authenticity. Choosing the right social media platforms Social media advertising. Let’s be honest: marketing as a musician is tough. The average engagement is 1% for Instagram .17% for Facebook and .05% for Twitter. Your thoughtfulness is going unrewarded. This includes your fonts, colors, logo (optional) and overall writing style. This might seem like a no-brainer, but don’t overlook the importance of going back-and-forth with fans. Sign up to have social media resources sent to your inbox every week. What do you think is the biggest challenge of social media for musicians? Aka, CONTENT. You’d be an idiot not to take advantage of Facebook Live! Interact with other people’s photos (say something of substance – don’t just say “great photo!”). It seems more people are growing wise to the fact that creating playlists can help them. If you’re making music, it’s not unlikely that you’re a fan who has his or her favorite online resources for new music. Posting new content doesn’t have to be a massive production, either. Share your posts on your fan page to your personal profile. The more appealing your images are visually, the more likely people are to hit that “follow” button. And, as people are … Originally developed by Apple for its iPod line of music players, it has become the de-facto music purchase platform for users. Google has slowly been buying up Twitter’s developer products. While an EPK can live on an artist’s website, the two are not necessarily one and the same – think of a website of being fan facing and an EPK to be business facing. Case in point, this cover of the Cranberries’ “Zombie” amassed nearly 130 million views within the span of six months. Listen to our podcast Privacy Instagram is hands down the favorite social these days. You’ll be joining nearly 300,000 marketers who subscribe to Sprout Social’s Insights blog. Ninety-one percent of consumers use email every day. Also remember that your fans can be a fantastic source of content themselves.