Embracing Social Media
This week I attended the Music & Tech networking event here in Denver. This monthly series is a great way for members of the Denver music community to come together, share some tips and tricks, and play some music. I offered to come in and do artist development consultations as a way to help anyone who was struggling in their creative journeys. I asked each person I sat with what his or her biggest challenge was. The most common answer? Social media.
Every single day when I speak with artists, the topic of social media comes up. It's one of those things that has become part of an artist's job if they want to take their music career seriously. It's a tool: it's your online resume, it's a promotion tool, it shows the world who you are, what you're about, and how you define your brand. Those who embrace it are more likely to succeed, those who fight it will fall behind.
The idea of promoting your music is not new. It existed far before social media - decades before. Artists have always advertised their music or their tours, back in the day it was flyers or billboards or radio ads. Today more than ever there are so many different ways to promote your music and social media is a big one of them.
I saw a video recently where an artist was talking about the math behind social media. He used to post once a week. That was 52 times per year he had a chance of being discovered. Then he posted every day - that's 365 chances per year of being discovered. Then he started posting 5x per day. That's 1,825 chances for his music to be discovered.
Look, I get it. Social media rots the brain. It's time consuming to post consistently. It's even more time-consuming to like, comment, DM, share, and interact with people on social media (you should be doing this). Even more challenging is coming up with what to post. You can't just tell people to listen to your song or come to your show anymore, you need to be creative with how you go about it.
But if you WANT PEOPLE TO HEAR YOUR MUSIC, and want to grow your brand in music, you NEED to be on social media.
Here are some tips:
If you want people to hear your music, you need to be on social media
If you don't post at all today, try to start posting 3-5 times per week
If you're already posting, but not consistently, aim for daily
If you post daily, aim for multiple times per day
Post your content across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts
Get on Instagram Threads. I've talked about this before, but it's an amazing place to connect with like-minded people and potential fans. The algorithm is really good at showing you people and content based on your niche
Take one day a week to shoot all of your content. A sunday afternoon for example. That way, you can get it all done for the week and you'll simply be able to post it all through the week without having to record more
Mix in both photos (carousel) and reels
Tell stories. Show people who you are, what makes you unique, what makes you human. Do you like fishing? Cooking? Hiking? Anime? Work that all in
Content pillars that do well: entertainment, education, and inspiration
Always have your phone out to record content. Your writing process, your recording process, your performances, ANYTHING you can document you as an artist and/or human
Don't wait until your song is out to post about it. Post the whole journey from inception to release and even after
Research trends and don't be afraid to try your own take on one
Look at which of your content performs the best, and do more of that
This stuff doesn't have to take a lot of effort. Want to share your new song? Record a video of you making a sandwich and put your song over it.
Social media is just one of the many ways to build your brand. It's not the only one, but it is part of your job as an artist if you want to be successful and hit your goals. If you're struggling, you're not alone. Reach out and let's work through it!
