From Inside the Studio: Social Media for Musicians 101

From Inside the Studio: Social Media for Artists 101

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Hello! Ace here from Pacific HQ to talk about the dynamic, evolving world of social media and how you as an artist can utilize social media to its fullest extent. So here’s a crash-course, entry-level lesson on how to use social media to further your music career:

1.) Be native. One of the most common mistakes I see constantly made on social media is that posts aren’t native to the platform, meaning posts on a given platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) aren’t formatted in a way that the platform was intended. And that can lead to little to no engagements from your audience. For example, I’m sure we’ve all seen Instagram pictures with excessively long captions, Tweets with horrendous grammar because it just won’t fit in 140 characters when spelled correctly, and Facebook posts so uninteresting that they can’t garner a single Like. When posting on Instagram, make sure that picture looks good. Ask yourself, “If I were scrolling down Instagram on my phone, would I stop to look at this picture?” Tweet in short, entertaining bursts. And most importantly, post on Facebook with the intention of telling your story – post a picture from your day in the studio, a sneak peak at a new music video, or an audio clip of your upcoming single. When it comes to Facebook, take advantage of the fact that Facebook allows almost every form of digital media on it’s platform because 1 of every 5 page views in the U.S. is on Facebook. I repeat, 1 of every 5 page views in the U.S. is on Facebook.

2.) Consistency is key. Nothing downplays your online presence like…well, not having any. People the world over spend more and more time on their mobile devices so you can imagine how easy it is to become forgotten, uninteresting, and irrelevant in the noisy, digital realm. Shoot for at least one post a day on each platform you manage (with the exception of YouTube).

3.) Add value to them, not to you. Post content that adds value to them, not to you. It’s easy to get excited about personal interests and post them online. But here’s a sad truth about social media: people go on them to be entertained and to add value to their own lives in some way. They want to see an emotional video, retweet a funny Tweet, or read an insightful blog post. Always always always post with your audience in mind – it’s not that what’s important to you isn’t important to your audience, just post them in a way where your audience will care.
4.) Jab, jab, jab, right hook. While presenting some social media strategies at a board meeting, one of the team members asked me: “So you have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram growing, but how do we monetize that?”

It’s a good question, and one that you as an artist are probably wondering too (and if you’re not, you should be!). Remember that effective social media use is a series of jabs followed by a right hook. Jabs are little things that add value to your audience: song snippets, blog posts, funny Tweets, etc. And then when that album release date comes around or tickets to your next gig go on sale, BAM – you hit em with a right hook. Your audience is now more inclined to purchase a copy of your album or tickets to your next big show because throughout the month, you’ve been jabbing at them, adding value to their lives by doing something more than selling, you’ve been socializing.
5.) Pop goes the culture. Last, but certainly not least, use pop culture whenever you can as it helps you connect with your audience using a common-topic as a jumping point. Social media is a fast-paced world and relevancy is just as important as consistency. You don’t need to be a marketing prodigy to utilize pop culture. Just think, what’s going on the world right now on a local, national, international, and digital level? Think holidays, hit TV shows, Hollywood events, anything on the news, and whatever black-and-blue (or white-and-gold) dress is going viral on your Facebook newsfeed. Don’t forget to connect it with yourself/your group in some way and the overall tone of your music.

 

And that wraps up this crash course lesson on social media! Be sure to catch next month’s “From Inside the Studio” post in the April newsletter. And remember, sell sometimes, socialize always.

-Ace