How important is learning social media for musicians?
When it comes to selling music, gaining a following, connecting with fans, and anything an artist needs to devote themselves to fully (Yes, alongside the music) – social media is important.
You could go so far as to say that social media is indispensable. Yet many artists find themselves stymied by the learning curve and some give up with a bitter taste in their mouth. Well, we’re here to give it to you straight. If you want to be a musician for a living, you’re going to have to develop at least a bit of this skill set.
There’s no avoiding it. Unless you just happen to be extremely well-connected to outlets with mega-followings – you’re going to have to come to terms with learning a bit of social media. It just comes with the territory, but here’s something to consider:
When you do it right – it’s very fulfilling. Social media is just a conduit between you and your fans and it is extremely powerful. When you begin genuinely connecting with fans and they reciprocate the energy you put out – it is a great feeling. Social media also offers us ways to connect that have been more difficult to access.
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Livestream sites and features on social media are allowing musicians to continue to perform for their audiences – even if it is an augmented experience both ways. So, how important is a social media strategy to your success?
It is critically important. Without a steady stream of live gigs and events, musicians have had to turn to social media not to promote their shows, but to perform them. To that end, we will present you with some strategies and ideas to help you craft your own social media campaigns but first, some basics.
Know Your Audience
Seriously – pay attention to who is paying attention to you. Who are they? Where are they from? What are they interested in? Why are they interested in you?
Find out the answers to these questions and you will undoubtedly uncover some great post ideas.
See if you can spot any trends that are working, and run with them.
Understand Which Channels to Prioritize
This could almost be a subsection of the previous point. To choose which social media channels you are going to focus on, you need to know where your audience hangs out online.
Where do they find their music? It’s not as simple as getting CDBaby to put you on Spotify and Apple. In 2020, DIY musicians put out 8 x as much music as the 3 Major labels. Are there groups on Facebook dedicated to your genre? Contests? Brands to pitch?
Be Genuine
It’s fine to play to your brand and all, but make sure that it is based on who you are and what you value. Some people don’t find success with their music or social media for a long time because it takes a certain amount of maturity to know who you are and what you believe in. This comes easier to some than to others.
Do up a logo on a site like Canva (unless you’re also a Graphic pro) and get some nice photos that emulate who you are and what your music is about. Get creative – the world is a wild, wonderful and weird place and people are starting to embrace it.
Don’t be afraid to be yourself!
Crafting A Social Media Strategy
If you’ve taken the time to ask the questions and put together some of the things above, we’ve very sneakily just gotten you to perform both consumer and market research and come up with a brand identity. That’s not to mention any of the great ideas that have likely begun popping out as you become inspired! Do those ideas!
Craft any marketing strategy – be it social media, paid advertising, whatever. Researching the market, the consumer, and understanding the brand’s identity are the fundamental pillars to begin crafting a strategy and finding out where you meet your consumer.
Understanding this is the key to answering all of the smaller questions like which channel should I use, should I make a video or a photo post, which hashtags? All the details will sort themselves out once you have the important piece – the strategy.
There are also some general social media-specific best practices to employ:
Use a Social Media Calendar to schedule your posts in advance. Consistency is key to a good social media campaign so you need to get ahead of the ball and start scheduling your content. There are many great social media calendars available online.
Take the time to learn the rules of each channel you use, and stick to them. For example, Instagram is far more hashtag-friendly than Facebook, but many artists like to link the two accounts together then wonder why the post gets no reach on Facebook but does well on Instagram. Take the time to find out.
If you want to go deeper, check out the music marketing courses at MI that are designed specifically for artists. When you tap into the power of social media, anything is possible.