A very important topic when it comes to music promotion. Nowadays, marketing on social media has become a mandatory measure to leverage the artists' career. The Internet has brought many possibilities, and those who know how to take advantage of them come out ahead. Therefore, understanding how digital tools work is essential in social media music marketing.
Not so long ago, we had to go to the store to buy a record if we wanted to listen to an specific artist. The more patient ones, waited for the song to play on the radio. Those who wanted to know more about a band had to be lucky enough to see it in the newspaper, magazine or on TV. When this didn't happen, there wasn't much to do.
Then came the Internet. And with it everything changed. We changed the way we consume music with the streaming platforms. We also changed the way artists reach their audience, promote their products and leave a great first impression (check our article on what is an elevator pitch). That's what we're going to talk about here, the joys and difficulties of working social media music marketing.
The first step is to get to know the most used social networks. Research shows that in 2020 the main ones were: Youtube, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Each network has its specificities and calls for a different type of content. The most recommended is to customize the posts for each channel and stay tuned to trends, such as Tiktok.
Social media music marketing is closely linked to so-called artist branding, which encompasses a series of strategies to strengthen the image and efficiently manage the reputation with the public.
Main concepts of social media music marketing
Next, we will address the main terms and concepts that need to be understood in order not to fall into digital traps. Even if the artist has hired music marketing services, it is essential that he carefully monitors the management of his networks.
Remember,
how to promote your music is a non-stop process, always catch up with the new tools!
Periodicity - Is there an ideal frequency for posts?
The Internet moves at a rapid pace, every day. Therefore, maintaining a good frequency of publications is fundamental. The public expects the artist to be always present, bringing news and updating about the events. Here, another essential concept of social media music marketing appears:
interactivity. In other words, the musician gets closer to his audience and interacts with them in real time. The frequency on the different social networks is not the same, but at least once a day it is important to "say hello".
Profile - What are the characteristics of a champion profile?
To get an idea, Instagram has surpassed the average of 1 billion active users worldwide. The question that remains is: how to stand out among so many people? It seems like an impossible task, but there are some simple measures that can help (a lot) in this mission. The first of them is to choose a good profile picture. We are visual beings and the image is the first thing that draws the user's attention. The photo chosen needs to be of good quality and reflect the message that the artist wants to convey. A good tip is to change it periodically. In addition, it is necessary to keep all the data in the description well updated with the biography of the musician/band, agenda,
electronic press-kit and contacts. The profile is like a business card. You wouldn't hand over an outdated business card, would you?
Videos x Photos - Who wins this one?
Videos have gained a lot of space in the social media universe, especially with the popularization of
Youtube For Artists. This is because, unlike still images, users have the feeling of closeness with the artist. Through the video, they can hear the voice, observe the body language, feel the charisma, etc. However, the secret is to vary the formats so as not to tire the user.
How to use hashtags?
In social media music marketing, hashtags (#) occupy a prominent place. They work as tags that group similar topics together on the Internet, making posts easier to find. For example, let's say you want to find non-official content related to Iron Maiden: just do a search using #ironmaiden and you'll have access to a wide range of posts about the band. That is why it is so important to choose the hashtags for each publication well. It is through them that people will find your information.
Engagement is a set of metrics that show how engaged users are with a profile. This includes likes, shares, comments. Generally, the higher the engagement, the closer the artist is to his or her audience. The organic reaching is the one that happens naturally, without any kind of payment or advertisement. But it is not always enough to leverage a musician's work. That's where the boosting comes in. Virtually all social networks allow content to be promoted to specific, previously determined audiences. With
instagram music promotion, for example, can significantly increase the number of people impacted by that publication. Here, we have paid outreach.
Now, with all the power of social networks, is it still worth investing in a website? Experts say yes, because the public ends up looking for a digital address that legitimizes the information found on the networks. The website ends up increasing the credibility of the artist. And when we talk about website, we cannot fail to mention SEO. The term Search Engine Optimization encompasses a set of techniques to make the address appear well placed in the rankings generated by search engines. Using keywords, SEO for artists is a fundamental tool for those who want (and need) to stand out in the crowd. Studies show that 95% of people only see the first page of Google search. In other words, if you are not there, it will get harder.
What do all the tools of social media music marketing have in common?
Whether learning
how to make a lyric video or entering the digital universe, artists need to be constantly updated. On the Internet, this is even more important. Social media music marketing are efficient tools for promoting the artist. At the same time, they are challenging territories. What they all have in common is the constant need for evaluation. Before posting: think and evaluate the consequences. After posting: follow up and evaluate the results.
