You’ve spent your career building your skills as a musician. Perfecting your craft is essential, and it’s the reason that many brands and musicians succeed. However, making money is another story.
To succeed and actually make a career out of being a musician, you need to learn how to build your brand, and today, that all starts online. Learning how to strategically market yourself on social media can grow your fan base, improve your income, and increase visibility to potential opportunities.
Below, we’ve compiled some of the hottest tips to help musicians market themselves effectively online. Whether you’re a musician, solo artist, band, DJ or teacher, social media presence can make or break your career.
Diversity Your Platform
The mistake that many musicians make repeatedly is marketing hard on one platform, like Facebook. They tend to post all their updates on one site without trying others like Twitter or Instagram. It is important to cast a wide net when marketing on social media.
Set up accounts across the board for your band or yourself. The best platforms for musicians tend to be YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Twitter and Snapchat are also fine options. Be sure to set up your photos and bio, and add links to where people can hear your music, whether on your own website or a streaming platform.
Make Sustainable Posting Goals
Social media can easily take over your life. If you don’t have a social media manager, don’t overwhelm yourself with updating your profiles. Instead, set sustainable goals for how often and what types of content you will post.
Many who market on social media post once or twice a week. Exceptions like bigger gigs or exciting opportunities must be taken into account as well. For the most part though, setting a goal like this helps to keep you on track without getting overwhelmed or overwhelming your followers.
Embrace Home Recording
You feel like you’re passionate about music and want to take your craft to the next level, exploring the world of home recording is an exciting opportunity. Creating your recordings allows you to experiment, refine your sound, and unleash your creativity without the limitations of a traditional studio. To enhance your home recording journey, consider seeking inspiration and guidance from the blog about home recording. These blogs can offer valuable insights, tips, and techniques shared by experienced musician and recording professionals. Whether you’re looking for advice on microphone placement, mixing tricks, or mastering tips, these resources can help you unlock the secrets of producing high-quality recordings from the comfort of your own space.
Beautify Your Accounts
Your cover photo or profile picture is the first thing that many see when they notice your account. This photo has to look professional and interesting. It also should show off some of your style as a band or solo artist.
Just like you would for an album release, set up a photoshoot for your social media profile. If you rely heavily on the snare drum, make sure your instruments are in your picture with you. Make sure a bit of your band’s vibe and style come through in the outfit and setting choices. You can even record some B roll of the photoshoot day to release as a short behind-the-scenes video on Instagram.
Networking Online
Any musician knows that networking is a major part of finding new opportunities. You likely attend album release parties, watch gigs of other up-and-coming bands, or check out venues where you hope to play. Online, this networking looks similar.
Be sure to follow or subscribe to other bands and artists. You can even follow some venues or labels on Instagram. Liking and commenting on pictures or posts is another great way to show support and network with other local groups.
One of the ultimate networking tools is collaboration. Collaborating online means that you are exposed to your collaborator’s fans and followers, and they are exposed to yours.
This blending of fan bases is incredibly helpful. If you find a group that you think Spotify would recommend to a listener who likes your sound, reach out and collaborate. Their fans are more likely to find out that they enjoy your sound as well.
Style, Aesthetic, and Message
Above all else, music is incredibly personal. The music you create is carefully crafted and paints a picture of who you are. Your social media should match this picture. Capture in your profile the information that you find important. This way, your future fans will naturally gravitate toward your online presence.
