Exposure online is key as an upcoming musician within the industry, although practising social media marketing for your audience can be tricky to understand. Creating traction on social platforms and generating a live following for artists, resulting in listens and bodies in the room of gigs.

Having a social media presence as an artist is a major aspect of how to market yourself and secure gigs aside from making music. Posting is one thing, although creating an interactive audience and holding a presence on social media is another way to keep followers interested in the content being presented to them. Taking a deep dive into how to market your brand to keep old fans and find new ones, here are some tips as to how to use social media as an extension of your music.

Identity, Branding & Music Oh My

When marketing yourself on social media, consistency is key. Does your social media identity and brand reflect the music you create? Finding your online identity will create a pinpoint for followers and peak interest of new followers. How people perceive you and your music will benefit what kind of audience your music attracts and can help gauge where to take your music in the future. Optimising your profile with up-to-date profile photos, fresh content and updated links in the bio will help with this. Whether you are playing a gig, promoting a track, or introducing a new bandmate, posting these updates will keep fans involved and create a transparent parasocial relationship.

Professionalism in a Social Media Sphere

When producing content, it is always great to show both sides of the coin. Sharing behind the scenes content, as well as professional content creates a balance on social media. This allows your branding to be music-focused whilst getting to know the musicians behind the music. Behind-the-scenes content including band practice or recording in the studio can be just as beneficial as the professional photographs and gig photos or footage you post. This kind of content can be used to tease shows coming up and music being released. Add gig posters and album art into the mix and you’ve created a great presence online by posting regularly and keeping followers up to date with what is going on.

How social media marketing can help your fan base grow

Although organic following feels authentic, paying for sponsored advertising can help reach a larger audience whether interstate or international depending on your location. This is easily done through Facebook and Instagram due to Meta, creating a streamlined ad that can run for as long as you’d like or your budget allows over both sites. Depending on the advert, viewers can find your page, or be sent to a direct link. Paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram allows you to choose your demographics including age, location, and interests. This can prove to be useful to ensure you are hitting the right target audience for your music. Scheduling posts for particular times is also a great way to have consistent posting online. Although each site has its own average of the best times to post on social media, the general average across all platforms is from Tuesday to Thursday between 9 am and 10 am in your local timezone. This is so that content hits the lunch rush as people take to social media during their break in the day and can see your content first.

Crunching the numbers of Social Media

As of April 2022, there are over 5 Billion people that use the internet worldwide, 4.6 Billion of those who use social media. Of the five most commonly used social media sites, the most beneficial for marketing are Facebook (2.9 Billion), Instagram (2 Billion) and TikTok (1 Billion). Despite the ever-changing popularity of social media platforms, these sites are used regularly for musicians, and with good reason as each one has something different to offer.

Breaking down the platforms and their features

Facebook

Facebook may seem outdated for some, but for others it can be a pot of gold. As Facebook is still the most used platform for social media users it is a useful website. As Facebook can use direct linking to music and videos, uploading media, a calendar for gigs and direct messaging for enquiries to name a few, it is a good starting point. Once getting your head around the basics of a Facebook Page, get an understanding of Facebook Pixel and how paid advertising and its analytics features make the most of your content. This can direct new followers to your page and keep you up to date with who your audience is. Pinpointing what posts are doing well compared to others can give a good indicator of what content to post. The best use of Instagram would be for link sharing and events as these features are quite seamless on Facebook and easily accessible. Making use of the events feature on Facebook provides a list of all upcoming shows which can be linked with other artists and the venues you're playing at too.

Instagram

Now under the Meta branch and linked to Facebook, similar features are used across the platforms. When using a business Instagram profile, the analytics are very similar although are more basic than Facebook’s in-depth analysis. Short-form content is popular on Instagram and is easier to provide behind-the-scenes content. Making use of stories and reels has become popular for providing gig content and updates as to what is happening. Posting gig posters is also a great way to keep followers informed of upcoming gigs, although sharing links isn’t as easy to do. If you’re sharing upcoming shows, post the gig poster on your feed and share the post on your story with the link attached for followers to click!

Tiktok

Whether you love TikTok or you hate it, the video platform is changing the music industry. Songs that trend on TikTok have often secured a spot on the Billboard 100 or the Spotify Top 50, becoming a hub for new musicians. As many success stories from Tiktok - including Lil Nas X, have become popular globally, users tend to lean on the app to discover new music. Since TikTok is tailored to the interest of the user, your music may just end up in the right hands and become more popular than you think. Many record labels scout the app for music trends, although that may not mean the potential for scouting too. You don’t have to do the latest TikTok dance or be a comedian, but the platform can be a great place to excel in the brand and share tidbits of your music to see what works and what doesn’t in the eyes of the public.

Consistency and Cross-Sharing

When you have decided on your desired social media sites and help push your music brand, be sure to reference your profiles on all platforms. Using websites like Linktree, Shorby or bio.fm can put all of your social media into one spot, as well as music streaming, event links and merch. Hosting all your links in one area can ensure that your followers can find you across platforms. Posting consistent brand content across your platforms is great, although giving each profile its own particular use can give fans a reason to follow you everywhere. Whether you may host a giveaway only on Facebook, or go live on Instagram, having a consistent social media marketing strategy can be a great way to provide exclusive content whilst promoting it on your other profiles.