Social media has never played a bigger role in the music industry than it does right now. In fact, having a following is practically mandatory for success in the industry.
The problem is, it is a lot easier said than done to grow your following, especially organically. Luckily for you, this workshop is all about doing just that.
Let’s work towards increasing your following and engagement, so you can attract more listeners, labels, established artists and others to your music.
In order to do that, there are four components you need to know.
1 - You Need a Theme (with Variety) - A theme is ultimately what your page is about. If you’re unsure of your exact style, then your page theme will be quite general, such as “music.” If you know the exact music you create, your theme will be more tailored such as “country music.”
Now that you have your theme, you need to avoid common mistakes. Many people post similar posts, day after day, post after post and expect to grow. There needs to be variety in the posts you share, but all posts must still relate to the theme of your page.
If every post is a cover, or an original, your page looks very mundane, not to mention it will not show other aspects of yourself (which is what people really want to know). They want to know who you are, not just that you make great music.
So how do you do this? Post covers, originals, quotes, pictures of yourself making music, and anything else that accurately reflects yourself and relates to the theme of your page.
It is important to note that what works for others, may not work for yourself. Therefore, if you notice that one type of post does way better than another, try to create variations of that style of post that does well.
2 - You Need to Be Consistent - Attention spans are shorter than ever. Due to this, in order to grow your following and increase engagement, you need to post consistency. There is no sweet number of posts, but I would recommend posting at least twice per week.
After doing this for a bit, you will also gain data on your posts, such as which days and times your posts receive the most engagement. This is very important. Take note of these days and times and plan your releases around them, to maximize your results.
3 - You Need to Utilize Proper Hashtags - Properly utilizing hashtags mean tailoring them towards your specific niche. For example, yes you may be a #singer, but not every #singer is a #countrysinger, (which for this example, we will say you are).
Social media platforms are businesses. They work extremely hard to get users to stay on their platform for one extra second. Keep this in mind, because if you’re a country artist, but you’re targeting hashtags that are for music in general, you’re reaching a lot of people that simply are not looking for the music you create.
Due to this, users skip over your posts and may leave the app/platform. Social media sties do not want anyone to leave and so while this workshop will not get into algorithms, in short, it could impact your placement in the algorithm, ultimately resulting in less people seeing your music.
So what should you do? Increase your chances that everyone that searches for a certain hashtag will be a potential new follower of yours. The best way to do this, is narrow your hashtags and relate them directly to the music you create.
For example, in the hashtags, implement your city or country, the genre of music you create, the style of music, the emotion you want people to feel when listening to your music, etc.
4 - You need to be active with your fans - Something you might not have known is ‘likes’ on social media platforms, specifically Instagram, are not the best result for your posts. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great, but comments, saves and shares work much better and can help get your posts in the algorithm.
So what can you do? When people comment on your posts, do not just “like” the comment. Reply to it, ask them a question, start a discussion.
Get to know your fans, such as what they would like to see, so you can provide it to them and increase the chances they share, save and comment.
A great way to do this is by tagging them in posts that they suggested, or personally message them and say something along the lines of, “Hey, thought of you when I created this.” This can go along way to increasing your following and engagement.
Your Turn
Now it is your turn. We want to see you implement these components in your new social media posts. After you have done that, email it to us for feedback. In the email, be sure to include your theme, so we can see if it matches with what comes across to us.
Also, if you have any questions throughout it, email us them too! Remember, this is a workshop. We’re here to help you succeed.