Social Music
By Jo Phillips
Social media is a powerful tool for musicians, but it has to be used carefully and correctly. There are lots of mistakes that can be made and opportunities that are so often missed. Musicians in particular have a lot to gain by using social media platforms in the correct way. But what does the correct use of social media look like for musicians? That’s what we’re going to explore today. Navigating the social media landscape as a musician is tough, but with the help of the tips and advice, we’re about to outline, it’ll be a little easier for you, so keep reading.
Understand Your Audience
Before you even start interacting on social media, you need to have a clear idea of who you’re trying to communicate with. Who are your fans? What music scenes are they interested in? What’s the community that you and your fans are part of? These are all key questions that you’ll need to be able to answer if you’re going to effectively communicate via social media. Your approach will be all wrong if you’ve not got the right audience in mind.
Let Your Personality Shine Through
The last thing a musician’s social media presence should come across as is managed or corporate. You want to show your personality and endear yourself to your target audience. If it seems like your content is managed or contrived in some way, people will very quickly pick up on that inauthenticity and they certainly won’t like it. Don’t be afraid to be a little more candid and to let your personality or the personality of your band shine through for everyone to appreciate.
Stay Active
Staying active on social media is vital for musicians. It’s of particular importance because you’ll want to position yourself as relevant and valuable to what’s going on in the music world. If you allow your social media platforms to lie dormant for months at a time, it’s not going to create the right impression. It might even make it seem as if you’re a thing of the past and no longer of much relevance. That’s obviously not what you want.
Use Visual Content
You’ll want the content you produce for your audience to be as visual as it can be. Visual content matters because it’s far more likely to be engaged with on social media than posts that don’t have any visual components at all. Visual content can come in the form of photos or graphics. And there’s also the growing importance and significance of video content to take into account as well. That should definitely be weaved into your social media strategy.
Get Started on TikTok
One social media platform that musicians in particular can’t afford to ignore right now is TikTok. It’s a platform with so much to offer and you won’t want to overlook it. This guide called ‘How TikTok can help musicians go viral’ will give you a good idea of exactly why every musician out there should be paying attention to TikTok and the opportunities it can afford. It’s not something to be overlooked, not least because it’s one of the fastest-growing platforms with a young user base.
Set Up Regular Giveaways
Setting up giveaways that your audience can take part in on social media is definitely a good idea. When you take this option up, you can give people a good reason to pay attention to your channels and to share your posts. Because by doing so, they have a chance of winning something that otherwise wouldn’t be available to them. Just make sure the prizes are something that your fans can appreciate and find appealing.
Steer Clear of Controversial Topics
Finally, you should make sure that when you’re airing your views and opinions on your social media channels, you don’t step into controversial territory. This is sometimes unavoidable if there’s something you feel you have to say. But as a general rule, you should avoid controversial or divisive topics because whatever you say, you’re going to end up alienating some part of your audience, and that’s not what you want.
Social media can be a real asset for musicians when it’s used in the right way. But not all musicians get it right. If you want to develop a social media strategy that’s going to strengthen your audience and help you meet your online goals, the tips above offer the guidance you’ll need to get started.
