Have you ever started following a musician that you like only to unfollow them shortly after because they spam you with over-the-top promotions? That is the last thing that you want to do to your fans.
These days, being an excellent musician is only one part of the equation when it comes to success. You also need to know how to get your music out there through social media. Try using these five tips to keep your social media audience interested and engaged without driving them away:
1. Promote on blogs
By promoting your efforts on music blogs you can really get your music in front of people. The Social Media Verification Team can really help you with this and get your music and videos on blogs and websites across the world.
2. Share your excitement
When talking about your music, don’t be bland and boring. Instead, let your own personal excitement shine through. That’s not to say that you should type everything in capital letters or go overboard with exclamation points. You should, however, be genuinely excited about the songs that you are posting. Try to find a balance between being too boring and being too over-the-top with your posts. Try letting people know what inspired you and ask them to share their thoughts on it after they listen to it. Don’t feel like you have to write an entire book. At the same time, however, don’t be afraid to share your genuine thoughts and feelings, either. You can’t expect other people to be excited about your music unless you are, as well.
3. Make it worth their while
One excellent way to get fans more engaged is by offering them incentives. For instance, many musicians allow people to download a song for free if they follow them on Facebook. You could also offer freebies to the first 25 people who like a particular picture or post. A great example of this can be seen with Stwo, a rising French producer. He allows his fans on Facebook to download and remix his track’s stems, offering to post the best ones on SoundCloud. For fans, this level of exposure is worth the time and effort to do the remixes. Use common sense when coming up with an incentive, making sure to factor in the cost as well as any potential risks.
4. Interact with your fans
One of the best things about social media is that it makes it possible for you to directly interact with your followers and fans. One way to engage them is by encouraging them to get involved with your music creatively. Sigur Ros recently did this when they released the album Kveikur. They encouraged fans to make their own videos interpreting the song “Stormur”. When the videos were complete, fans were encouraged to post them to Instagram under the hashtag #stormur. This created a constant stream of videos created by the band’s true fans. Not only is this good from a promotional perspective but it also gives fans a sense of being involved. Think about how you could use this with your own music. For instance, could you ask fans to create album art or to write a poem that goes along with one of your songs?
All of these things will help you get your music out there – so give them a try.