Social media platforms have continued to disrupt many industries since their inception in 2010. One of those notable industries is certainly music and entertainment. In fact, in a recent interview with Alex Cooper, John Mayor talks about being thankful he was famous for his music back then and not for being a social star today.
But he also admits that social media has an incredible impact on music production, both from the standpoint of how it’s listened to and how it’s made. Future stars can take advantage of all it has to offer.
Social Media Offers a Pathway Beyond Record Labels
Before social media platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube, artists needed to get a golden ticket from a record label to become discoverable. Without phones being able to take videos, there was no going viral. And for starving artists, taking a chance by buying a one-way ticket to Los Angeles or Nashville was a huge risk.
It’s much different today, where artists can simply send a sample video. But even more so, some artists don’t even care for record labels, as getting fans and followers is the money marker. Major music conglomerates are actually licensing deals through trending Tik Tok sounds as opposed to full-blown songs.
So, how do you boost your visibility as an artist? There are a number of ways.
Sponsored Content to Reach Your Niche
One of the best options that all social media platforms offer is a way to put out sponsored content for businesses. While you can do some of the SEO configuring yourself, paying to boost your content can go a long way. By paying the social media platform, you are allowing the platform to find the right audience to show your content to.
This is done by taking a look at the accounts that already follow you and finding accounts that match in similar ways. This is a great way to expose yourself to warm leads rather than market to the wrong crowd.
Choose The Right Amount
You can toggle the options to figure out what is the right budget for you and whether it is making an impact on getting you more viewers or followers. You can set durations for how long you want the sponsored content to be broadcasted and how many people you want it to reach.
At first, it may be a little inorganic or unnatural to do this, but consider it to be no different than the money you put into marketing. You will get a return on your investment. Just be sure to look at your insights after doing it to make sure it’s made a positive impact.
Not all posts will be worth spending the extra marketing money on. Be sure to choose wisely on what content may be a great hit for your audience.
Guest Posting To Merge Audiences
One of the most underrated tools that musicians can use is guest posting. And it just got a lot easier with Instagram recently allowing two accounts to share a post. Consider it no different than when blogs co-collaborate to share audiences. With the right intentions, this could be huge for an artist.
Tips For a Succesful Merge
- Rather than pay an artist or influencer to share your trend, try to offer another artist something in exchange for guest posting. When both artists have something to gain, there can be a lot of motivation to do well.
- Find a co-collaborator that works well with your brand. If you want to work with an influencer or another musician, check out their audience first. Will their audience resonate with the type of music you’re sharing?
- Offering new fans an incentive to keep following you is always a big hit. This could be a combined giveaway with free merchandise or something like a gift card to a popular coffee shop. Staying on brand with these kinds of giveaways is key to capturing a loyal audience.
There are many different ways to approach collaborations. These are just a few ideas that can be helpful for up-and-coming artists to take advantage of.
Going Viral With Trends
Part of the success of influencers is being able to start or hop on new viral trends. This is a great opportunity for artists to do the same. It’s no secret that songs that are going viral are ending up on the Billboard 100 or other top charts. This has led to artists focusing on music that may be good for popular dance trends and videos It also has led to marketers hiring influencers to help kick off a trending song.
Universal Music Group interviewed with Business Insider stating that their labels are completely leaning into the art of visual storytelling through these popular platforms. This means that they will encourage their artists to make content and music that fit this new type of business strategy. Social platforms are where most of the new generation is discovering music.
Understanding Copyright Issues
Since social media platforms have up-ended the music industry, that means its laws have changed too. Understanding Instagram and copyrighted music can be the difference between going viral and getting whacked with a fine. This is especially true when you are asking influencers to market your material.
Stay On Brand
With all these tips and tricks, it’s important to remember one valuable idea. You should always stay on brand. This is not the same thing as trying out new things. But what happens a lot in trending and viral hits we see one-hit wonders. Someone may find a very short window of success because they are always chasing the latest trends. This makes it hard to cultivate an audience and keep them when you are always changing your interests.
As an artist, you will want to get creative by using trends and spinning them to make them your own. This is the best way to take advantage of social media platforms and stay true to who you are and what your music represents.
