By Therese “Tiki Tee” Sheridan
June 5, 2023
So, you’re an artist or band who is looking to use social media to promote your music. Great! You’re already a step ahead in the game. While social media may seem like a place to simply slap photos and a link down and call it a day, using it as a tool to promote your music successfully involves a lot of planning and strategy. “Planning? Strategy?” I know, these words can make it seem overwhelming, but here are 5 mistakes you can avoid making to set you apart from other artists in the industry:
1.) Having an unrelated username/handle.
The usernames/handles for your social media accounts should include your artist or band name. For example, if your band is called “Kool Kats,” you should aim to have an account such as @KoolKats, @Kool_Kats, @KoolKats_Official or something along these lines.
Now you may be thinking, “Wait, what about Drake? Mr. @champagnepapi?” Well for one, he is Drake. He is an established artist who has built a following allowing him to essentially have any username he wants. For artists who haven’t sold over 170-million records or received multiple Grammy Awards, it is important to include the artist or band name in order to improve SEO (search engine optimization) and to make accounts easier for fans to find. In addition to having a username/handle that includes your name, it is also important to make sure that your chosen username/handle is consistent across the board. In other words, your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms should have the same username/handle.
2.) Having a Linktree in your bio.
Yes, I know. You have a lot you want to share with the world and Linktree allows you to keep everything in one place. Believe it or not, doing so may be hurting you. Having so many link options after a simple tap or click can be both confusing and overwhelming for your audience. Instead, the link in your bio should be a link to the most important content or event at the time. This can be a pre-save link to your next release, a link to purchase tickets to your upcoming tour or a link to your latest music video. If you are promoting a specific album, EP or single, it is recommended to share the link provided by your music distributor (such as DistroKid). Although these distributor links include a list of links within them, they are focused on one release and allow your audience the freedom to listen to your music on their preferred platform.
3.) Having repetitive posts.
So, you heard that posting consistently can help grow your following and drive engagement. The problem: creating so many posts is too much work. To make it easier, you can just keep resharing the same post, right? Wrong. Not only does sharing the same post repeatedly just come off as lazy, but it’s also boring and annoying for your followers. I’m not saying you can’t have multiple posts that promote the same thing, but you have to be creative in how you do it. Post a combination of still images, videos and stories. Instead of spamming your audience with the same show flier 15 times, show some behind the scenes, share footage from your last performance or give a shout out to other artists in your show lineup. There are a number of ways you can get your message across in a more engaging and interesting way.
4.) Sending mass DMs of your music.
While reaching out on a personal level to your audience can be beneficial, sliding your SoundCloud link into the inbox of strangers with no prior relationship is not how to do it. As much effort as it may take to craft a message and select a list to send to, at the end of the day you’re overstepping a boundary. Generally speaking, people seek out music themselves. If they wanted to listen, they would. Take for example the band U2 when their “Songs of Innocence” album was automatically downloaded to our iTunes music libraries in 2014. Although it was free, many were angered by this action. Why? A boundary was crossed. Music they did not seek out appeared in their music space. The same idea applies to DMs on social media. Additionally, doing so seems robotic, impersonal and can even damage your brand. Nobody wants to be known as the artist or band who just spams people with links. Instead, create posts that encourage people to seek out your music. Give them a reason to listen to it. If you’re looking to expand beyond your followers, be sure to include hashtags in these posts as well.
5.) Focusing only on yourself.
“Wait, you’re telling me that I shouldn’t focus on myself on MY accounts where I’m promoting MY music?” Why yes, yes I am. There’s a reason the term social media is often used interchangeably with the term social networking. It is a place to be collaborative and to build relationships. In order for people to care about you and your music, you need to show that you care about them. Do not simply make a post, close the app and expect people to be your lifelong fans. For your fans and followers, respond to the comments on your posts and share reshares of your content. Not only is this bonus content for you, but it also shows audiences that you appreciate them. This will encourage additional support in the future and it will help you build a positive reputation. Don’t just stop with your fans and followers. It is important to also show love to your fellow musicians. “In this cutthroat industry? With my competition?” Yes again. You never know what kind of connections you’ll make or what opportunities will arise. Share the music of other artists, like their content and show some love in the comments, because you never know who’s watching.
