In today’s digital era, social media is key for musicians looking to build a following and grow their audience.
Here are the top strategies to promote your music online this year.
Optimize Your Social Media Profiles
The first step is making sure your artist profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube stand out.
- Have a consistent brand image across channels with matching profile and cover photos. Show off your logo.
- Write an intriguing bio sharing your sound and story. Include relevant hashtags fans can follow.
- Link to your music on all major streaming platforms so fans can easily listen.
- Engage your audience by responding to comments and messages. Ask questions and post polls to encourage interaction.
Release Music Regularly
The key to staying top of mind is releasing fresh content frequently. Set a schedule for new singles, EPs, music videos and behind-the-scenes footage.
- Tease new releases in your stories in the weeks leading up. Create excitement.
- Premiere music videos with a countdown to the release date.
- When releasing a new song or project, post about it across all your social platforms.
- Later, share live performance videos to keep your back catalog circulating too.
Run Contests and Promotions
Encouraging follows, shares and tags through giveaways is hugely effective for music promotion. Offer prizes like merch, concert tickets or even special experiences.
- Ask fans to tag friends, retweet, follow and add songs for contest entry.
- Collaborate with bloggers or brands in your niche to sponsor or cross-promote giveaways.
- Share user-generated content of fans sporting your merch or dancing to your songs.
Use Hashtags Strategically
Leverage relevant hashtags to make your content discoverable beyond just your existing audience. Identify hashtags used by your niche and jump into those conversations.
- For music discovery, use #newmusic, #nowplaying and genre hashtags like #hiphop, #countrymusic etc.
- Use location hashtags when promoting local shows and performances.
- Create a branded hashtag for your releases and encourage fans to use it.
Collaborate with Similar Artists
Find artists with an audience similar to yours and team up to cross-promote each other’s work. This instantly expands your reach.
- Guest post on each other’s accounts and interview one another.
- Shout each other out when releasing new music.
- Do reaction videos reacting to each other’s songs.
Leveraging social media to its full potential is key for emerging artists in 2023. Focus on consistent releases, promotions, hashtags and collaborations with similar creators to grow your audience.