Expand your promotional material. If you want to engage people, it needs to be more than posting your track link and asking people to listen. That’s great if you’re already Beyoncé, but unfortunately the rest of us have to put a little more into it. Finding new ways of showing your content on social media could make sure you stand out from the crowd.
Thinking about different ways to show off your content can be daunting. It can seem difficult to find something new and unusual to capture the attention of others. However, it doesn’t have to be new, as it will be unique coming from you anyway. I’m not suggestion copying other artists ideas, but what I mean is, if for example you decided you were going to post a sit down chat via YouTube, this has already been done millions of times. It’s still unique though, because it will be about you, your life and your music. Making ideas personalised to you is the perfect way of using promotional tools to your advantage. After all, the person who inspired you was probably inspired elsewhere first. It’s a domino effect when it comes to social media.
A post dedicated to your songs meaning
Firstly, let’s start with a deeper option. I’m not saying you have to get deep and meaningful, but if your song or album calls for it then please do. It shows character and personality. You’ll also show just how much your song means to you and that is priceless. I guess it’s like a tattoo right? Hear me out… Whenever you get a new tattoo, everyone wants to know the meaning behind it. Why you got it, if and what it means to you. If there are any sentimental reasons behind it. So, in that way, it’s like your music. People will love hearing where your inspiration came from.
Why not create a post with your album artwork and explain where the song idea came from. This could even be in video form of you talking about your sound. Or, if perhaps it was written for or about a loved one, post a photo of them to your social accounts. It will add so much more personality and will allow your followers to see the real you behind the artist name. Showing them meaning will make the song stick with them more than it ever could have before because they’ll remember it for the same reasons you do.
No More Bad Days
Let’s use the song No More Bad Days by This Wild Life as an example. One of the members of this acoustic duo wrote this for his mother. Why? Because when listening to the lyrics it explains her story really well and all the struggles she’s been through. It mentions losing their house and her becoming unwell, her health being hit hard. This was the complete inspiration behind the track and the reason the lyrics are so much more powerful. Hearing the artists speak about this makes the song resinate and people can relate to it. That’s why it’s really important to let your follower in.
Collect reviews and share them
From the moment you first release your tracks you’ll start collecting review. In fact, possibly even before you start. Your friends and family are bound to share their opinions the first time they hear your new tune. Let them create a review. Simply type up the words they’ve said about your music and share this with your audience. The further along you are with your promotion, the more reviews you will receive, but first, start with the people around you.
Ask fans and your followers for a short snippet of a review and share it. They’ll probably love having the chance to be featured on your social media accounts. If you go as far as tagging their social channels, it will benefit everyone. Imagine your favourite artist sharing your account with your opinions on their new track. I personally would love it, and I’m sure everyone else would too. This is a really easy way of asking for reviews too. Just put up on your socials that you’re looking for feedback, and it should come flooding in.
You can be picky about your reviews
If you’re sharing it on your social media, the great thing is you get to be selective about what you post. Of course some people can’t help themselves, and they’ll leave a bad review whether it’s justified or not. Platforms like YouTube unfortunately don’t really have a way of weaning this out. However, if you’re taking the reviews and posting them publicly, you can decide what is used and what gets ignored. This won’t stop people attacking your social accounts within the comments. That unfortunately will just be part of the game when it comes to growing as an artist. They’re easily overlooked though when you’re actively posting good reviews to your account.
Behind the scenes footage
Your followers want to see the real you. They want it to be authentic. Showing your daily life or how you prepare for release day might really help with your content. If you want people to listen to your content and take an interest then you should show them what goes into making it. There are so many ways you can show life behind your artist image. Why not make a short video or an Instagram Reel and show yourself editing your track or singing it. Anything that was involved in the creation process. Show you having fun while practising the trials and errors of music production.
Again it comes back to showing the real you. It could be anything though. Why not show them some footage from your artist photoshoot if you’re having one? Allow them to come behind the scenes and see the lighting set up, the different outfits, everything that comes into a shoot. It breaks up your content. Instead of a constant stream of posts where your album artwork is the main feature, and you’re asking everyone to listen to your tracks. Now, you’re posting something different that still links back to what you want them to listen to.
Use different forms of media
Try out various forms of media. Give photos and moving image a go. When it comes to Instagram, use Reels to show life away from your artist persona. Again it breaks things up and shows a variety. Not only that, but you’ll soon see what works best for you through your social accounts analytics. Then you can focus more on the things that perform better on your accounts. Pay attention to each social platform. What works well on Instagram might not work as well on Facebook and vice versa.
Social media is one of the greatest forms of promotion you can have, but first you need to crack social media itself. It’s pretty straight forward once you know how. However, it will take trial and error to get to a point where you understand things and see what works best for your accounts. Unfortunately, there’s no magic wand that can solve all of your promotional concerns, but cracking socials will be a huge step in the right direction. Ask your followers what they want. Remember each social media platform is different and so is the target audience for those accounts. It’s not one rule for all but getting feedback from your fans will be really beneficial to your growth and development.
