Social media has never been more popular with an estimated 2.96billion people using online sites to communicate at the turn of the new decade. As an artist, it is vital to capitalize on social media as it is a great way to grow and engage with your fanbase. So what are the best ways to develop your online presence in 2020?
- Be consistently visible on all platforms: Make sure that you have an account with all the big social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Many people forget YouTube is classed as a social media platform but you should look to grow an audience there too. It’s important to have consistent artwork or a color scheme to build a brand and let people identify you easily. Don’t forget your bio too! This should give some snappy information about you and what music you’re working on, including links to Spotify/gig tickets.
- Know your audience: You can view analytics on social media, which will show you the gender, age, and location of your followers. It could also tell you what time your audience is most active so that you can post when you know they’re online. Knowing your demographic will mean that you can make your content more suitable to your audience, which will result in more engagement.
- Engage with fans: replying to and following back those who are most active will help to build relationships with your fans. It could also increase fan loyalty, so when it comes to releasing music, they might be more likely to listen and share it. You could try a hashtag and get fans to post and interact with each other. Alternatively, if you’re performing live, you could repost any pictures fans have taken of you on stage.
- Use sponsored posts: Without paying to advertise your posts, very little of your audience may actually get to see them due to Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms. This means that, if you’re using these sites, it may be beneficial to pay to ‘boost’ your post to reach a larger audience. You can also schedule posts to ensure consistency and get the most out of your advertising.
- Create ‘meaningful interaction’ from your posts: If you didn’t want to pay for social media advertising, Facebook have revealed that there are ways you can boost your posts between friends and family. If you can get people to comment on your posts, reply to those comments and share the post through Messenger or by resharing it, you may be able to increase its reach without spending a penny.
- Tag other musicians and brands: Giving a shout out to other artists can be a great way to network and they might even return the favour, helping to grow both audiences. Tagging brands such as instruments can also be a great way to get your name out there.
- Keep an eye on trends and developments: New social media sites such as TikTok have quickly risen in popularity. It’s important to be aware of what’s going on in the social media world so that you can stay relevant and adapt your content to suit the different platforms. Get yourself familiar with these platforms and what content is popular, then get involved yourself! Artists like Lil Nas X have rapidly risen to fame through jumping on trends like TikTok and creating relevant content such as memes.
