How to Promote Your Music on Social Media Effectively – PART 1
Do you want to know Why Spamming People with Your Music Does NOT Get You Noticed? Find Out How to Promote Your Music on Social Media Effectively.
As part of my Music Industry Self Help Program, I will be sharing tips that will be valuable to the upcoming artist. Today I will discuss something I consider very important. That is How to Promote Your Music on Social Media Effectively. This is Part 1 of 2. It will cover the use of twitter for music promotion. I will be talking about spamming your music into people’s mentions and why it may not be effective in helping you get noticed. As an upcoming artiste, the first thing you have to realize when you are promoting your music, most especially if no one knows you, is that most people do not care. If they do not know you, trust me, they don’t care if you have a new link with free music on it. This is the harsh reality. Now that we have that out-of-the-way, suck it up and listen. I will explain to you from my personal experience why spamming people who do not know you and have never heard your music may work against you. Always keep in mind, if an established artiste with an established fan base is doing it and getting response it is because they have proven to those who respond that what they will listen to may just be quality music. Now that we have the whole comparing yourself to 2face out-of-the-way. Lets get to the nitty-gritty.
1. You are not the only one: The download my music epidemic is almost, if not as bad as the follow back epidemic. Always keep in mind that you are not the only one doing it. In one day there are about 10 or more musicians spamming Don Jazzy and other known music industry people with a link to their song. How many do they end up listening to? Probably Zero! This is most likely because there is no relationship and there is no connection there and therefore no reason or obligation to click any link to download. If you do it too much, you literally become a pest and eventually get downgraded to the bitter-sweet world of ignores-ville. Getting to ignores-ville may eventually get you blocked. You don’t ever want to get to that level, trust me!
2. Build a relationship first: I am more likely to pay attention to someone I know than someone who has never said hello to me, but only spam me with their music. In all honesty it’s actually quite irritating. When I was a music promoter, I used to be careful about who I share links with. I make every post count and most times I do so with people I know I have had some sort of contact with outside of just coming to spam them with a download link. As a matter of fact, if you do it too much, they may begin to look at you like a pest and eventually never take you seriously.
3. You are not the only one: Realize and understand that you are not the only upcoming artiste out there. As a matter of fact, there are tons of talented musicians out there who are also struggling to get noticed. Some are even more talented than you are and probably play an instrument or two. If they are struggling, then you really should not feel bad if you are yet to be heard. Do your best to always stand out. So how do you stand out you ask? Think outside the box. Do not copy the same strategy everyone is using because if you do, you will just get lost as one of the masses. Be creative with the way your present yourself. Remember, if you stand out, your chances of getting noticed will increase.
4. Use every opportunity wisely: Make sure your music is worthy – always. When you want to present your work, only present the best of the best. Now lets say you put out good music in a very creative way and you finally get that retweet you have been craving from your favorite musician, whoopty-doo – lets dance! But wait a second, you ask yourself, what next? You need to use every opportunity wisely. Copy the retweet with a thank you message to more of your work, maybe even your website. The fact that you have caught someones attention should be used to your advantage. Do not let it slide. Remember that the ones that go past step 1 are the humble ones. If you are feeling big because you think you have arrived because of one tweet or one trend, you will surely get a rude awakening. Understand your market (Nigeria), and also understand that the masses tend to follow trends and not the artist. Only an exceptional few actually follow the artist and his or her music even when they are not trending.
5. Never give up: After all is said and done, it is your craft and you should promote it wisely! Do not get discouraged when people do not pay attention. If you focus on building a gradual fan base, they will eventually ride for you and make everyone else listen. A lot of big name artistes in Nigeria got there by never giving up.
I hope this article, How to Promote Your Music on Social Media Effectively has been helpful. I will be posting Part 2 – which will cover the use of Facebook, Instagram and Pintrest for music promotion. This is me keeping this topic as brief as possible. I will be sharing more industry insights and how tos with you. If there is a topic you wish for me to cover, feel free to ask in the comments below. Best of luck with your music career. – TP
