READY TO GET STARTED? Maximize your exposure online
#1: Connect your with Social Media and understand your goals.
Understand the goals of your artist’s social media content to help you obtain your strategy.
Are you wanting to get more traffic to your social media account? If so, your focus should be on unique visitors from your social media websites.
Are you wanting to create a following? If so, you’re focus will be on subscribers, followers on social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram . . .
Are you wanting to have better interaction with your fanbase? If so, you’ll need to focus on quantity and type of commentary within your Facebook comments, Twitter replies/mentions, etc.
Understanding these fundamentals will optimize your exposure when creating your social media content.
#2: Create your content based on your “brand”
Locate websites and Facebook pages where you are most likely to find new fans and interact.
Create posts, comments and content that people (your potential new fans) want to talk about.
Use your social media to listen to your new fans and interact with their needs and desires.
Pay attention to big corporate campaigns . . . they know what they are doing and there is no reason why you shouldn’t be doing the same. Understand your audience and what drives them to be engaged is a big pay off for your music career.
#3: Increase your daily posts and updates on social media
Ensuring your posts and updates have a good chance to be seen and/or read by your target audience is an integral part of your strategy.
Frequency: Post about 4 times per day on Twitter and Facebook for optimal outcome.
Timing: Research has shown the main work hours from 8 am to 8 pm as the optimum times to tweet and post to Facebook.
Multiple websites: Post to multiple social media sites, in addition to your own website.
If you place your attention to frequency, timing and multiple websites, and you will increase the odds of getting a higher level of social engagement and interaction.
#4: Stay “current” on Social Media outlets
Information on social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc. can be overwhelming unless you have clear goal.
Understand relevant issues and content.
Understand your audience interests.
Pay attention to the real-time market mood.
#5: Engage and interact
Engage with your fans in real-time conversations.
Be available to your audience in real time, when you can have more meaningful back-and-forth conversations.
#6: Stay up to date with Facebook’s Changes
Facebook constantly evolves . . .for certain Facebook will change and it’s up to you to take advantage of the new features, etc.
#7: Get Acquainted With the Google Analytics
Google‘s Analytical reports give you a more in-depth understanding into social media networks and how users respond to your content.
As Google states: …report shows you how people are talking about and engaging with your site content on social networks. You can see the most recent URLs people shared, how and where they shared (via a “reshare” on Google+, for example), and what they said.
The Trackbacks report shows the websites that link to your content. This will help you replicate successful content and build relationships with those users.
#8: Make it easier for users to find your content with # (hashtags)
Promotions—hashtags make it easy to track a promotion’s activity across many social platforms.
Unification—you can track a hashtag across all the major social media networks
Conversations—giving a fan your website address does not make it easy to begin a conversation and interact with them, but hashtags do.
Targeting—people who commonly use hashtags are likely to engage in social conversations and are more likely to share a positive experience they’ve had with your artist or their music.
#9: Make your website mobile-friendly (Responsive)
Over 60% of users use their cell phones to explore content. This is why Google search engines now give “responsive” websites priority placement in searches.
Follow these steps when designing your website so that you have maximum impact:
Only give visitors content they need.
Landing pages should be simple.
Design for multiple browsers and device compatibility.
Always include social media icons.
Usability should be top priority.
Don’t give user any reason to leave your site. Be mobile-friendly.
#10: Network in right places
What social networks do your customers favor? Are they on Twitter and Facebook, but haven’t embraced Google+ yet?
Social Media is a little more complex for artists. You should be on all Social Media outlets. Don’t assume just because Facebook is the biggest that everyone only uses it. Imagine it like grocery shopping. Does everyone shop at Walmart? No, many people rather shop at Wholefoods or Publix because of their better selection and quality of food. Follow your potential fans and prospects so you can network in all the right places.
You may think “wow, that is a lot of extra work to keep up with all these accounts.”. Not really, there are several apps available which easily connect to all your Social Media accounts allowing you the ease of posting to all in a single push of a button.
#11: Show your human side with photos and videos
Photos and videos are highly shareable on social media. When posting photos of yourself, your performance, etc it makes you more human to your fanbase. It adds to your brand and assists in building relationships with your music community.
#12: Strengthen In-Person Events With Social Media Promotion
Are you curious about the relationship between in-person events and social media? How to promote both.
Engage—encourage potential attendees to interact with you early on by crowdsourcing feedback.
Intrigue—create an event page on event listing sites such as Facebook events and Eventbrite.
Excite potential attendees with videos, posts, press releases, Twitter list of attendees, etc.
Integrate—pick a hashtag for the event to get people talking.
Inform—ask attendees to vote on song suggestions.
Propagate—stream live video of your event. This is easily done with Facebook Live or Periscope (Twitter).
In-person events, combined with online social networking, provide the best opportunity for artists to reap the benefits of both worlds.