Social Media Marketing For Bands: Get More Followers and Fans

Social Media Marketing for Bands

They key to social media marketing for bands is to focus less on the number of followers, and focus more on the quality of your posts. In this article I share 16 tips for musicians [or anyone!] that can be implemented immediately to increase the quality of your content and help you gain followers fast, yet naturally. Along with the tips below, you’ll want to create a social media strategy that keeps you on track and consistent; and like anything, be sure to continue to test and analyze what works for you and what doesn’t.

1] BE YOURSELF, Be Natural, Be Less Promotional

First and foremost, you MUST remember this mathematical equation:

70% personal, funny, interesting, inquisitive, entertaining, and other creative posts
20% sharing of other people’s posts
10% promotion of shows, records, creative links back to your website, etc.

= 100% natural

It’s very important to treat your social networks like your every day social life. I’m sure when you’re speaking with people day in and day out the only thing coming out of your mouth is not “come to my show”, “buy my record”, “I’m playing at Joe’s local pub tonight”. So don’t do that online either! Bottom line: Social media is about socializing, so go at it like you do in real life. What do you think and talk about on a daily basis? When you’re having a thought – go and post it. Especially if it’s funny. Never, ever post complaints.

Let’s dive a little deeper into the 70%…

2] Entertain

A little humour can go a long way. Everyone likes a laugh! Try humanizing your brand a little more by being silly and posting completely random topics that have nothing to do with what you’re offering or selling or promoting. Have a look at a couple radio stations pages, they seem to do this very well.

3] Give Insight

Share what you’re up to all the time – fans love insight into your life. Your fans really do care what you are doing (as hard as that might be to believe!). Talk about what life is like as a musician.

4] Be Inquisitive

Ask them questions, engage them in your band’s decisions. These can be big questions or just for fun, like what venue you should play next or what you should have for dinner.

5] Inspire

Share inspiring quotes, lyrics, and photos. Share where you get your personal creative inspiration from. When you’re atop a mountain writing a song, share that.

6] Schedule Posts

For the 10% promotional posts, scheduling comes in super-duper handy when you know you won’t have time to post at a certain time, or if there’s a chance you might not be able to get to a computer, or simply don’t want to spend time every day posting. Download social media managing tools such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck or Rignite, and spend an hour a couple of days or weeks in advance and schedule specific promotional posts, like information about your next tour or upcoming album/single release.

7] Avoid Auto-Posting

Auto-posting is when you use social media management tools like Hootsuite to send the exact same message on each social network. I’m often tempted to do this myself, because lets face it; it really is more convenient. The problem is that it’s lazy and it comes across impersonal and robotic to others who follow you on all those channels and see the same content on each one.

8] Share Frequently: Post 2-3 Times Per Day

Post at least once a day, but aim for 2-3 per day. An acceptable amount of posts is up to 3 per day on Facebook (with a few hours between each), up to 3 per day on Instagram (with a few hours between each), and as many times as you want on Twitter.

9] Like and Follow

One of the easiest ways to get more followers is to give other people more attention. Give attention = get attention.

LIKE Instagram, Facebook and Twitter posts. Go on ‘liking’ spree’s – click on hashtags, people’s profiles, the ‘explore’ page on Instagram, or your news feed and ‘like’ everything. I mean, be selective and like what you like, but if you DO like it, don’t just scroll – LIKE it. Get my drift? Your name will get noticed by either the poster, or someone else viewing that post.

FOLLOW others on Instagram and Twitter ONLY if you really like what they’re posting on a regular basis or want to kept in the loop. I prefer not to go on ‘following’ spree’s, [as opposed to liking sprees] because then my news feed gets bogged down with a ton of unwanted content. This goes for liking Facebook pages too [the same thing as following]. Be a little more picky with what you follow, as opposed to like.

LIKE people’s Twitter posts (click on the little heart). It’s essentially another way of letting people know you like what they Tweeted, but since Twitter doesn’t have a ‘like’ option, you can ‘favourite’ instead.

10] Offer Exclusives

Everyone likes free stuff, and everyone likes to feel like they’re in the inner circle. Have a new CD coming out? Give away some copies via social media to help build momentum. The same goes for concert tickets to a big show. Plan out incentives and giveaways for your fans and when you do encourage them to spread the word.

11] Engage and Interact

Being successful in social media is all about engagement and giving your fans the tools that they need to spread your content in order to develop and increase your social media following. Reciprocation is key. Respond to others in your network and keep up the dialogue.

12] Share On Stage

Shamelessly, and always, plug your Instagram, Facebook and Twitter names at your shows, while on stage, while you have fans right in front of you. Even better, get wild with it – take a selfie with a fan while on stage, post it, tag them, and then tell the audience where they can find it. People want to feel in the loop, and if you personally let them know how to get closer in the loop it will help you gain a quick intimate connection.

13] Share at Your Merch Table

Have a sign next to the price sign at your merch table of all your social media account names.

14] Be Visual, and Be Visually Appealing

Sure, post sentences and words on Facebook and Twitter, but once in a while throw a little more effort into it. Post more photo’s and video’s, download the ‘Studio’ app or use PicMonkey and add text on top of your photos, but also be creative with your visuals – especially on Instagram. People are drawn to beauty. Make your images beautiful.

15] Use HASHTAGS

You reach a much larger audience when you use them hashtags. Use hashtags that are actually related to you and your content to increase the ‘quality’ of your followers. #orusefunnylonghashtagsthatnoonewilleverusejustforfun.

What is a Hashtag?

For the people that don’t know what hashtags are… In short, a hashtag turns a word into a link. When you place a “#” [pound symbol/ number sign] in front of a word with no spaces, that word then becomes click-able and joins a pool of other posts that have that same hashtag. Meaning, anyone who decides to search that particular word/hashtag, can now see your post too. It increases your audience reach and allows you to gain attention and followers from people around the entire world that otherwise would have never seen your post.

16] Use the Same @

If you can, make your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. handles the same. For example @bestmusicianever on all platforms.