Following last week’s article, “Taking Your Music To The Next Level,” which discussed the necessary groundwork for building success when implementing promotional strategies, this edition considers social media – your virtual ‘shop window’. This week builds on the topics from last time, the importance of clearly understanding your own brand, who your audience is and both short- and long term goals for your band. These aspects are key for establishing and maintaining a prominent and effective social media presence.
A strong online presence is essential in this modern era of music making. In this virtual space, fans, fellow musicians and industry professionals can gain an insight not only into your music, but also into your brand. So, why is this important? Well, many professionals will visit your social media pages to gauge whether they may or may not wish to work with you. It has the power to attract or dissuade potential new fans from giving your music a listen or choosing to part with their hard-earned cash in exchange for your merchandise or gig tickets.
As a band or a solo artist, presenting the best version of yourself is key as you never know who is watching. Ensure online visitors are only ever given a reason to stay and interact with your profiles – don’t give them a reason to continue scrolling, never to return.
Social Media Optimization
Across each social media platform, your profiles should be easily identifiable. This is where having a clear, distinctive and high quality brand is most beneficial. Preferably, all social media handles should be the same to improve the ease of searching for your profiles. Matching quality visual assets including band photo(s), logo, etc., will also help with the visual impact and recognizability of your brand.
One of the pitfalls many bands and artists fall into is the lack of relevant information or outdated information across their profiles. While the biographical sections on each platform do vary, many of which limit characters and require any text to be concise, these should be kept up to date and contain as much detail as possible. In terms of providing biographical details, it is best to assume that the reader knows nothing about the band, as many won’t. This information may not be as obvious as you think it is to those who are unfamiliar with you. The following lists key points to include:
- The genre(s) and/ or style(s) of your music
- Band location
- Latest release / news / tour announcement
- line-up, with full names preferred
- Links to social media, streaming platforms, and websites
- Band history, including major events and collaborations
It is useful to have a band/ artist biography with different versions that are designed specially for different purposes: a brief bio for social media profiles, as mentioned above, a mid-length bio for platforms such as your band’s profile on Spotify, and a longer version for your website and press purposes.
Quality Control
Quality has been noted a few times across this article and, to elaborate further, all promotional assets must adhere to a high standard. From the music itself to visuals and written assets, if the product is not up to scratch, all of your time, effort, and the financial cost of promoting your music may not yield the best results. For more in-depth advice on creating quality assets, take a look at “Quality Control: Making The Best Of Your Resources,” and “Branding & Professionalism: How To Avoid Social Media Faux Pas“.
Tip: visit the profiles of your favorite bands, artists similar to you in terms of audience size and genre(s), as well as acts on larger labels. Consider what you do and don’t like, and what you can adapt onto your own social media profiles.
By ensuring your online presence portrays the band and its members favorably, this demonstrates a level of professionalism that is both more appealing to industry professionals and provides a level of consistency that will help your brand stand out. Additionally, not only is it helpful for potential new fans and industry professionals wanting to learn more about you as an artist, a strong online presence will boost the effectiveness of any PR and marketing strategies.
If you are interested in our hybrid marketing and PR services, find more information available HERE. For any C Squared inquiries please get in touch with Cori (corinne@csquared.info) or Curtis (curtis@csquared.info) to discuss how we can help.