If you’re an independent musician, you know that life can be an adventure. You’re writing and playing music, booking gigs, performing at those gigs…but then on top of all that you have to promote and market yourself as a musician. Social media marketing is often overlooked, but it’s important that you establish a presence there because it’s where your fans are. It’s crucial that you engage with your fans and connect with them so you stay at the front of their minds.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the social media marketing platforms out there, but what’s most important is to find where your audience spends their time and to use social media consistently. Let’s cover a few ways you can increase engagement with your fans on social media.
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Be active, consistent, and engaging.
Social media has shifted from being a promotional channel where people talk up their products or services to being a channel for people to engage with each other. People don’t just expect ads and marketing – they expect more of a conversation. They want you to respond to their comments. To truly engage with people on social media, you need to choose a social media platform to focus on. It’s best to get an idea of where your fans are online – what platform are they using? Where are they hanging out?
Next you have to create a schedule to follow. It’s important that you’re consistent in your posting so that you can establish a real presence online. Your fans will want to see more new content, but if there’s nothing there they’ll lose interest. You also need to be proactive and respond to fans. If they comment, reply. Invite people to interact with you on social media. Have a conversation. Remember – social media is all about engagement. If someone takes the time to reach out to you or to comment on a post, do them the courtesy of giving a response. It shows you really care about your followers and your fanbase.
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Share your music.
You’ve also got to share your music online. That’s what will get people coming to your social media accounts – they want to hear your latest music and enjoy it. Building a fanbase for your music starts, of course, with getting that music into the world and getting people to listen to it. The more you share your music, the more you’re encouraging people to engage with you by commenting and sharing.
Video production can be expensive for musicians, but that’s where Wavve can help. You can take audio files – your songs – and turn them into visual, shareable videos that are perfect for social media. It turns an auditory medium into a visual one. Once you’ve posted your music, you can ask people to comment and respond to the videos.
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Go live.
You can also go live and connect with your fans in real time. Platforms like Facebook Live and YouTube Live allow you to be right in front of your audience. You can really, truly have a conversation with them. You can chat with your fans during your video so they can engage and interact with you. With live video, you can become more of a real person to your fans. It makes it feel like you’re really speaking directly to your audience.
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Giveaways.
People love free stuff, which is why giveaways are a great way to get people to engage with you on social media. It can also help you increase and build your follower count. People will be eager to listen to your music and participate in your “fan appreciation” giveaways. And they’ll probably tell their friends, who will want to check out your music and your social media accounts. (And, of course, be a part of the chance to win free stuff!)
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Those are a few ways that you can increase your engagement with fans using social media. And Wavve is here to help you reach your audience and grow your fanbase. As a musician, audio is your thing. But Wavve makes it easy to turn audio clips into videos that look great on social media. When people are scrolling through the overload of content that’s online, something visually appealing can catch the eye and get them to slow down. And when they do, they’ll discover your music – and hopefully tell all their friends! Anyways, check out our different plans and see which one will work best for you.
I’m the Founder of Wavve. I love building tools to help content creators better share their message on social media.