It is very important for any band to be at the right time, in the right place, and with the right people. To have at least some chance of success. But if fortune does not smile, you need to invest in your own development with all your might.
Today we will talk about one of the ways to promote musicians through Instagram. Many creative people believe that their music or a video posted on YouTube is enough to wake up famous one day. The answer is: "Not enough".
PR is expensive, the manager is an idiot, and the producer is out of the question. What to do, how to promote yourself? Of course, we will not tell you the exact, 100% recipe for how to become someone in the media space. But we will name a couple of points that will help you gradually gain popularity, maintain your image and be interesting.
The soul of your personal page
If you have a band, you sing or play an instrument, it doesn't mean that your Instagram account should be dedicated only to that. You are a personality, your music is a product. This is worth remembering, even if you are the kind of person who always shouts: "I'm nothing without music!", "This is my life". Ideology and dedication to your work are very good, but business should be structured and consistent. That is, the right approach to all the details is important. Keep this thought in mind: music is your product to sell and promote.
Accordingly, we divide your personality and music into two Instagram accounts. We're not asking you to separate your life's work from yourself, only on social networks. Your personal page is, first of all, YOU. You do not need to devote every post to music, it is better to show yourself from the other side. What else can you do besides playing guitar, where do you go besides rehearsals? The audience should know you as a person, a character, people want to see a personality.
Do you like black humor? Share your jokes with your followers. If you love to read, then tell us about your favorite books. Demonstrate something else "yours", besides the endless love for music.
Musicians should work on themselves, develop a media personality, and be interesting to the audience even without a guitar in their hands.
And, of course, you have the right to remind in your account that you have a band and a music career.
If we talk about the Instagram of the band or your own work, it's the opposite: music, music, and a little more about music. In such a profile you can show everything that happens within the band. Rehearsals, joint trips, concerts, buying a new guitar, shots from the upcoming video.
Content, design, hashtags... like, comment + subscribe
The first rule: make good content and haters will not "make" you. The visual part is the essence of this social network. Of course, not everyone has an iPhone or photographer friends, but the basic skills of image processing are familiar to everyone. If you do not have them - learn them, you can also learn how to frame a shot, it will not be superfluous.
Those who understand promotion on Instagram highlight the main point for promotion: publish attractive photos, make creative captions, and maintain the style of the account. Such pages are sure to have a lot of subscribers, moreover, their accounts look stylish, and the color scheme is felt.
The main thing is not the number of hashtags, but the ability to use them
Hashtags help you show your post to other people in keyword searches. But here you should be careful when choosing. Of course, the first thing that will come to a musician's mind is: "#music". If you now go to the search with the tag #music, you will see that there are 270+ million publications on this word. And the first places in the feed are occupied not by newly published photos, but by those that get likes faster than others. Therefore, you are unlikely to see yourself there. That is, popular hashtags for popular accounts. If you do not yet have hundreds of thousands of followers, it is better to put more niche tags, for example, with reference to the genre of music. Also, do not repeat hashtags from post to post, at least alternate their language.
Encourage a passive audience. Stories and live broadcast
Over time, even the most active audience ceases to be interested in you, or a little bit forgets to check your profile and likes in the feed. To remind people of your existence, go live. Your followers will receive a notification about it at the same moment. Arrange answers to questions in broadcasts, or show how the preparation for the concert is going.
Do not forget that the live broadcast on your personal account and work account is different, read how exactly - above.
Stories. Talk fluently, and don't shoot faceless views of the street, concert venue, or anything else. And do not post photos without a caption or sticker, entertain people! People have seen enough of stupid head shaking for the camera or another selfie in the stories of their friends.
For this type of content, you can also come up with a certain style, maybe you will shoot weather reviews every morning with interesting comments. Don't be afraid to come up with your own chips.
Advertising.
Advertising is a key tool in the promotion. Without it, it would be difficult in any business. You may think that you will be advertising your Instagram account, but in fact, you are advertising yourself, your brand, and your music.
For Instagram, there are options for setting up internal advertising through the Facebook account, or in the account itself in two clicks. But the difference in the results of this advertising will be noticeable, since FB can be customized for the target audience, taking into account many details. And in the Instagram account, you can choose only the gender, age, and city of the audience to which you will direct it.
Advertising on FB and Instagram is more expensive than promotion programs on PlayMarket. Such applications have a free period for which you do not need to pay. Try them, maybe they will bring great results if you set them up correctly.
Instagram-plan. Moving towards the goal step by step
As mentioned above, the business must be structured. Create a separate document called "Instagram plan".
Fill it out with the following items to understand the idea of your account, you will have to answer questions:
-
Why does the user need this page?
-
What indirect information may be of interest to people?
-
What does a person feel when entering the page?
-
What is the color palette of publications?
What should I do in my profile:
-
● Provide links to Youtube.
-
● Adhere to the frequency of posts 1-3 per week, the best time: 09:00, 11:00, 15:00, 18:00, 20:00.
-
● In the posts (in the photo) to mark the band members, other important people, put geolocation, hashtags.
-
● Publish everything with captions / short messages / stories.
-
● Stories, at least once every two days.
-
● Repost in Stories if someone noted / mentioned us.
-
● Promote your Instagram through word of mouth, mention it everywhere and often.
-
● Plan publications, taking into account the nearest info-drives of the group.
-
● Set a deadline for each thousand subscribers. For example, +5000 followers by January 1. Go to the goal.
Are these all the rules to become an Instagram star?
No. Profile promotion is always a different scenario. All the nuances cannot be taken into account in one instruction if it is not made specifically for you or your product. The above criteria are what you can improve, and what you can build on to promote your profile. The main advice - read about "promotion in social networks", and watch thematic videos, because every day there are new rules of the game.
Try to do everything possible for your music career. Unfortunately, music alone is not enough to wake up famous. Therefore, make an effort to get your music heard by as many people as possible, and then they will decide whether it is enough or not.
