It is well-known that record label companies, radio stations, music charts, and radio listeners generally control the music business. If your song doesn’t play on radio stations, by deejays, or if you didn’t get signed to a known record label, your career was doomed. As an independent artist, finding a record label that understands you and is willing to take you and your music career to the next level is crucial.
Independent artists needed to work hard to maintain relevance early on but not anymore. Marketing tools are now in the hands of musicians who want to take their music careers to the next level through social media. The music industry is changing gear with the onset of social media, internet radio stations, apps, devices, sites, websites, etc.
Many people worldwide have access to phones and other electronic devices, making social media one of the most extensive tools in ‘free’ marketing. Even though prominent artists are making a killing off social media, it may be intimidating for an independent artist.
Social Media Pages to Consider
Different social media pages incorporate different strategies to achieve their goal. Each of the social network pages attracts a different clientele. It is important to note who your audience is as an artist and how to reach them best. Let’s go through the different social media pages.
Facebook is the largest and oldest social network. The site has different demographics but is popular with the old folk. Its easy-to-use interface makes it easy to use through the stories, live videos, narratives, and pictures.
With Facebook, tracking how your content interacts with your audience on the Insights tab is crucial. The insight tab gives you all the data you need and tells you if you are reaching your intended audience.
Twitter follows Facebook with a more direct approach. In only 280 characters, you need to communicate with your audience. It is best used in polls, seeking opinions and feedback from your audience. It promotes shows by uploading pictures, memes, GIFs, etc. It can create a lot of “Noise” and trends.
Twitter generates more worldwide conversations by clicking on the trending topic as opposed to Facebook, which is centralized to just your friends.
Instagram has proven to be one of artists’ favorite social network pages. It integrates a lot of good-quality pictures, reels, and shops! The Instagram interface allows people to follow up on announcements, adverts, and endorsements. This network gives your audience a chance to be a part of your project with the reels and use of songs to create reels. It also allows the sale of merchandise using its shop.
TikTok
TikTok is the new kid on the block. TikTok is known for the 3-60 second clips. It attracts the young generation, so the content here has to be spicy and exciting for the Gen Z. Depending on your music, TikTok can help you market your song if you create challenges where others can jump on and use the music for dance challenges, etc.
TikTok records approximately 700 million users monthly.
YouTube
As an artist, this is probably the best social network for you. YouTube is media-heavy, just like Instagram. It is famous for carrying videos such as short films, interviews, and music videos. YouTube has also introduced the Shorts, which uses teasers for a project release.
Internet Radio Stations
There are other ways in which social media can help independent artists get the word out. The use of streaming apps and sites is one of them. The internet radio station is a website that hosts different radio stations playing popular genres. This way, audiences choose what to listen to and when same as what they do with podcasts.
Now we know all the social media networks available to you and their target audiences, how do you best use them to your advantage?
Here Are Some of the social media strategies
Always check the insights tab. It is essential to acknowledge that different kinds of content will perform differently in different social networks, so be on the lookout always on the insights tab. The insight tab will give you a good indication of what type of content your audience likes. You can also view other pages your fans follow to get a better indication.
Time of posting. Different parts of the world get active at different times, mainly before bed and early morning. Leverage this to ensure your post is one of the content they see once they open the page.
Consistency is another way to ensure social media works for you. The more you post, the more the algorithm picks you up and suggests you to your target market.
Finally, the quality of content needs to be up to par with your audience’s needs and wants.
The Science of Algorithms
To understand how social media suggests your content to new followers, we must understand algorithms’ science. Algorithms refer to calculated procedures for solving complex problems. The algorithm is created by what people listen to, interact with, and react to create a pattern. The song might be a new release by major labels in the industry or new bees, but it is popular on social media or is playing on mainstream radio stations. This content holds a lot of activity and can attract ads and a following.
Each social media network has different algorithms. YouTube’s algorithms work by creating a personalized homepage based on everybody’s search history. Through the tags, content creators can get viewers who can translate to money, i.e., the more people watch your content, the more money you make. Twitter algorithms mainly rely on trends and hashtags to generate attention. Trending topics on the platform generate attention for a limited period. Facebook’s algorithms make content from people you have recently interacted with on their page. The more you interact, the more your feed pops up on their page.
The Best Radio Station for Independent Musicians
With the onset of social media and personalized content, experience comes independent internet radio stations. These are your best bet to have the greatest number of audiences come across your work as an independent artist.
Glacer FM, the global internet radio station for unsigned and independent music brings you the opportunity to connect with your audience 24/7. Contact us today to begin your journey to fame and success.
