Social Media for Musicians: How to Market your Music on Social Media in 2024

If you would have asked anyone 15 years ago, especially musicians, if Social Media would stick or even could be effectively leveraged for business, they would say, “absolutely not.”

Well.

Here we are, roughly 20 years later, and I think that social media has proved itself to be here to stay. Plus, it has proven to be one of the best tools for marketing for musicians on the “market” right now.

Almost all of the music industry has turned digital. There are still hard-copy sales to be made, but those are made… online. When a business is digital, the most effective marketing channels are digital as well. Social Media has also been the most user-friendly, intuitive channel for artists who are just starting to dip their toes into digital marketing.

However, we know marketing isn’t easy, and that each marketing medium has a learning curve that significantly shortens when you have guidance.

That’s why we wrote this guide to Social Media for musicians.

We want to make social media for musicians as accessible and easy as possible! So if you are looking to grow your audience and brand on social media as musicians, bands, music teachers, music critics, whatever – use this guide as you consider the best way forward for your brand!

Setting Up Your Social Media Profiles as a Musician

In today’s business landscape, your social media profiles have a much bigger impact on your image than they used to. So many musicians and bands use social media in a professional capacity, and your profiles can serve as a sort of resume or cover letter – a place to showcase who you are, what you’re about, and what kinds of skills or sounds you bring to the table.

Choosing your Social Media Platform (or platforms)

We all know the “main players” of Social Media for musicians – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest YouTube, and X (or Twitter. Don’t know about all of you, but that name change has not stuck in my head yet). There are some more niche sites to consider like Threads or Reddit, but I recommend starting with just one social media platform with which you are comfortable, and expanding from there.

As you probably know, each of the main platforms has a specific purpose that holds pros and cons when looking at social media for musicians, specifically. Some things to consider when picking your platform:

• Facebook
  As facebook has grown and evolved over the last 20 years (wow! As a millenial that remembers the start of facebook, that makes me feel old!), they have rolled out features to help with marketing and promotion – something that may take away its value as a social media, but that marketers and brands can take advantage of, and musicians can leverage them in creative ways to gain traction for their music. Facebook groups, events, and even marketplace is designed for selling, and you can use any media type you want – text, photos, or videos – and do pretty well.
  A downside to facebook is the general demographic of users. Facebook users tend to be older, and most young people (in their early twenties or below) don’t spend any time on facebook. If your music or brand resonates with an older crowd, or you’re looking to expand your listener base to older demographics, facebook is a great social media for musicians.
• Instagram
  Instagram is the choice social media for most musicians – it has the widest user age range, it integrates seamlessly with facebook (the one kind of exception to my “just start with one” rule) and it favors video – the medium most musicians use to share their craft on social media.
  Instagram also has a robust search feature, utilizing both hashtags and the words in captions, which can be helpful when you know what you’re doing. If not, it does have a little bit of a learning curve.
• TikTok
  While there is some controversy surrounding TikTok recently, especially in the United States, the fact still remains that the “short videos” medium can be a great vehicle for sharing your music and building a fan base. They’re quicker to produce than longer videos (especially with the built-in video features) and they, of course, hold the benefit of the addictive nature of quick dopamine hits. You can also cross-post your videos to both TikTok and Instagram (as reels) to try to capture even more viewers and up your chances of one “taking off.” TikTok is a great social media for musicians who are already producing video content and want another place to post to.
• Youtube
  Youtube is the all-in-one social media for musicians who want to focus on video content only. Their platform is great for videos of all lengths, and you can repurpose them to other platforms once you decide to expand.
  There is a lot of potential for SEO (search engine optimization) creating organic followers on youtube, but it does have a pretty steep learning curve. If you are willing to put the time in, it can pay huge dividends!
• Other text- or image-based social medias
  Sites like X (Twitter), Threads, and Pinterest have their place in the music industry, but they typically aren’t great social media platforms for musicians looking to expand their following based on their performing. There can be tremendous value in them if you know how to use them correctly and understand user intent. For example: on Pinterest, the average user is not looking for music lessons or new bands to follow – they tend to look for aesthetic ideas or resources to help their own businesses. If you have some of those to offer, Pinterest might be worthwhile.

Setting up your Profile

Once you’ve settled on which Social Media platform to start with, it’s time to set up your social media profile – think of it as a cover letter to your resume. Use these pieces of your profile to send a clear message of what you are about and what you have to offer.

While each platform has its own “best practices” for showing up in search and letting the platform know what your page has to offer, there are a few things that are important on all platforms:

• Profile Picture
  Make sure your profile picture is either your logo or a clear, high-quality photo of your face. It’s a user’s first introduction to whose page they are on! Where you can include a cover photo, the same principal applies: if it is a photo, make it one of you that is professional. If it is a graphic or logo, make sure the dimensions are right and the logo has high resolution. No blurry photos!
• Bio
  Bio lengths differ from platform to platform, but be sure to include relevant keywords (such as “singer-songwriter” or “guitarist” or “session musician” – you get the picture) and a link to your website (if you don’t have website yet, check out our free guide) for gig bookings, recordings, lessons, and/or contact information.
• Other settings
  Specifically on Facebook when creating a brand or business page, there are a lot of options for your business information – business hours, location, industry, etc. Wherever possible, fill out the fields with accurate information.

*Important note: Don’t fill your musician social media profile with irrelevant keywords. The whole goal with an optimized profile is to help the algorithm understand what your page is about and show it to the right users. Optimize your profile in a way that will attract the followers you want! If you need help optimizing your Social Media for Musicians specifically, email us – we are here to help!

Creating a Social Media Content Strategy for Musicians

Once you pick your Social Media platform(s), next up is to create a content strategy.

Why do Musicians need a Social Media Content Strategy?

Here’s the thing – you can treat Social Media as a catch-all. You can just throw stuff at the wall and see if anything sticks.

However.

If you truly want to use Social Media to promote your work, to put forward a professional face, and have your biggest chance of success, a strategy is crucial.

There is now a whole industry surrounding Social Media Marketing, which means that you will be competing with others who do have a plan, a strategy, solid steps towards their goals. It’s much like the rest of life and business, especially in the Music Industry! Intentionality is important, and Social Media for Musicians is no exception.

What makes a good Social Media Strategy?

If you choose to make your own content plan, a successful strategy is going to look different for every person and every platform. However, there a few best practices to follow:

• Set clear goals
  At C&S Music, we like to to set SMART goals – goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Check out this post to read about how to set SMART goals for musicians (the first section in a larger post!)
• Do your research
  Get to know the platform you’re looking to grow on. You can take courses – I like to recommend the social media courses at International Open Academy – ask friends (who have found success) how to use that Social Media for musicians, or check out free literature offered by that platform to learn best practices.
• Get to know your target audience
  What kind of content resonates with them? What tone? Do they like videos, pictures, or text posts better? What kind of relationship are they looking for? Use that information to guide your content decisions.
• Be yourself
  You are the most unique thing about your business. Lots of other people make music, or teach, or write, but no one does it quite like you. Take that research and use it to inform your content, but not fully change it. A balance of knowledge of the platform and your audience and commitment to your unique voice is the key to Social Media success!
• Be consistent
  Anyone and everyone will tell you – consistency is key when it comes to Social Media for musicians. Posting consistently high-quality content on a regular basis is the foundation of any good social media content strategy.
• Post more than just Music
  Because you are more than just music. Use your Social Media platform to give looks behind the scenes, share how songs came to be, and help your fans to get to know you!

Growing your Fan Base: A Key Feature of Social Media for Musicians

An important piece to incorporate into your Social Media strategy is how to grow your account. There will be some organic growth as you post and others engage, but everything you can do to up those numbers is helpful:

• Partner with other Musicians
  None of us are alone in this! Doing a joint Social Media project or campaign with another musician will help get your name in front of more people, which will hopefully result in more followers (same for whoever you collaborate with!).
• Giveaways
  Speaking of engagement… giveaways are an excellent way to grab some more followers, even more if you partner with another account. Merch, concert tickets, or CDs/records are great options for giveaways on Social Media for musicians.
• Ads
  If you have a budget for them, a few ads can go a long way. The major social media platforms offer the option of running ads designed to gain more followers.
• Engage, engage, engage.
  Just like most things in business, social media is far from “set it and forget it.” You want to build your community, and to do that you have to engage with your community. Reply to comments and DMs, and comment, like, and share others’ content.

Have a place to send them off of the app

Unfortunately, Social Media followings can be volatile, as can their growth. It is always a good idea to have multiple places to reach your followers – a website and an email list are the two main ones. You can link to your website in your social media profile, and offer your followers periodic opportunities to subscribe to your mailing list.

Promoting your Music

Now we come to the part that I’m sure you’re excited about; the main use of social media for musicians: promoting your music (or your teaching services, or your gig availability).

Social media is a great way to generate excitement around song releases, encourage others to share your music, or sell concert tickets. Teasers, pre-orders, and playlists are wonderful places to start to get your sharing going.

Important: make sure to track your analytics. See which kinds of posts receive the most engagement, which links get the most clicks, and be willing to adjust your strategy accordingly. The kind of content that resonates with people may surprise you.

While social media for musicians is not necessarily easy or simple, the right tools and help can make it easier and simpler.

The beauty of social media marketing is that there are many different ways to approach it, all of them good, helpful, and potentially successful. The hard part of social media marketing is… there are many different ways to approach it.

Make sure to do your research, experiment, and ask questions when you need help.

That’s what we are here for! Any questions you might have on social media for musicians, or music marketing in general, you can leave in the comments or shoot us an email, and someone for our team will reach out to help!