This post is a guest post from one of my favorite #musicbizbesties, Katherine Forbes. She’s a digital marketer with a background in artist management and design, and runs Nashville based, Designing The Row.
Social media, when done right, is an incredibly powerful connector. It allows you reach your fans in a highly personal way and make lasting relationships with them. If you’re a performing songwriter looking to grow your following online, here is a quick list of 72 things you can do with your socials. Bonus – email and website tips included!
Above all:
1. Be yourself!!
2. Give credit when it’s due (to photographers especially)
3. Make sure your Facebook band page is listed on your personal account
4. Activate the Call-to-Action button
5. Upload branded app icons
6. Post candid video content
7. Change up your cover photo and profile picture (make sure to use high res images)
8. Double check the content in your About tab
9. Rearrange the navigation tabs so your tour dates can be easily found
10. Like and respond to fan’s comments
11. Run a giveaway competition (ask for shares or comments and find a random winner using Woobox)
12. Invite friends to like your Page
13. Use Facebook groups not only to share your content but to give useful feedback to others
14. Target posts about shows to specific locations
15. Take advantage of Facebook ads
16. Analyze your insights to see what posts get the best response and create more similar content (you can also learn what does not work)
17. Ask fans to add your page to their favorites
18. Like other pages from your band page (venues, other artists, favorite restaurants) and start interacting
19. Schedule posts in advance
20. Use the Bandsintown app for your tour dates (Bandsintown dates will also appear in Google search results)
21. Take advantage of the profile URL and link it to your email sign up or store page
22. Create a consistent mood (aka don’t use a different filter, crop, or frame for each post)
23. Start a hashtag for your band and encourage fans to use it at your live shows
24. Share a detailed story behind a photo (be relatable!)
25. Ask questions to encourage comments
26. Share lyric graphics
27. Ask fans to tag their friends who live in cities where you’re playing
28. Post pictures when you go to other artists’ shows
29. Use the geotagging feature
30. Use the bio characters wisely – what’s your one liner?
31. Grab viewers’ attention in the first sentence of your caption so they’ll click to read more
Youtube
32. Activate your channel’s homepage layout
33. Set up the Featured Channels sidebar
34. Add website and social media links (activate in the About tab and icons will show up on the channel art)
35. Create a new playlist and add it to your homepage
36. Add a channel trailer for unsubscribed visitors
37. Add videos from other channels to your playlists
38. Encourage subscribes, comments, and likes in video content or annotations
39. Create a YouTube ad
40. Link to your website in video descriptions
41. Organize your homepage playlists and playlist video order in the order you want fans to watch them (duh? right?)
42. Make sure your channel description is up to date
43. Use annotations to link to other videos on your channel or to send viewers to your website
44. Do you have a separate VEVO channel? Create a VEVO playlist and add to your homepage
45. Look into YouTube Space (Dear YouTube, please create a Nashville location! #YouTubeNashville)
46. Set your theme color to match your branding
47. Tweet to others and start a conversation!
48. Share lyrics of an artist you respect and tag them
49. Pin a tweet to the top of your profile that gives new viewers a clear idea of who you are and what you do (hint: use a YouTube video)
50. Post images directly to Twitter to make them stand out (instead of linking from Facebook and Instagram)
51. Use Canva to create the perfect Twitter-sized graphics
52. Participate in Twitter chats
Spotify
53. Sell merch items and experiences
54. Create playlists (not just of your songs) and embed on your website
55. Add Spotify icon to your website
56. Check out your stats under the About tab (where people listen, how you’re discovered, etc.)
Email Marketing
57. Start a street team and send them special content
58. Send monthly newsletter
59. Include social media icons and share buttons
60. Collect location information so you can send targeted emails about shows
61. Take advantage of the analytics to see what works and what doesn’t (hint: videos do really well)
Website
62. Set up a Google Analytics account
63. Use a specific call-to-action on your homepage
64. Use the blog feature for recent news and press updates
65. Collect fan emails
66. Link to all of your social media accounts
67. Make your most profitable content accessible from your homepage (duh?)
68. Embed YouTube playlists on your media page
69. Add tour photos so site content is always fresh
70. Give people a reason to come back (new tour dates, news posts, special merch offers)
71. Add a favicon
72. Create moving content for visual interest (but don’t go too crazy)
Write on, friend!
I’ve been in the process of developing a course all about finding inspiration – sign up to get first access and previews!
The goal of this course is to get you coming up with too many ideas to count, writing more songs, and writing songs you absolutely love. If that sounds like you, sign up below and I’ll let you know when it releases!