Tips for Increasing Your Fanbase Using Social Media
Make sure you have all the profiles.
If you want to expand your fanbase, make sure you have profiles for yourself or your band on all of the major social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Spend time learning about social media etiquette and expanding your social media followings so that people can encounter you and they enjoy their interactions with you. That will inspire them to listen to your music.
Make your music easily accessible.
Make sure your music is easy to find. Music is not what makes money for musicians these days, so don’t be stingy about letting people hear and download your music. Make your music available. The more people have access to it, the more likely they are to show it to other people. Then you have an impressive fanbase to glamour a potential record company with, and to buy your concert tickets and merch. Put your music on Spotify, on Soundcloud, on Youtube, and everywhere else. Give it away. I’m serious. Look for other revenue streams besides $0.99 for every song. If you want to make money from your music, use crowdfunding sites like Patreon. Crowdfunding can also be a great way to advertise your music and gain more fans.
Engage with other bands in your genre and their fans.
Make sure you’re active in the community that surrounds your music. You want people to see your name as often as possible and you want to engage with them as an authority in the community. Be kind, be encouraging, and talk to your fans. Also engage with other artists in your genre and promote each other.
Collaborate with other artists.
On the note of mutual promotion, work on collaborations with other artists in your genre. This can be simple Instagram photos of you all together, Youtube videos you make together, or musical collaborations. The benefit of this is that you draw on each others’ fanbases and grow both at the same time. It’s a win-win, plus another win if you come up with an awesome new project or track.
Employ calls to action.
Every time you post, ask for action from your fans that will boost your visibility. Host giveaways and ask your fans to repost your post or tag friends. Ask them to share your music. Do whatever you can to inspire your fans to make a move in the next minute that will draw people to your work. Your fans will be only too glad to help you, but it’s great to incentivize them with gifts. Try to think of ways to get them to share your work without seeming spammy.
Start a club.
What I really mean is make your fans feel like fandom is a club! It gives them the feeling of belonging to something and feeling welcome somewhere, and that draws people, since we all want to belong. Use special hashtags to refer to your fans and host web meetups to chat with your fans. Keep the buzz going online and your presence and music will spread like wildfire.
Guest Post by Allie Mazon