The music industry is extremely competitive and it is becoming increasingly challenging to make it big. Previously, certain record labels and artists had a monopoly of the market and in the mid to late 1900s, we can remember the same handful of artists inundating the market. If you listen to the radio today, this still remains the case, with the same songs played over and over (especially on Top 40 Radio!)
But the landscape is rapidly changing. With innovative changemakers like audio streaming and media services provider Spotify coming onto the scene in the early 2000s. This massive change-up has opened doors for up-and-coming artists to share their music freely to a large audience of consumers who are looking to try something different. That said, unless you’re a major cultural force like Beyoncé, it’s fairly difficult to get the pick-up you need to transition from the regular band playing at the local dive bar to a touring sensation.
If seeing your name in the stars feels like a pipedream, we have some marketing ideas below to let your target market know who you are, what you do, and why they should identify with you with a special focus on Instagram.
Why Instagram?
During the past few years, the music industry has undergone big changes that have given artists much more creative leeway in the production and marketing areas of their craft. Many artists still struggle with reaching their key listeners who will become brand advocates, sharing their music with friends and family. While musicians are passionate about their craft, social media management might not come as intuitively.
No matter your audience, Instagram offers many features to reach your audience interactively – from simple feed posts to quirky reels and longer-form videos, your only potential limit is your creativity. So here are some fun and creative ideas to get those wheels turning.
Revamp your bio
Your bio is one of the first things that someone will see when visiting your Instagram profile – so make it memorable. This is the perfect space to establish your unique voice and tone right off the bat while sharing what makes you special.
Consider including career highlights, awards, achievements, and praises from industry-recognized magazines and publications. Don’t forget to update the link to include a call-to-action to find tickets to your upcoming shows, a lead to the website, and more. We would recommend using Linktree to connect your audience with a wide range of content, all on one link.
Start with Instagram Stories
Instagram made a huge move transitioning into stories, taking away the power from Snapchat with the capability to house both photos and short-form, slideshow format photos and videos that don’t clog up the feed. Reels are great for anything that you want to share for a short period of time while engaging your audience. Some ideas here include:
- Upcoming concert promotion
- New music release
- Merch promotion
- Polls and giveaways
Don’t forget – you can add your music right onto Instagram Stories with the music sticker.
Give Instagram TV a run
Instagram TV (IGTV) allows users to promote longer-form content to its audience, uploading videos that are 10 minutes long for unverified users or 60 minutes long for verified accounts. Since video is known as the most effective type of content today, IGTV allows you to really show your audience what makes your brand unique. Here are some creative ways to share what you or your band has been up to:
- Share a longer Q&A sesh than you would be able to on IG Stories
- Showcase behind-the-scenes look at the progress of your next album or your tour
- Spotlight short interviews with bandmates, staff or collaborators
When all else fails, go back to basics
Instagram is after all, really about the aesthetics and you will need a visually strong feed to truly stand out. Drill down on the image that you would like to convey – are there specific colors, fonts, and feel that you want the audience to be aware of? Now, relay that in all of your images.
For consistent, beautiful, high-quality images, we love PosterMyWall. This platform is amazing for beginners and graphic design pros alike for its ability to create professional images in minutes with its easy editor. Some good reasons to use PosterMyWall right off the bat include:
Creating music posters or flyers
If you have an upcoming gig that you want to share with the world, PosterMyWall offers hundreds of music flyers and music poster templates to choose from when relaying the date, time, and why your followers need to attend this show. The best part is, designing is completely free.
Develop your next album cover
If you are feeling inspired to get a little artsy, it is super easy to create a stand-out album cover with the tool. Choose from a template and make it your own by adding images, changing up colors, incorporating clip art, and more.
Then, we would recommend that you move over to Planoly to organize all of the content that you have created in a way that will really speak to your audience.
What now?
There is no denying the power of Instagram to harness the cool factor of your brand and divulge it to the world. Start by improving your bio and then drill into your unique aesthetic and share it with everyone through Stories, IGTV, and your Instagram feed. Don’t hesitate to get a little creative. The wilder, the better. Have fun!
