Posted on November 2, 2022

Social Media Is The New Search Engine

By Barbara Drews

Social media is used for everything by young people. What does that mean for search engines? Does this conclude that social media is the new search engine?

Well, there are social media networks for every interest and purpose, therefore it might occasionally be quicker and easier to just conduct a search within the social network itself.

It is also becoming more and more common among consumers thanks to the introduction of mobile applications, some of which are quicker than a phone’s internet function.

When conducting searches, a lot of users enter their queries into social media networks rather than Google or Yahoo. 

Do You Recognize Some Of The Following Situations Where Social Media Is The New Search Engine?

• You use Twitter to search for a TV show or news program.
• Flower decor inspo? You go to Pinterest.
• Even Facebook’s main page now features a “trending on Facebook” area where you can browse headlines and look for Facebook posts related to particular themes.
• You use Yelp to find the best restaurants and repair companies in your area.

The Fastest Growing Platforms Are Ruling Over Google

Social Media Is The New Search Engine

A search engine powerhouse made some worrying discoveries in recent research. TikTok or Instagram is used for searches by 40% of young people. Will Google change its strategy or go extinct like Yahoo?

A senior Google official disclosed nearly 40% of Gen Zers prefer using TikTok and Instagram over Google when performing online searcheshttps://t.co/B118WEEPwg

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 14, 2022

Senior Vice President Prabhkakar Raghwan, who oversees Google’s Knowledge and Information Organization, spoke at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference about cutting-edge technology and the company’s future. Raghwan also discussed how young people are abandoning Google. Raghwan mentioned –

We keep learning, over and over again, that new internet users don’t have the expectations and the mindset that we have become accustomed to.

Evidently, they no longer enter “keywords.” Gen Z is addicted to immersive media. According to Raghwan, more than 40% of young people don’t use Google Maps or Search to find new restaurants. Instead, they perform that on Insta or TikTok.

TikTok continues to rule other social networks as the fastest-growing social media app, especially with Gen Z consumers, and this latest discovery further strengthens that position.

Dear millennials who only use Google, feel ancient yet?

From Social Search To Social Search Engine Optimization

Social media has the ability to significantly increase brand engagement, and because of this, it is essential for companies to succeed on social media to optimize their search engine results.

How Can You Improve Your Social Media Posts?

1. Content: Be careful to complete your profiles as thoroughly as possible for websites without hashtags, including LinkedIn and Yelp. 
2. Hashtags: Make sure to add pertinent hashtags in your postings on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram so that consumers can discover them.

By doing the above, you can ensure that you will show up in searches for your goods or services.

What Does The Future Hold For Google?

Google acknowledges that the number is startling. TikTok and Insta Reels were already eroding YouTube’s market share; now Google’s pervasive search is also under threat! 

What about Maps’ ten years’ worth of restaurant and bar curation? 

In contrast to millennials and those who were born shortly before the advent of smartphones, Google may develop a more visually immersive method of capturing the attention of the next generation of internet users. 

Google is already indexing Popular Instagram and TikTok videos so they may appear in its news feed. However, consumers might not want to quickly switch from a native app to a browser and do a search…

Final Thoughts On… Social Media Is The New Search Engine.

In order to get more Gen Z people to utilize their search engine, how will Google respond to these statistics? It is generally accepted that the solution is a feature that provides a more immersive and visual results page for Google Search and Google Maps.

Whatever the response, it must be strong in order to succeed in attracting Generation Z.

To keep up with the most recent trends and breakthroughs in the music industry, connect with MusicPromoToday if you are an aspiring musician who wants to advance your musical career. 

Visit the MPT Agency Blog to learn more about the secrets and how you can advance in your musical career as an investment in your professional development.

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Posted on November 25, 2021

The 4 Golden Rules For Artists To Succeed In Today’s Fast-Paced Music Industry

By MusicPromoToday

We are no longer in 2008. That’s a fact.

So why keep on using the same outdated methods, as if the music industry hadn’t evolved? 

Remember, in the 80s and 90s, most musicians wanted to become rock stars by signing a lucrative deal with a record label, to then tour the world and be broadcasted on radio and TV. In the collective subconscious, signing a contract = success.

That’s the dream artists were sold by the music industry for decades, before the new era kicked in. 

With the label signing being the essential key to success in music at the time, artists hoped for one thing: to be spotted by a record label so that they could entirely focus their energy on the creative process.

Read twice, this system is not only the door to success in 2021, other ways are possible!

The way labels operate has changed. Fans have changed. The way music is sold has changed. The rules have changed. And you should too if you don’t want to be left out of the party.

If you are an emerging artist or a band and want to take your career to the next level, you need to embrace the new golden rules of the new music industry and stop looking back.

Golden Rule # 1: Work like a start-up 💸

Nowadays, artists cannot just create and sell their music. They have to sell a full experience. They need to sell a story. They must sell their brand image.

This point is particularly important since it often creates discrepancies between debuting artists and established ones.

To attract the attention of the real movers and shakers and unite more fans, artists must now master their image and strategy.

And that involves many things. Starting with the fact that the artist should no longer see himself as just a producer, singer-songwriter, author, composer, and performer.

To become successful, you have to be ready to go beyond making music.

You have to consider your project as a real business on its own and act like an entrepreneur.

In more concrete terms, artists have to do what labels would do in the past and manage all commercial aspects: from market research to press relations, digital promotion, pr, events, partnerships, and so on.

Of course, some artists can rely on labels for the marketing part, but with more and more artists signed to labels, the minority that benefits from this advantage has become negligible.

If you want to truly stand out, you have to offer more than your music. This implies taking a step back from your artistic project and learning the basics (and more!) of how marketing will serve your end goal.

Lots of musicians would not like to read this and face these facts, but if you are starting from scratch, then this is probably one of the only ways that would help you make a living from your art!

Without promotion and branding, music alone is not enough anymore!

Don’t live with the expectation of finding someone to promote your music. Be that person.

Speaking of promotion….

If one more person complains about the IG algorithm……. move to #tiktok, IG ads, or FB ads. It's still underpriced attention. things change. #stopblamingIG

— Anto Dotcom ❁ (@dotcomanto) November 17, 2021

Golden Rule # 2: Content Strategy Is Crucial 📖

In case you haven’t noticed, we live in an age of continuous information flow and overconsumption.

All you have to do is open a web page for your brain to be solicited by hundreds of more or less relevant content.

How does this impact your music?

This means you can either play along and take part in that global game with an optimized content strategy to attract potential fans or fall into oblivion by neglecting this aspect and losing the battle right from the start. 

The truth is that today, you have all the tools at your disposal to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the online world: your fans are online en masse and all you need is the right content to capture their attention and retain it.

Without publishing content (texts, photos, videos, lives), it is extremely difficult to have an online presence and to grasp fans’ and professionals’  interest in such a digitized society.

What to post? 

It varies depending on the platform and the audience you seek to target, but you definitely want to be consistent and have a minimum quantity in order for your potential and current fans to have you on their minds.

This means you regularly need to post content rather than just episodical announcements when you release a new EP, single, or album.

In short, become your own media. 

Artist promo tip: Speaking about becoming your own media, refer to our article on the NFT Frauds, to know what to avoid in the NFT space and execute smart music business moves.

Golden rule n ° 3: Choose quantity and authenticity over “quality” 🔥

You have to publish content regularly. So it is advised to leave your perfectionist traits on the side. 

If you think about it, it’s a good thing.

Thanks to the Internet, we no longer live in a world where successful artists are semi-gods, shining with perfection and untouchable to the common of mortals, as was the case a few years ago.

Of course, there are always pop stars with oversized egos and labels willing to pay millions to polish their image even more, but overall, the fan-artist relationship has become largely much more humane and authentic.

The modern-day artist has flaws, interacts directly with fans, knows how to be vulnerable, takes selfies, and is fundamentally HUMAN, like anybody else.

So no content is required to be perfect, including music, photos, and videos. And that’s good.

Because perfectionism is the enemy of creativity, productivity, and authenticity, three essential elements for developing a healthy, authentic, and intelligent fan-artist relationship in the digital world.

Nowadays, you can’t just put out an album and a few “perfect” music videos every couple of years.

Your fans will not wait for it and will be forced to look elsewhere. You have to be part of their daily life and therefore be less demanding regarding perfection.

Of course, this does not mean falling into amateurism and rushing up uninteresting content for the sake of authenticity. 

But when your content is of decent quality to fulfill your goals, better not spend hours polishing the smallest details.

Spread, promote, then move on.

Golden rule # 4: Fans are the core of your project 🙌

Totally neglected since the dawn of time by big record labels, the fan-artist relationship is nevertheless one of the pillars of today’s music industry, alongside entrepreneurship and content strategy.

While in the past,  fans were considered an identity-less mass with limited potential, modern-day artists know that the real value of a project lies in its fan engagement.

An excellent marketing strategy in the new music industry is therefore to personalize your message as much as possible rather than targeting everyone as done in the past.

The focus should be on building strong and sincere relationships between the artist and each individual in his fanbase.

In real life, this means using video (live or not), social networks, applications, and personalized email marketing, among other tools.

Ultimately, the goal is to no longer try to get the attention of a handful of pros (manager, label, or others) in order to succeed but to directly attract a targeted audience, who will act as a structure for your music’s launch, crowdfunding, Patreon / Tipeee, and so on. So target your niche and interact with individuals.

Conclusion

All artists would love to dedicate all of their time to their music. But that’s just not how things work anymore. The music industry has changed drastically and you must adapt to these new codes, trends, and processes. To build a long and lasting music career, use these 4 golden rules to maximize your efforts and take advantage of the many opportunities that were non-existent just a few years ago. 

BTW, check more about MPT NFT, a Modern-Day Music Marketing Tool for all types of Artists.

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Posted on June 25, 2020

MusicPromoToday Analytics: Understanding TikTok Marketing, Myths & Best Practices

By MusicPromoToday

If you are a musician, singer, songwriter or part of a band, you’ve probably heard of TikTok, even if you haven’t necessarily used it before. Maybe you’ve occasionally seen YouTube videos of teenagers giddily lip-syncing or dancing to popular songs while Snapchat-like filters and AR features occupy the scene. These types of videos are commonplace on TikTok, but musicians also use it to spread their music worldwide. However, the Chinese company ByteDance who launched the app back in 2016 became equipped with a few fair myths that dispersed all over the video-sharing social network. MusicPromoToday has gathered a rundown of TikTok marketing myths and facts so you’re more aware of why so many are addicted to this app.

TikTok Marketing Myth 1

Your TikTok videos should be either funny skits or dancing.

TikTok Marketing Fact 1

This is definitely not true! These doings are grounded in strategies that are successfully based on getting songs viral for musicians and artists. It’s your account page and you should set out content that you feel the best with! There’s a lot of skits and dancing on TikTok, but you can take a different TikTok marketing direction too!

TikTok Marketing Myth 2

TikTok is only for one style of music. 

TikTok Marketing Fact 2

Hmm…WRONG! If you do adequate research about the app itself, even if you just browse and watch various TikTok videos, you’ll quickly find that this is not the case. There are all types of music erupting on the social media platform. Urban, electronic, rock, classical and so many more genres.

TikTok Marketing Myth 3

TikTok campaigns are easy. 

TikTok Marketing Fact 3

Research shows that TikTok tends to be one of the cheaper platforms, allowing for “cheap failure,” but with correct and strategic music marketing promotion, you and your music will go viral in no time! Start posting something today. We’ll promise you will get a few dozen or hundreds of views within the first 24-48 hours without doing anything. Do the math and multiply those views by 10 posts or 20 posts! See the numbers adding up? It’s very important to be consistent. The more you post, the more you attract. Make sure to keep your posts quality up to par as well so users can also like and share it with their friends instead of simply watching and skipping it. Social media is all about entertaining, make sure the first couple seconds of your TikTok video grabs the attention of the viewer; this is the best TikTok music marketing tip we can give you and the best insider that will retain users. 

As an artist, take the risk (which in this case is only your time) and spend it on Tiktok to be at the forefront of this new social media giant before it grows even more and gets difficult to get your views! You will learn about what works and what doesn’t within the first couple days. 

Remember: The more you post, the more your numbers will continue to grow and eventually you will reach that ultimate peak! 

Contact MusicPromoToday to create a customized and viral music TikTok campaign for your music marketing success or if any of the following questions have sparked after reading this article! 

We’ll guide you on the following: 

1. How to design your TikTok campaign when you have a single vs. a music video to promote.
2. ​How to choose TikTok influencers (TikTok followers vs. engagement is NOT what it seems, there’s more to this).
3. Determining how much to pay TikTok influencers.
4. ​The best way to contact and negotiate with TikTok influencers.
5. How long to run your campaign and what a rollout needs to look like.
6. ​How to save your money and get the best results for your personal budget.
7. What to exactly tell influencers to do.
8. ​The best way to upload your music.
9. ​What you shouldn’t worry about (you’ll waste your time and ruin your campaign if you do…)
10. ​What to do after launch to maximize your results and help TikTok drive streams or build a social media fanbase!

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Posted on June 10, 2020

10 Steps To A GREAT Artist Profile On Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter

By MusicPromoToday

Instagram is one of the most successful music promotion outlets out there with over 1 billion monthly active users. And 500 million of those users are using the app on a daily basis. Taking into account that Instagram has the highest engagement rates across all social media types, making it a vast place to engage with and grow your followership. That being said, if you’re not using Instagram correctly it can be a major waste of your time. So here is our complete musician’s guide to setting up your Instagram account and artist profile. 

Artist Profile On Instagram

Convert to an artist profile by building a Business Account

If you are planning on using your Instagram account to promote your music and be in touch with your fans, the first thing you’re going to want to do is to convert to a Business account.  A Business account works exactly like any other account with added features like analytics and direct contact buttons among one of the most important ones.

In order to convert your account to a business account go to the “settings” menu and tap “Switch to a Business Account.” You are going to need a Facebook artist page in order to connect it to your Instagram artist profile.

1. Make the Most of Your Instagram Artist Bio
   

You don’t get a lot of options in the bio section on Instagram, but there’s still a lot you can do to get the most out of it. A well-written bio is here to explain who you are and what you do in a few words. Think of it as a super condensed version of your artist biography. Your goal here is to share your story and what it is that makes you different and unique. Try to come up with a hook that will get people interested. 

2. Have a voice with your artist profile
   

It’s also important to use your Instagram musician voice that will be relatable to your target fans. Think about how you can make it obvious as to what niche you cater to in just a couple of words in the captions. 

3. Use Fanlink or Linkinbio

As an Instagram musician, Instagram allows you to have only one link in the bio section. So instead of constantly switching between links, try services like Fanlink or Linkinbio to link to multiple pages. 

“Your brand is the personality of your business. If you want to cut through the noise and dominate your industry, having a great personality is a good place to start.”

Bryan Driscoll, 10 Steps To Build A Strong Social Media Brand

Artist Profile On Facebook

Setting up your Facebook artist page is in fact one of the first steps you have to make when you want to establish your online presence, and there’s a good reason for that; Facebook is the biggest social media outlet in the world. It’s one of the most essential places to connect with your fans whenever you have a big announcement to make or if you just want to connect with your fans, leave some thoughts or interact with them.

4. Get yourself a Facebook Page instead of Facebook Profile
   

Once you get a Facebook musician / artist page, you’re giving everyone on Facebook the possibility to become a fan — by “liking” your page. This is ideal for music fans and for you (because no one wants to have to manually approve friend-requests from every single person that wants to hear what’s happening in your music career, right?).

Another benefit of having a Facebook page is that you will be able to add other admins to the page to help you manage it. This is a very useful feature as usually you can’t do all of it and might need help from someone to manage the page for you. 

5. Use ads correctly
   

Facebook gives you all the tools to reach your audience through paid advertising as well as organically. If you have a Facebook musician page where you can run ads, it will be much of a help when it comes to promoting a new single or an album, selling your CDs or even merch. Once you dive into that realm, the options are nearly limitless.

6. Use a button to highlight your most important call-to-action
   

Hard truth: your followers aren’t going to visit your Facebook page. They are going to see your content in their news feeds though (if you’re lucky, know what you’re doing or simply have money). When it comes to new fans, the possibility that they will go through the ad and discover your page is higher. That’s why you need to get their attention right away, right at the very beginning of your page, because you will never know if they’ll scroll all the way down.

So it’s very important to have a call-to-action button right below your cover image, and also use the cover image to draw everyone’s attention to the call-to-action: which could lead a visitor to your Spotify, contact you via Messenger, go to your Instagram, etc. 

7. Make your Facebook page cover a short video

Your video on your artist profile can be a small documentary about your career, concert footage, a highlight of all your music videos or an upcoming music video teaser. Anything works. Go with something that gives a fast, interesting and positive impression of your music — even when the sound is off (because it defaults to playing on mute).

Twitter

Twitter is another powerful tool to help you in your journey of connecting with your audience and potential new fans. In order to get the most out of it, you should plan your social media presence strategically to avoid the noise and impact your bottom line.

8. Set up your Twitter page and start following
   

Once your Twitter page is created, the first thing you need to do is to start looking for other Twitter users to follow. For an artist, it is important to follow the key people in the industry, booking agents, managers, record label owners and of course other artists for further collaboration. 

9. Tweet Wisely
   

The beauty of Twitter is also its downfall. As a Twitter musician, the platform can be a great way to connect with people. Not only is it great to keep fans informed about your news but also to make them feel closer to your creative process when you tweet about the material you’re working on as it’s happening. 

10. Importance of Social Media

The most important thing here is you have to remember not to go too far and overload people with so much information that they unfollow you. For example, tweeting about your upcoming show dates with tweets like “I’m out buying strings for the tour” can be fun for people to read, but chronicling every step is a way of an overkill.

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Posted on May 18, 2020

5 Powerful Facebook Tips to Boost Your Music Marketing

By MusicPromoToday

In recent years, Facebook pages have become musicians’ prime source for music marketing. It almost seems like the success of an artist’s Facebook page results in the success of their music career. Label companies and music marketing companies who offer digital music promotion generally assume that if a musicians Facebook page has a lot of fans, it’s worth their time to check them out! In addition, musicians also assume that if their Facebook has a large following, then their events will have a massive attendance rate and higher album sales.  
However, although these assumptions can sometimes be misleading, it’s important to know that it will cost money for brand new musicians who are trying to make it big on Facebook. However, MusicPromoToday has gathered for you some powerful Facebook tips that will allow up and coming artists, and even their predecessors to be successful on the social media platform.

1. Target the right Facebook audience

One of the best features on Facebook is having the freedom to target audiences based on their specific interests. If you decide to sponsor a Facebook ad, you can choose an exact group of users who you want your ad to be viewed by. For example, hipster music fans from the ages 21-30 or Hip-Hop fans who are aged between 30-45. Therefore, as an artist, you have the ability to pay to show ads for your music to the group of people who will like it the most. This works way better than an approach where artists just boost their posts to their existing followers and ignore targeting and gaining new audience members!

2. Target the right fans in the right locations

Next on our list of Facebook tips is to target fans in the right locations. This means that in addition to allowing artists to display ads based on interests, Facebook also allows you to show ads based on the location of these specific groups of people. This is exceptionally beneficial for touring artists to maximize the value of their money spent on ads as well as their crowd turn out. Online music marketing companies suggest you to highlight the area you want to target on a map or upload a spreadsheet containing target postcodes.

3. Customize your audience

Advertising on Facebook shouldn’t only be targeted towards specific interests and demographics. You should also try to utilize the data you already have. The ‘custom audiences’ feature allows you to upload your existing mailing list to Facebook and display ads for all Facebook users on the list! This is beneficial because it allows someone who isn’t following your Facebook page to still encounter your content!

4. Install the Facebook pixel on your site

The next thing is one of the most important Facebook tips out there. If you’re an artist, you should definitely have a website and intend to advertise about it on Facebook. All music marketing companies will inform you to install the Facebook pixel onto your site. This is a basic line of code which essentially adds a Facebook cookie to your site. This cookie then permits you to show promotions for your music to any individual who visited your site in the recent 90 days.

 5. It’s not only about getting the likes 

As a result of the apparent significance of having a large number of Facebook likes for your music page, numerous artists who run advertisements on Facebook simply center around utilizing them to build the number of their likes. Rather than urging people to like your Facebook page, you can encourage them to subscribe to your mailing list (usually for something in return). Having a larger mailing list in many cases is more important than having a large following on Facebook because it will allow you to communicate with a broader range of people as well as send newsletters to people who don’t have Facebook accounts.

We hope you enjoyed these Facebook tips. If you’re interested in receiving more information, visit us at MusicPromoToday.

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Posted on May 5, 2020

Top 6 Instagram Hacks For Musicians For RAPID Followers Growth In 2020 (That ACTUALLY Work)

By MusicPromoToday

It’s 2020 and let’s be real, social media can easily be considered as a sport these days. People love followers and want to gain as many as possible in our celebrity obsessed world! If you’re a musician who is looking for Instagram hacks to increase the number of your followers, you’ve definitely come to the right place. Although some techniques might revolve around having a high quality Instagram page where followers are organically grown based on interests and extensive networking, here at MusicPromoToday, we’ve found some easy and efficient ways that are proven to be effective for immediate results. Check it out below! 

1. Create your own theme

One way you can start is by having a theme. Choose something that defines you, something you’re really interested in, or a color palette you want to follow. Do your days revolve around wellness, fashion, music, traveling, animals, or food? These tend to be some popular themes on Instagram and one of them might be the perfect fit for you. If not, gear toward what fits your everyday routine and personality the best!  A theme can also be choosing one Instagram filter to dress up all your versatile photos. When doing so, your page will look even more appealing to newcomers resulting in them pressing that follow button!

2. Hashtag your photos

This one is one of those no brainer Instagram hacks! People tend to search hashtags to come across posts that interest them. This is how people casually find your photos and Instagram page. So for example, if you are recording a new song or want to show your fans behind the scenes of your creative process, you can do your own music marketing and include various key hashtags pertaining to music. This will grab the attention of passerbyers. And generally, they will give you a like and a follow if they like what you are posting in order to keep up with your future posts. 

3. Don’t bore your audience

OK, we all know that person who posts their Starbucks coffee cup, every single morning, while driving to work in LA traffic! PLEASE don’t be that person! Try to keep your page fun, interesting, and fresh with creative and new content of occurrences that take place in your life. Put yourself in the viewers shoes and think about what you’d want to see from this new cool Instagram page you’ve just found. If you post intriguing photos, people who already follow you will give you the likes you’re looking for. The more likes you get, the more likely you are to appear on the explore page which will allow others to find your page and ride along your journey as well.

4. Post consistently

Generally speaking, not a lot of people face the most interesting things on a daily basis to post on IG about. However, if your account is focused on one specific thing, like how we mentioned in hack #1, make sure you post daily and consistently within your theme. It’s a known fact that everyone obsessively refreshes and scrolls through their Instagram feed 24/7. Might as well give them something nice to look at, right? Always remember that if you put in the time and effort, you will for sure see the results you’ve been looking for.

5. #Like4like & #Follow4follow

Another quick and effective strategy to add to your list of Instagram hacks is to pick up followers is the idea of including #likeforlike or #followforfollow on your posts. Once you include this in your list of hashtags, as mentioned in hack #2, click on the hashtag “#like4like or #follow4follow and get busy liking everything you see regardless if the post pertains to your theme. You can even try commenting under some of the pics! The moral of the story is, and trust us this really does work, in about 10-15 minutes, you can get anything between 40 to 50 likes. Believe us, we’ve tried this. As your likes increase, so will your followers list. If you continue liking for an hour straight, we guarantee that your followers will increase. Just make sure your content is interesting; always, always!

6. Follow celebrities & influencers

Last but certainly not least, this hack tends to have some of the fastest results! Choose a few famous celebrities or influencers and give them a follow. This can be Beyonce, Jay-Z, the Kardashians, Drake, Lil Wayne, etc. We tried this and in about 30 second, we received nearly 20 followers! Definitely a super quick and easy way to bring attention to your page!  

We hope these quick hacks help you reach the following list of your dreams! Now, what are you waiting for? Go try these tips out and let us know on our Instagram page how your Instagram account is booming! 

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Posted on April 15, 2020

How To Use IG Stories In Your Favor: Instagram Story Tips For Growth & Engagement

By MusicPromoToday

As an artist, musician, band, or record label, it is very important for you to be active on Instagram. Showcasing your social media presence is a key ingredient in making your artistic career thrive in today’s world. Simply posting Instagram photos isn’t enough. You need to take your Instagram to the next stage and amp it up by posting stories to your profile. It is an efficient and professional way to market your music and expand your career. MusicPromoToday has gathered some tips and tricks for you to use and increase growth and engagement straight from your Instagram stories. 

Here are some statistics about increasing engagement through Instagram stories:

●500 million users now use Instagram Stories every day

●15%–25% of people swipe up on a link in branded Stories

●59% of brands link Instagram Stories to a shoppable page

●They are fun and engaging for everyone

●They might disappear after 24 hours but they have long-lasting results

Fan Feedback

Receiving feedback from your fans is important to the development and growth of your career. Ultimately this is how you will know if your fans are happy with the music you are producing and tracks you are releasing if anything needs improvement or a slight revamp in content. Gathering your fan feedback through Instagram stories will be easier and more engaging than ever. All you need to do is create an interactive poll sticker. Ask your followers a simple message and let the responses trickle their way into your inbox. You will have an understanding if you’re in the right direction or not by the responses your followers provide.

Evolve YouTube, Spotify, or SoundCloud followers list 

Did you know that Instagram stories can also help you build your followings on different platforms? We’re talking facts! With your story features, you can earn more fans on your other social media platforms. Once you’ve reached 10k followers, Instagram will allow you to add “See More” links to your stories. Therefore, all you need to do once you reach this point is to put a link to your YouTube, Spotify, or SoundCloud accounts so fans can engage with you and your music at a greater level. The link on your Instagram Stories will be invisible and hidden under the “See More,” or as users like to call it, the “Swipe Up” option. 

Increase your discoverability

Instagram stories can also be used to help artists get more local exposure right from the comfort of their own home. Because of location stickers, you can illuminate your crowd where you are at a specific time, where your gatherings or events will be, or… where your album will be dropped.  These location stickers are particularly valuable for artists who are constantly on the go. With the assistance of location stickers, you will be able to drive more traffic to your concerts and meetups just by sharing it live on your story. 

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Posted on April 7, 2020

How To Use TikTok To Go VIRAL As A Musician?

By Barbara Drews

During these past few years, TikTok has been responsible for the quantity of songs that have turned into web sensations by artists you’ve most likely never heard of. Although famous songs by artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Beyonce are on the top of the charts, most of their recent hits are non-existent on the notable video-sharing application.  TikTok clients who are picking up popularity, generally, are rising stars and rappers.

The app that was created in Beijing allows users to transport unique songs onto their account or choose from different genres and categories already imported to the app. A specific song becomes well known once a massive following of users sing, dance or lip sync to it. The application also allows for users to create new dance moves and patterns that have helped in raising the prevalence of some music, mostly for rap. Check out how MusicPromoToday can take your music and hits viral on TikTok!

To begin with, it is imperative to discover well-known music influencers you can work with. Much the same as YouTube and Instagram, there are clients on TikTok who are known for their routined and top-notch visual substance. Because of their huge following, they have the ability to put anybody on the map. It is an incredible strategy for new performers to work together with these influencers since you can request that they utilize your new music in their recordings by paying them a small fee for each mention.

Next, you can make a TikTok challenge with your music. One that was executed really nicely was the ‘Kiki Challenge’ that recently became famous with Drake’s hit song, “In My Feelings.” Our group of marketing masters can conceptualize your ideas and formulate some intriguing ideas that will turn you into a TikTok sensation. Regardless of whether it’s a one-hit-wonder type of challenge or just for fun, we’ll assist you with arranging it full scale and will leave the rest to your TikTok fans.

At last, #HASHTAGS are one of the most amazing tools in the music marketing world! Have you struggled with thinking about a one of a kind and appealing hashtag? Try not to stress, our capable and imaginative experts will help you by bringing your creative thoughts to life. Utilizing hashtags on TikTok is similar to the popularity of hashtags on Instagram and Facebook. When done right, it can work wonders!

Keep in mind about the intensity of a hashtag in 2020. Your unique hashtag created by our exceptional experts will coordinate with your music brand design and will assist you with picking up the prominence you’ve always longed for!

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Posted on January 29, 2020

MusicPromoToday Lists Steps On How To Make Your Music Video Go Viral On Instagram

By Shawn Spence

In 2019, Instagram had reached one billion monthly active users, and the numbers are constantly growing. The app is the most engaged network after Facebook, and 71% of the billion monthly active users are under the age of 35 which gives a huge amount of potential fans for every musician. 

The competition out there is rough tho! Undoubtedly, Instagram has a huge influencer base and influence on one’s career. Artists use Instagram in many ways, as their little diary, as a platform to communicate with fans, and as a marketing tool. 

“For artists, this is a real creative space where they can reach a community super effectively by expressing their visual voice in the rawest possible way,” says Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood, Instagram’s head of music partnerships. “They don’t need to rely on all the old-school forms of communication like radio advertisements. When they want to announce that they’re going on a world tour and tickets are available, a lot of them announce it first on Instagram.”

The truth is that Instagram’s users are more music-oriented than the general population. According to Nielsen study, they spend 30% more time listening to music each week and are twice as likely to pay for a streaming service.

Moreover, FastCompany.com claims that about 350 million Instagram users worldwide, follow 10 or more verified musicians! It gives a huge potential for each artist and band to find their niche and promote their music.  

Promoting Your Music Video On Instagram 

Based on music marketing experiences, MusicPromoToday’s team listed 5 easy ways to make your music video go viral on Instagram. 

1- Make a Countdown 

When you are about to drop a new hot visual or bars, it’s recommended to hype up your fans about it and make your audience excited! Prepare catchy visuals or so called mock-ups – both for feed and story use. Start promoting your music video at least 10-14 days before releasing it. 

Taylor Swift was teasing her fans for 2 weeks before she dropped her “You Need to Calm Down” video. She was sharing close-up shots, with a mysterious description. Be like Taylor, and play with your fans. Don’t forget to set up in your Instagram Story a Countdown feature as well! 

2- GO Live on Instagram 

Instagram Live enables users to stream live videos to their followers through their Instagram stories. It’s great for building engagement, connecting directly with fans, sharing news, and making a buzz about your new releases. 

According to the New York Magazine and Livestream.com research, 80% of audiences would rather watch a live stream than read a blog post, moreover, 82% of audiences would rather watch a live stream than see a social media post. These stats are a large hint that you must implement Instagram Live to create hype around your new release! Looking for a shortcut? Fill out this form.

3- Targeted & Creative Instagram Ads 

Instead of waiting for your fans to discover them, reach out to them with sponsored ads. Use the Business Manager platform on Facebook and promote your music video with highly targeted ads. Plan who your audience is, and narrow down the your target reach as much as possible to properly target your ideal fanbase. To be super creative, use your music video – prepare two separate versions – one for Instagram stories and another for you feed. Use a call to action or a GIF Instagram offers to have them Swipe Up and click your YouTube link. If you don’t have the swipe up option, let us guide you.

As simple as it sounds, as efficient it is!

4- Instagram Story Filter

Have you ever used any Instagram Story Filter? Of course, you have! There are thousands of awesome filters – created to have fun, increase awareness on important topics, and… promote musicians. Not many know, but you can actually upload your own filter that can be used by millions of users worldwide. Get a bit creative and design a filter that is connected to your music video, and can make a buzz around it. 

5- Instagram Influencers Marketing 

In 2019, influencer marketing grew from an ancillary marketing tactic to a 5-10 billion dollar industry! According to BigCommerce.com, it’s predicted that nearly two-thirds of marketers will increase their spending on influencer marketing this year. If you want to promote something Instagram, influencers are one of the best solutions. 

Pick up influencers who are related to your music, and who are followed by your targeted audience. Ask them to share your music video in their feed, or use your filter or use Music Feature to add your music as a background of their story. 

Wrap Up

Instagram is an excellent tool to promote your music video! Making it going viral can be tough but for sure is possible with a well-planned and detailed strategy. If you could use some extra help in deciding how to promote your new release across all social media platforms, or simply don’t know where to start with marketing your music – let us help you with that.

MusicPromoToday is a leading music and PR agency in North America, and we are obsessed with breaking talents. Check out our website, and schedule a call with our team members! 

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Posted on January 20, 2020

Fake A Star: The Artificial Business Of Instagram Influencers

By Shawn Spence

MusicPromoToday takes a closer look at fake Instagram followers: we investigate how to spot them, why artists still strive to pay for bots, and what consequences getting fake followers can create. 

There are many strategies to organically increase your social media engagement and grow the number of followers you have. Unfortunately, it’s time consuming and requires a lot of effort, creativity, and consistency. 

Many Instagram users, including major artists and celebrities, decide to take a shortcut and simply buy followers or use bots to increase engagement. Bots become more advanced in an attempt to fool the social media network: with a profile picture, bio, and posts, they look like regular people. But don’t let them fool you. 

Wired estimated that there are over 95 million near-perfect human bot-accounts available to be purchased at anytime. You can get them from thousands of available services online that provide you with followers within a few hours. 

Celebrities And Fake Followers 

It’s a common practice for celebrities and top artists to support themselves with fake followers. The recent research carried out by the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) proved that celebrities worldwide, including the Kardashian family members, top musicians, actors and models have a great amount of fake Instagram followers.

The queen of purchased fans is Ellen Degeneres with over 49% of fake Instagram followers! In this top 10 you can also find stars like Ariana Grande (46%), Miley Cyrus (45%) and Katy Perry (44%). 

How to spot a fake Instagram account.

1. The profile is usually private and has no followers. Or a lot more following than followers. They usually do this to generate at least a few dozens or hundreds of followers in return. 
   
   
2. If the profile has no profile picture, it’s almost 95% sure it’s a fake profile. On a visual platform as Instagram, having a profile picture is simply a must. 
   
   
3. There are no posts or only a few images that are not real photos. Bots very often download images from a network and share them with no description, so once you spot a profile like that be sure it’s a fake one. 
   
   
4. They leave spammy and meaningless comments. Fire, hearts, and thumbs-up emojis that can be spotted all over Instagram; stay tuned, these profiles are fake. 
   

So once we know how a fake IG account looks like, can we spot accounts who use them to grow vanity metrics? 

How to spot if someone buys followers

1. Look at the ratio between following and followers, and how it changes every day. Bots that follow and unfollow accounts are a real plague. If someone uses them, followers drops are easily noticeable: one day the profile will have 3,5k following users, and a few days later, it will have dropped to 2,4k. If the process repeats every day, it means that bots are active out there. You can also spot the following increasing and fluctuating everyday. 
   
   
2. If one has many of the spammy comments we have already mentioned above, you can be sure they are followed by fake profiles. Generic comments like “Love this”, “Beautiful!”, “Awesome”, and many emojis are automatically posted. High-quality engagement is more honest and conversational. 
   

As much as fake engagement is extremely easy to notice, users still spend a lot of money on purchasing it. You might ask why? Well, let’s review a few reasons. 

Why people buy fake followers

1. Vanity metrics matter! Let’s be honest, numbers are critical to Instagram’s success. Brands and sponsors are attracted to quantities and want their product to be shown to the biggest possible audience, which is why many influencers decide to use bots, buy followers and fake engagement. It’s a shortcut to monetize your account basically. 
   
   
   
2. In simple words: it’s also an investment. According to Hypebeast, celebrities like Kim Kardashian with millions of followers earn up to $300,000 for a single sponsored post, while other top fashion influencers are said to earn around $12,000 for each product placement. Meanwhile, influencers who want to increase their social presence need to spend only $16 for 1000 followers on Instagram.
    
   
   

Roberto Cavazos, a University of Baltimore professor and economist in the Business of Fashion report, admits that buying followers is an investment that brings revenue but is also dangerous for branding, “There are significant further indirect costs — notably erosion of trust and potential brand impact,” he explains. 

1. Because of the algorithm, Instagram decides what to place at the top of the feeds. It means that if a post gets a lot of engagement within the first few hours, it will be shown to more people as it seems to be interesting and engaging. Bots step in and create fake engagement increases, so more real users can see the post in the feed. Spot influencers asking people to type words letter by letter or inviting followers to comment more than once on a post. 
   
   
2. Last but not least: competition. Instagram’s influencer market has grown enormously in the past few years and reached over $2 billion industry in 2018. No surprise that many want to snatch a bit of it, become Insta famous and fake followers seem like a great start to some. 
   

Instagram is obviously not OK with what is happening. Curators and developers are fighting with bots that create fake profiles and users who decide to purchase them. 

What are the consequences of buying fake followers 

1. It destroys your insights. Buying fake followers will screw up your metrics immediately and you will not be able to plan your organic growth activities, or even find out who your real audience is, or use it while setting up ads. 
   
   

The Cut recently published a piece about a user who described experiences of supporting accounts with bought follows, “My follower demographic went from mostly women in Chicago, to being 60 percent foreign men between 18 and 24. It’s not a big deal, but if you’re trying to market yourself as having a certain niche, it could make a difference,” she confesses. 

1. Once Instagram finds out that you buy likes, comments or followers they will be immediately removed from your profile. It will cost you losing the credibility that is essential for marketers who look for influencers to work with. 
   
   
2. If you think that numbers drops are bad, imagine being shadowbanned, which means that your content won’t appear on anyone’s feed unless they intentionally go to your profile and view the post. It’s a punishment for using engagement bots.
   
   
3. In a more serious case, Instagram can permanently block your username with no possibility to recreate your account. 
   

Wrap up 

In the age of Instagram influencers, many think that having a bunch of followers is a must to succeed in marketing. A report by cybersecurity firm Cheq shows that fake fans will cost brands $1.3 billion in 2019 alone, and in 2020 this number is predicted to grow. 

If you are a beginning influencer or a marketing specialist who runs your company’s social media, remember that by using bots you are sabotaging your own marketing strategy. Bought engagement never brings real results in business. 

If you want to grow your audience organically, make sure to check out what we offer at MusicPromoToday. From customized Instagram Influencer Campaigns to content and visual creation, to execution with real results, everything to bring loyal fans and valuable engagement to your profile. 

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Posted on November 27, 2019

What Impact Removing Instagram Following Activity Will Have On Music Marketing

By Barbara Drews

Instagram did what all stalkers all around the world feared — the feature of looking at what others like, comment, and follow, does not exist anymore. MusicPromoToday took a closer look at how the decision on ditching this feature can influence digital marketing and music promotion.

In the official announcement, the spokesperson of Instagram admits that the number of people who used Following Activity was low:

“We are removing it because only a small number of people use the Following tab regularly. Additionally, we’ve heard from people that they think the Following tab is a very hidden feature that they don’t find to be very useful, especially when compared to a similar feature like Explore.”

How does removing Following Activity influence marketing

Although liking forbidden photos and following ‘guilty-pleasure’ profiles will stay private, social media and digital marketing teams all around the world lost a free promotional tool.

Almost all beginning musicians, influencers, and artists loved Following Activity for an easy way to expose their feed and profiles.

If someone noticed that a friend liked eye-catching photos from a concert, followed a mysteriously looking band’s profile, or commented on a post that announced a new single or album, it was very likely that this person will visit or even follow the just-discovered musician. Then it’s a short way to click on the link in bio, open Spotify or YouTube, and become a fan.

How to get more exposure on Instagram without the Following Activity tab?

The following tab was a great way to reach a new audience and increase engagement, but fortunately, it wasn’t the only one.

Reaching fresh viewers and listeners may be more difficult, however, with unique and valuable content alongside a growth strategy, it’s possible and achievable.

If you need extra help on how to boost the number of your Instagram followers and increase your reach, check out the MusicPromoToday website, or follow us on Instagram, and connect with us — we’ll guide you through!

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