The music industry is booming, with advancements in technology playing a central role in the creation of new music. This modern landscape combines traditional musical principles with cutting-edge technology. Streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music dominate, with even more sophisticated algorithms for personalised recommendations. Short-form content continues to drive music discovery and trends, with many artists breaking through via viral clips.
But where does this new landscape leave aspiring musicians? Luckily, these advancements in technology offer plenty of opportunities for musicians to share their music and reach a wider audience. Platforms such as Instagram are the perfect place to build your brand, engage with your audience, and promote your music to new listeners.
We’ve put together 15 tips on how to use Instagram effectively to promote your music:
1. Profile
Start by creating an engaging profile, to optimise your profile use a high-quality image of you/your logo. Having a recognisable photo/logo on Instagram, and across your other social media profiles, makes it easier for your audience to find your accounts and connect with you.
2. Username
Similarly, keep your username handle concise and easy to remember, and try to make it the same across all of your social media platforms. This way your branding is consistent and again, will help your profiles to be found easily.
3. Bio
Write a gripping bio which tells people who you are and what you do. Your bio is one of the first things people will pick up on when they discover your social media, so make sure it’s authentic and reflects you.
4. Post
Post consistently, ideally 3-4 times per week, and ensure it is quality content. Doing this will help you to grow and retain followers and reach a wider audience. You have access to millions of people looking for the next big thing, and to be that next big thing, you have to let them know you exist.
5. Captions
Write engaging captions to encourage interaction from your followers and use hashtags and geotags effectively to increase your profile’s visibility.
6. Stories
Use stories to post behind-the-scenes content, teasers, and exclusive clips. This helps to boost your reach and engagement, as well as building a closer relationship with your audience as they get to know you more.
7. Reels
Use reels to create short engaging clips of you and your music. Short-form content has a high potential to go viral and reach a huge number of people quickly. Your reels can also feature on Instagram’s ‘Explore page’. The best part? Instagram’s algorithm favours reels, giving them a more organic reach compared to regular posts or stories.
8. Content
Mix it up! Share a variety of content including: recording sessions, live performances, snippets or teasers, and personal moments. This variety will keep your profile feeling fresh and exciting for your audience. Check out this blog on how to build an audience for more tips.
9. Engage
Engage with your audience by responding to their comments, and make use of interactive features on your story like polls, Q&A, and quizzes. Share user-generated content (UGC) related to your music, such as covers, dance videos, and art. This will help you to build a community while also showing appreciation to your followers.
10. Collaborate
Collaborate with other artists/influencers who align with you in order to reach a wider audience. Collaborating with other artists can also connect you with their industry contacts, opening the door to new opportunities in the future.
11. Contests
Run contests/giveaways to create a buzz and engage your followers by offering items such as free tickets, vouchers, and merch. This doesn’t have to be expensive, and your followers will have an incentive to interact with your posts, which is a win for you.
12. Go Live
Go live and host sessions where you can sing, talk about anything, or do a Q&A. You can also invite other artists to join which will bring in a bigger audience. Your followers can interact with you by sending emojis or comments throughout your performance. Instagram favours the use of its features, so live streaming directly on its platform can help boost your presence with the help of its algorithm.
13. Highlights
Make use of the ‘Highlight’ feature by having your music pinned at the top of your page, this makes it easier for people who click onto your profile to see if they like your music from the offset.
14. Schedule
Stick to a consistent posting schedule to keep your audience engaged. There are plenty of apps out there which can schedule your posts. Scheduling is great as it gives you the freedom to post at “peak” engagement days and times, even if you’re busy at those specific times.
15. Insights
Use Insights to monitor how your music is performing, you can also check the engagement on posts and stories which feature your music. You can learn more about overall trends across your followers and the success of your content’s performance.
Don’t forget to promote your Instagram on other platforms, and share content from Instagram on other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to reach an even wider audience.
How do I add my music to Instagram?
In order for your music to be available in Instagram’s music library, you need to sign up to a third-party music distribution company, such as DistroKid and TuneCore, and upload your music to that. Once this is complete, your music will be available on Instagram, meaning you can add it to your Stories and Reels:
- Open the Instagram app and swipe right to access the camera for Stories.
- Tap the ‘+’ icon and select ‘Reel’ to create a Reel.
- For Reels: Tap the audio icon on the left side of the screen (before recording). Search for your song, select the portion you want to use, and then record your video.
- For Stories: Tap the sticker icon at the top of the screen and select the “Music” sticker. Search for your song by title, artist, or album. Select the part of the song you want to feature and customise the display of the lyrics if desired.
Then, post and share!
Have any musicians become famous from Instagram?
Plenty of musicians have utilised Instagram’s features and gained success from the platform, some of which include:
- Shawn Mendes: Posted popular song covers on Vine and Instagram before shooting to fame.
- Charlotte Lawrence: Used Instagram to showcase her talent and connect with fans, her consistent presence and unique voice attracted attention from the music industry, resulting in her success.
- Alex Aiono: Started by posting covers and mashups on YouTube and Instagram, his unique versions of popular songs helped him to gain a huge following.
The main key strategies these musicians used are ones mentioned above. This includes posting consistent, high-quality content to attract and retain followers. These artists also engaged with their followers through replying to comments, DMs, stories and hosting live sessions to build a loyal fanbase. They also shared personal stories and behind-the-scenes content so that their followers felt closer to them, and collaborated with similar artists to gain a wider reach.
How can I study music?
Fancy a career as a musician? Access Creative College has a wide range of courses available to get started in this industry. We offer courses from Level 2-4 in Music Performance, Music Production, Artist Development, and more! Why not visit an Open Day in your area to see for yourself.
So, there we have it, Instagram is a great way to promote yourself online! Having consistent branding, engaging with your followers and utilising all of the tools at your disposal will give you the best kickstart in becoming successful.