Five of the top 10 Instagram users are musicians with Selena Gomez ranking at the #2 spot, right behind Instagram’s own account. Selena is a huge celebrity and often uses Instagram to promote herself and her upcoming music. She utilizes the platform as a way to tease her new music and get her fans excited for her new releases. Doing this gives her the ability to share her visual content with a wide range of people expanding her digital reach as well as her personal connection to her fans. If you’re a musician who hasn’t yet mastered the art of Instagram, here are some reasons why you should consider creating an account, as well as some tips to get started.
Create an Aesthetic
Find a way to capture and retain viewer’s attention. If someone is not intrigued right away, why would they scroll through your photos or click through your story/ad? Establish the aesthetic you want to present and stick to it consistently. Creating a personal brand will keep followers and fans engaged and aware of what to expect. Posting photos and videos with similar colors and edits will allow for a fluid look to your page. High-quality photos are best for ensuring a clean and professional look, and editing apps like VSCO and Afterlight are great ways to keep your profile looking consistent. Schedule your posts and push out content on a regular basis so people stay interested. Websites like buffer allow you to schedule your posts and send reminders so that you never miss an opportunity to share your content.
Captions Matter
A common mistake on Instagram is putting too much effort into the visual and not enough into the caption. That space for text to accompany your post is there to help get a message across to your fans. The right caption can prevent your photo from falling flat. Your caption should be engaging to your followers and provide them with useful information. Using a call to action like “Tag a friend who…” encourages people to interact, share, and spread the word.
Don’t count out hashtags either. Using relevant hashtags in your captions will make your content discoverable to people who are actually looking for posts like yours. Along with this, you can go through hashtags that relate to your content and follow people who may be interested in what you’re posting. If you’re a country artist you can use hashtags like #country or #countrymusic, and Instagram users who are searching that hashtag will be able to see your post and possibly develop an interest in you and your work. Keep it relevant to make sure you’re capturing your target audience.
Promote Yourself
Much like other musicians, Selena Gomez has recently been posting short teasers of her new music as well as still shots from her upcoming video release. Teasing bits of your new music or a scene from an upcoming video release can influence your followers to keep coming back and get them excited for what’s to come. Promoting your content on your Instagram is an easy way to reach a large audience in an affordable way. Social media gives you the ability to engage with your fans and develop a more personal relationship with them. Posting behind the scenes shots of your music videos or even personal pictures of you doing fun things with your friends will give your followers a sense of who you are as a person, and will help them feel a more personal connection to you and your music. Ariana Grande, also in the top 10 Instagram users, often uses this strategy and posts personal pictures in which her followers get a sense of what her life is like behind the stardom.
Link Your Socials
Linking your other social accounts in your bio will be an easy way for your fans and potential new followers to determine that you are who you say you are. Similarly, adding your Instagram handle to your Twitter or Facebook bio can direct followers on those platforms to your Instagram, and influence them to follow you there as well. Along with mentioning your other social media accounts, you should also add the link to your website into your bio. Don’t be afraid of collaborating with your peers to cross-promote too!
Be sure to follow us on Instagram and look out for posts that highlight upcoming updates to the Vydia platform as well as some behind the scenes photos of our team!