“As social media marketers, we tend to sweat the details. Am I posting at the most ideal times? Are my posts formatted to perfection? Do my updates have the right tone and brand personality? But while these things are important, there’s one thing that is most critical. And it’s something that is often overlooked by many marketers. That thing is consistency.” – Kelvin Claveria
Welp! Mr. Claveria summed it up pretty well for us already. This article has one purpose, and that is to give you ideas on how to keep your social media buzzing and to help you create consistent content.
Here we go!
Have a weekly show/release
Having a weekly show is one of the most common ways to keep your fan-base entertained on a regular basis. You can do a vlog (video blog) of your activity for the past week, release a cover or freestyle. If doing a cover or freestyle, have a link in the description of the video so your fans can download it with ease. Also, be sure to give the segment a catchy name that goes well with your brand.
Have a daily release
If you want to release something daily, Instagram videos are a great medium. They are easy to upload and don’t take a lot of time to make. Maybe you can greet your fans every morning, sing the hook of a song or give snippets of studio sessions. Photos, quotes or a #ThoughtForTheDay (that relate to your brand) are also super engaging content!
Do a challenge
Create a challenge for yourself, and invite your fans to witness it! Producer, Mike Kalombo, sometimes does a 31 day challenge, where he produces a song every day for a month, and uploads a video to Youtube. Similarly, Kirby Lauryen, a singer/songwriter, took on the challenge of writing a song every day for a year. This challenge was so successful, she was signed to RocNation. 365 songs! Can you imagine? Apart from creating content for your pages, challenges are extremely good practice.
Document a project
Your fans love watching what happens behind the scenes of your projects. It makes them feel like they know more about you and like they’re getting an exclusive look into your life, and that, my friend, is how you build a great fan-base. Andy Mineo, a dope rapper, created “Saturday Morning Car Tunez”, which was a weekly video of the process leading up to his album “Never Land”. This type of content marketing takes planning and discipline, but it’s very powerful – so get on it!
Create a campaign for a single
Let your fans take part in what you do. Fan engagement is really important for gaining traction on your platforms as well as in your growing fan base. Start a social media campaign by asking your fans to tag you in a post or to use a designated hashtag. For example, let’s say your new song is about oranges. You could tell your fans to post a pic of them eating an orange and to use the hashtag, #orangegang and watch as the submissions roll in. It’s not uncommon for artists to then use this media in an upcoming thank you video for the fans. Something like this really unifies your fan base and creates a nice break from your usual content. Whatever you do, remember that fan engagement is key.
Blog
If you’re a good writer, your fans would probably enjoy reading your thoughts on different topics. You can use this medium to go a little deeper with your audience, show a different side of your personality, or just show your personality in text format. This won’t apply for every type of artist, so it’s important to know your audience.
Here are some other tips to help things run smoother!
Schedule your posts
This is a life-saver! It allows you to stay consistent with your posts, even if you’re out exploring the Amazon and have no internet. If you don’t know how to do this, Google would be happy to tell you. Take note of when your audience responds most, and keep posting at that time! I gave this advice to a client of mine, and just last night he said that scheduling his posts helped him gain 100+ fans in a few weeks. #Boom
Think ahead, Keep an arsenal of media in your back pocket
No need to stress yourself out too much when it comes to posting all the time. If you know you want to take a vacation in a couple weeks, it’s important that your flow of content doesn’t jet off with you. Take pictures and videos in advance and schedule your posts to go live on autopilot. Having a lot of photos and videos to choose from is the best way to stay on track and get the most from your social platforms. Just because you want to take a break doesn’t mean you have to throw away all your previous hard work.
Let people know when you’re about to release something and make the link easily accessible.
Don’t just drop content on people out of nowhere. If you’re releasing a video or a special blog post, let your followers know in advance that it’s coming and to look out for it! Build the anticipation higher and higher until you finally release that next big thing. Minds will be blown.
Set at least 30 mins aside each day to post and respond to comments/mentions.
Social Media takes time. “I don’t have any time!”… yes you do! Just alter the way you manage it. Set aside at least 30 mins a day – post, comment, reply, befriend and be social!
Got any other tips? Let us know!