We’re in a new era of music promotion. Up until recently, musicians would be signed to a record label that would take care of every facet of their image in the public eye. That was awesome and all, but it had its downsides. Getting seen and heard was a matter of who could throw the most money into publicity campaigns.
Nowadays it’s up to the musician to take care of their own music promotion. This might take some extra effort, but it puts success in reach that was never possible before. It comes down to creative use of tools like social media.
In this article we’ll take a look at how to promote your music on Instagram. We’ll share 9 tried-and-true tips for blowing up your fan base and amplifying your reach on this social platform. But first, we’ll answer the commonly-asked question…
Is Instagram Good for Music Promotion?
Instagram should be a crucial part of your online presence as a musician. That’s because you’ll find more than 2 billion active users on the platform, with the average user spending 28 minutes a day scrolling through their feed. That’s too huge of an audience to ignore.
We know what you’re thinking. Instagram is a social media platform for sharing images, not music, right? While it’s true that Instagram is a very visual platform, there are lots of ways you can use it for promoting your music.
Instagram offers a variety of unique ways to share content that you can’t find on any other social platform, which means more ways to capture the attention of music lovers and make a real impression on them.
Promoting you music on Instagram all comes down to having a good strategy. Let’s dive into 9 essential tips for how to use Instagram creatively to amp up your fanbase.
Instagram Music Promotion Tip #1: Get Your Bio On-Point
There’s such a limited amount of space to work with on your Instagram bio that it might not seem like much of a selling point. But the bio you create for your music Instagram account will have a massive impact on your success on the platform.
Scrap that generic description of your band. Here’s how to tweak your Instagram bio to make a powerful first impression:
Start with an Awesome Profile Picture
Your profile picture is the very first thing your future fans are going to see when they discover your account, so put real thought into it. Choose an image that visually captures the essence of who you are and what kind of vibe your music fits into.
Tell The (Abbreviated) Story Behind Your Music
What’s unique about your band or music project? What makes you stand out from the crowd of other artists in your genre? Use the limited space you have to tell future fans about what makes your music special.
Include a Link in Your Bio
Be sure to have a link in your music Instagram bio that directs your fans and followers to where they can find out more about you. You only get 1 link, so choose one that will work towards your current music career goals.
Want to sell more albums? Link to an online store where fans can buy your latest releases. Want to grow your email list? Link to a landing page that’s promoting a special offer in exchange for their email address.
Be sure to draw attention to your link by mentioning “link in bio” as part of your captions.
Tip #2 for Promoting Your Music on Instagram: Use Stunning Images
Instagram is a very visual social platform, and it’s important not to ignore that fact. Even though your end goal is to make people more aware of your music, you’ll need to choose striking images to compliment your sound.
It takes some real creativity to capture your music in a visual way. Ask yourself what kind of images your ideal listener would be attracted to. Once you’ve got their attention with a cool image, future fans will want to find out more about your music.
How do you create awesome Instagram images? You don’t have to be a Photoshop wizard. There are lots of excellent tools you can find online for designing visual content. Canva is a very user friendly design website, as are Stencil and Picmonkey.
Stuck for ideas of what kind of pictures to post on your music Instagram? Here are a few suggestions:
- Photos from live concerts
- Photos of you with your fans
- Behind the scenes photos from the recording studio
- CD covers and album artwork
- Beautiful still shots from your music videos
Tip #3: Show Your Fans the Real You
People are naturally drawn to human connection, so share images that reflect your true self – not just fancy publicity photos. Showing your human side helps to form an emotional connection with your followers.
Don’t be afraid to get lighthearted, and even humorous, with the content you post on your music Instagram. Make people smile and they’ll be more likely to follow you.
Some content ideas for letting your fans inside your secret world are:
- Post about your inspiration
- Let them see your music writing process
- Share candid photos of your band members
- Post cool photos from your road trip
- Share a quote that you deeply believe in
Tip #4: Share Lots of Video Content
Instagram isn’t limited to still images. Video content is huge on the social platform, with 91% of users surveyed saying they watch videos on Instagram weekly. There are a few powerful options available to you for sharing video content. We recommend experimenting with all of them. Let’s take a look at some of these video formats…
Stories
Instagram took some inspiration from Snapchat and created Instagram Stories: 15 second videos that disappear after 24 hours. If you want to keep them around for longer, you can save them as “Highlights” that appear just above your feed.
Stories provide you with lots of cool features to make your videos stand out. Use filters, tags, emojis, and stickers to add some extra pizzazz to your video content. You can create polls that fans can participate in, which increases engagement and gives you useful insight into what makes your followers tick.
Reels
This Instagram video format is inspired by TikTok’s concept. Reels are short video clips of 15 to 30 seconds long which you can record straight on the app or upload from your photo library.
Just a couple of the awesome features you can take advantage of when posting reels are green screen mode and speed control. Your Instagram reels can also include captions and hashtags.
The feature we love most about reels for promoting your music on Instagram? You can add background music to your reels. We know what you’re thinking: how do you get your music on Instagram so that you and others can use it in their videos?
Having your music available on Instagram gives you the potential to go totally viral. All it takes is signing up with a really good digital distribution company like Novecore (which, by the way, is free!)
Live Feeds
As a musician, you’re an expert at going live. That’s why Instagram Live is perfect for promoting your music on the platform. With this format option you can stream video straight to your fan’s feeds.
Live feeds are a great way to hold Q&A sessions, perform a song, and interact directly with your fans and followers. You can see how many people are watching your video as it streams, and users can engage with you in real time by adding comments or emojis.
Tip #5 for Promoting Your Music on Instagram: Use Hashtags
If you want to reach new listeners who don’t already know about your music, hashtags are essential. When you add a hashtag to your post’s caption, your post will show up in the feeds of users who have been searching for similar content.
What Hashtags Should I Use for Instagram Music Promotion?
The best idea is to experiment with different hashtags to find which ones get you the most engagement. A good place to start is by using broader hashtags like #music, #pop, or #rock. Other broad hashtags to try are #music, #video, #song, and #musician.
But to find the really devoted fans, you’ll want to narrow your hashtags down to be more targeted. Get specific about what genre and subgenre your music falls into. Hashtags like #psychedlicrock or #experimental won’t show up for as many users, but the ones who do see it will be more likely to enjoy your music.
Tip #6: Team Up with Influencers
Instagram influencers have huge audiences who are normally very devoted to them. Their followers trust their opinion and will likely follow their recommendations. Connect with influencers in the music industry and you’ll tap into a new market of listeners.
It’s important to choose music industry influencers who are relevant to the kind of music you play and your goals in promoting your music on Instagram. If you play garage rock, it would probably be a mistake to team up with an influencer in the classical music scene.
The trick to connecting with an influencer is to offer a win-win situation. Give something of value to the influencer and they’ll be more inclined to help you back. You could offer them backstage tickets to an exclusive event, or free merch.
Tip #7: Plan and Schedule Your Posts
Instead of posting content as you come up with it, we recommend mapping out what you’re going to post in advance. This gives you the opportunity to strategize the best content to share rather than winging it.
Spend time making a social media calendar. This will ensure you’re posting the right content at the right times to get maximum engagement with your fans.
Next, use a social media scheduling tool like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Buffer. Not only will these tools post your content for you on time every time, but they’ll also suggest trending topics to post about and help you measure your engagement.
When you schedule your Instagram posts ahead of time, you free up your time to be able to interact more with your fans in real time.
Tip #8: Get Your Fans Involved
Remember who’s most important when it comes to your music career: your fans. When your fans and followers feel like they’re a part of what you’re doing, they’ll quickly become dedicated to your music. Make them feel special by regularly offering opportunities to have their say and get involved.
On Instagram Stories you have the ability to create polls that let your followers express their opinions. Ask your fans which new track to make a music video for, or what their favorite song is from your album. They’ll feel excited to be a part of your creative process and decisions.
Or you could opt for an Andrew WK approach to audience participation, who is famous for allowing his fans to ask him for deep and meaningful advice on any topic. Instagram Stories allow you to create broad questions like “ask me anything”.
Another effective way you can get your fans involved in your music Instagram is to incorporate user generated content (UGC). Ask your followers to submit photos of them at one of your concerts, or to draw a picture of your band. Then share the content with the rest of your audience.
Tip #9: Take Advantage of Paid Advertising
When you want to expand your reach or promote an upcoming album, using paid ads on Instagram is a viable option. After all, Instagram ads can reach over 1.2 billion people. These ads look like regular posts and appear in users’ feeds.
In order to create paid ads for promoting your music on Instagram, you’ll need to have a business Instagram account. From there you’ll have access to lots of tools for targeting your ad to the perfect audience and measuring your results.
There are a wide range of formats you can choose from when you’re creating an ad on Instagram, including images, stories, videos, carousels, and reels. It’s a good idea to try a few different formats, and then compare the results to see what worked best.
Get Your Music Out There
There’s no shame in checking out what other successful musicians on Instagram are doing in order to get some inspiration. You can replicate their strategies, while staying away from copying their posts completely.
We get it: you want to reach millions of listeners and earn money from your music. Novecore offers digital distribution that can get your music released on all the top platforms, from Spotify to Apple Music. We take away the effort from getting your music heard, so you can concentrate on making music.
Check out our free plan today and get ready to grow your fanbase!
