I don’t know about you, but I like to learn things visually.
Text is fantastic, and reading is probably the primary way I learn, but nothing quite beats images that reinforce the points and fills in the gaps.
The purpose of the infographic seen below (hand-drawn and digitally painted), is to show you the top 10 social media sites to focus on as a musician.
They are as follows: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, Instagram, Bandcamp, SoundCloud and ReverbNation.
This is not to suggest that you should build a presence on every site! That would be ludicrous.
I mean, if you have the time, go right ahead, but I think you will find that your hands are pretty full with two or three sites, let alone 10!
No, the purpose of this infographic is to show you where to put your focus. I did my research, and these are the most popular social networking sites out there. From first place to seventh place, you will find Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, and Instagram.
Any sites less popular than that on the top 70 list tend to be a little more specialized, like VK, Meetup, Ask.fm, and so on. As such, they may be useful in some cases, but aren’t quite as universally applicable.
And, of course, we had to include the most popular music-related social networks, which turned out to be Bandcamp, SoundCloud and ReverbNation.
In particular, SoundCloud is even used by podcasters these days, so it’s a good place to get your social on.
Thanks for being a part of the community, and don’t forget to share this “infographic” with your friends!
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Why Use Facebook?
If I was told I could only use one social media site to market my music, I would pick Facebook. It’s the largest social network on the internet, their advertising platform allows you to do a ton of cool things, and it sends more traffic to my site than any other social media site available.
Why Use Twitter?
Twitter has certainly seen better days, and at this point it seems fated to wind up in the hands of Google. At that point, who knows what will happen? For the time being, it’s still not a bad place to be and to post quick, snappy updates. It’s even better if you’re regularly blogging, since Twitter is where news is broken.
Why Use LinkedIn?
LinkedIn clearly isn’t the best place for musicians to be, though I’ve also talked about the fact that you can use it to promote your music. If you’re planning to use it, I would focus on joining and interacting in groups, posting videos, writing articles (you can repurpose content you’ve already published), and sharing the occasional update.
Why Use Pinterest?
Pinterest is a lot of fun – perhaps too much fun. I use it to pin my blog posts, infographics, products, videos, and so forth, and there may be some benefit in you doing the same. I don’t think everyone should be – or even needs to be – on Pinterest, but it is one more site you can use to direct traffic to your site. Also, most people that pin your products are extremely likely to become buyers down the line.
Why Use Google+?
There is a sizable music community on Google+, since there is a heavy tech focus on this Google-owned social network. Sharing your site’s content or blog posts can also help it get indexed faster. That’s a simple way of saying you could be getting more traffic to your site from Google if you’re sharing your content on Google+.
Why Use Tumblr?
Does the word “millennial” mean anything to you? The main reason to use Tumblr is to connect with a younger generation. And trust me when I say there are plenty of people posting GIFs of their favorite pop and rock icons on Tumblr.
Why Use Instagram?
I’m not seeing huge traction from Instagram myself, but I know a few musicians that are, and they like the fact that they can use it as a brand-building tool. What I do like about Instagram is the amount of engagement you can get on a single photo, and the ability to push your posts to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
Why Use Bandcamp?
By default, most online music stores sell your music for 99 cents per track. But on Bandcamp, you can sell your music for whatever you want to. Some musicians say they only put their music up on Bandcamp for download. In a way, it has replaced MySpace, and honestly the fact that people can buy from you makes it that much better.
Why Use SoundCloud?
SoundCloud isn’t just huge among musicians anymore. Podcasters and other types of content creators are also utilizing the platform. It’s a great place to showcase your music. I also like that you can embed the audio you upload to SoundCloud on your website or blog. SoundCloud is also evolving as a subscription service, and it looks to me like there will be more and more opportunities with this audio sharing site in the future.
Why Use ReverbNation?
I don’t see ReverbNation as a music marketing tool as much as I see it as a music opportunity tool. Ask any of your fans – they probably don’t know what ReverbNation is unless they are musicians themselves. So, don’t use it to grow your fan base. Use it to connect with other musicians and find opportunities you might be able to apply for.
Is it Worth Considering Other Social Networks?
I once published an article titled 211+ Places to Market Your Music Online.
Those places include – but certainly aren’t limited to – social networks.
But honestly, unless you’re working with a team, you have a ton of spare time, or you’re using automation tools like OnlyWire, I can’t recommend putting that much time into just social media.
Is it worth considering new social platforms? Always, as there may be an opportunity to own your space as an early adopter. We’ve seen this play out time and again.
But you should only consider other networks if you know for a fact your fans like to hang out there, you’re getting a good amount of traffic from it, or it helps you tap into new opportunities.
You left http://www.earpixels.com and i believe it really worth adding music and promotional content at this site
Thanks for the tip!
Your welcome 🙂
Don’t just make these sites your go to site. Build your own site as well. Im not the best at it, but I used bandzoogle, which is a really cheap and it looks really professional (Im not a bandzoogle promoter or nothing, just love to spread the word). Here is an example of my site http://gwscore.com/drake-type-beat
Good point, Gene. I think that’s the most important part, actually. Bandzoogle does amazing work, and I think they are among the best places to build a website as a musician. I also interviewed Dave Cool from Bandzoogle a while back: http://dawcast.com/episode72/
Wow! That’s awesome you got to interview Dave Cool. Do you have a Facebook fan page? You seem like a good person to follow
You bet, it’s right here: https://www.facebook.com/dawcast
You can also add me as a friend (https://www.facebook.com/davidandrewwiebe), and I’d be happy to add you to the Facebook discussion group.
Here is also a big list of sites where every independent musician can upload, publish, sell, buy, or just share music and songs with the whole world: http://uploadfor.com
So, in your opinion Instagram is not so good for musicians? You also forgot YouTube, I guess that would be the most important place.
Instagram is simply the 7th most popular social media site online – it doesn’t make it any less worthwhile for musicians. But from a marketing perspective, you have to set up custom links to have any hope of tracking results. You can get engagement, but what does engagement get you? Some really important questions to think about. Granted, you can cross-post to a lot of sites with Instagram, and from that perspective, it has a lot of practical uses.
YouTube is really important. The only reason it’s not on this list is because it’s categorized by eBizMBA as a “video website” and not a “social networking site”. And is it really a social networking site? I understand that it has a social component to it, but there are a lot of trolls and I don’t see a lot of meaningful conversations taking place in comments. It’s closer to a content sharing site, at least in my opinion. The same could probably said for SoundCloud, ReverbNation, and Bandcamp too, mind you.
Yeah, I mean, it makes sense. Instagram is a more visual network and I think it suits bloggers and visual artists better probably.
I really liked your points though. I think I will add some additional thoughts to this post because there could be some confusion. I appreciate your feedback. 🙂
No problem! Thanks for replying 🙂
Take a look at newly launched Sonicspan.com
I recently found http://www.drooble.com and I really enjoy it. It unites musicians from all over the world.
Next Hyype’s platform’s main focus is the Artist. Our platform helps artist’s, Dj’s, singers, producers and more build their brand through using a location based system to promote your tracks to listeners in your genre category. http://www.nexthyype.com
thank you very much for all of this we appreciate it
My pleasure!
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