How to get more fans in 2023

In today’s digital environment, being an independent artist has never been easier, but when it comes to growing an artistic project, we often hear the same question from creators: How do I get more fans in 2022?

In this article we’ll cover a few of the methods and tools that you can exploit to grow your fanbase as an artist by reaching new audiences.

Social media

Social media is without a doubt one of the main tools that you have at your disposal as an artist when it comes to building a fanbase. It is key for your social media to be branded according to your project (when it comes to pictures, book a professional photographer!) but also for biographies, links and contact details to be filled in order to provide potential fans with information about yourself and make your social presence more attractive.

It is important to be present on all platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube & more), although some platforms will be better tailored to your specific audience and content.

How to choose which platform(s) to focus on

Although content that you create can be posted on various platforms, and as previously mentioned, it is important to be present on all social media, a good strategy is to pick whichever platform caters to your audience best or is the most fun for you to work with!

For example, if you are a vocalist that creates covers of Disney songs, TikTok could be the best alternative for the following reasons:

• Disney and anime covers will cater best to TikTok’s young userbase.
• The short & vertical video format will work well to record yourself singing the hook or most well-known part of a popular song.

Now that you’ve chosen the platform that will work best for your content, here a few tips that will help boost your growth through social media

Focus on new features

Social media platforms function based on algorithms, which tend to push the use of new features. As an example, YouTube shorts are currently getting a lot of attention, given that YouTube is trying to compete with TikTok. Similarly, TikTok has recently launched stories, attempting to offer the same features as its competition.

Stay on the lookout for new features & use as much of the application’s possibilities as possible when posting content. Using filters, adding music to videos, reposting posts in your stories & engaging your audience with all means at your disposal is key!

Be authentic & consistent

As an artist, your main business is music streaming and playing shows when applicable. People will follow you on platforms to see more of you! Posting on the regular and giving an inside look on your life as a creator is paramount and will create a sense of proximity with your audience.

Stories are ideal in that sense as they allow you to share moments of your life, may it be music-related or not, so get in the habit of sharing with your audience!

Ride out current trends

Platforms such as TikTok or Instagram’s Reels feature are trend-focused. May it be through various ‘challenges’ present on the platforms, or the use of a currently trending song in a video that you posted, following trends on these platforms is key to successfully growing your online presence.

Stay up to date with what other users are doing and try to follow with trends in your own way!

Be patient!

Although a video can go viral overnight, growth will not be immediate. Don’t get discouraged if the first ten pieces of content you post don’t blow up! Stay consistent, focus on providing quality & trendy content and over time, you will see growth.

Avoid fake likes and followers, engagement groups and other artificial engagement boosts, they will most likely get you shadow-banned and will choke your algorithmic support.

Landing pages and Pre-Saves

Landing Pages

Landing pages are a useful tool to grow your social media following and put in place marketing strategies. Clicking through to a landing page will trigger an action from your audience in exchange for a reward, making it possible for you to obtain a follower on Instagram in exchange for a free download for instance.

While landing pages will grow your numbers and make your presence online more credible to record labels, promoters or radio stations, the following generated is generally not very engaged. This is why we’d like to show you the most efficient way to use this tool!

Collecting e-mails is a very effective strategy as it allows you to directly communicate information to your followers. You can, for example, offer a free piece of content (A video, a tutorial or a free remix of a popular song), ask for an e-mail in return and build a mailing list. You will then be able to mail new releases, bookings or other news to said list using applications such as Mailchimp or YAMM (Yet Another Mail Merge), linked below.

When doing so, it is always best to provide value to your following through tips, freebies or exclusives and make sure to never, ever spam your list with e-mails.

Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/

Good service to send out large numbers of e-mails & offers free templates, although the mails are branded ‘Mailchimp’.

YAMM: https://yamm.com/

Great service to send out personalized e-mails & does not have a watermark, although their free plan is limited to 50 emails a day.

Pre-saves

Pre-saves allows users add your song to their playlist before it is released so they can be the first to listen to it on release day. This service is generally provided by third party platforms and can help create engagement & clicks on your social media posts.

Contrary to popular belief, Spotify announced that they did not have access to pre-save date and that it therefore did not have an impact on the algorithmic performance of a song. It remains nonetheless a good strategy to remind your audience of your new content and will help trigger algorithmic support from Spotify through the playlist adds generated.

Releese allows you to create pre-save pages which then convert to release pages once your music is out, a nifty tool to step up your promotion !

Advertising

While our previous tips focused on tools that require little to no budget, advertising on social media is also an effective method to get your music to new ears. It will allow you to target specific audiences and boost your streams but also your social media engagement!

Format

Although you can promote different types of content on social media, we would recommend using video, as it is the format that currently generates the most engagement online. The content of the video then might depend on the audience you are targeting.

Targeting

Targeting is the most important aspect of advertising online. In order to find your target audience, ask yourself these questions:

• What age group listens to your music the most?
• Where do people listen to you?
• What other artists do they listen to?
• What platform and features do they tend to use the most?
• Are there any other specific that could listen to your music in terms of income, profession, occupations, hobbies?

Getting an idea of what your ideal fan could be like or what he could enjoy will help you define your target audience, which you will then be able to specify using advertisements through your social media pages.

Here is a more comprehensive chart to help you target your ideal listenersBudgetAlthough advertising incurs financial investment, you don’t need to spend big amounts to get good results. The lower your budget is, the more targeted your audience should be. Campaigns with low budget in a specific city or country, or targeting a very specific set of individuals can work very well!

Collaborations

Collaborations do not only push your boundaries creatively and musically, they also allow you to benefit from the fanbase of the artist you are working with. Collaborations can span across many fields: producers, vocalists, visual artists (NFTs/music videos), etc. There is always a way to work with other content creators!

When releasing with another musician, Spotify’s algorithmic playlists such as release radar (which compiles new music from a listener’s followed artists) will push your music to new ears. A collaboration on a video format NFT will provide content to use for social media, as well as a portion of the visual artist’s followers who will click over to your profile.

Free single marketing plan

With this knowledge at hand, you will be able to make the most out of your upcoming releases and social media! The real secret is to stay consistent and have a clear idea of how you will promote your music to new audiences.

Our free marketing plan has been thought out to help easily lay out your strategy but also contains further tips and tricks related to growing your fanbase. We at Releese believe in sharing music industry knowledge and provide you with free advice and content to help you develop your music career!

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