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7 Social Media Platforms Every Musician Should Use in 2021

In Guides for Guitarists , Guides for Musicians , Guides for Pianists , Guides for Singers , Guides for songwriters by Jake L Leave a Comment

Last updated on February 25th, 2021 at 06:17 am

Social media has become a powerful tool that any musician, artist, singer, or influencer can utilize to grow their audience and overall expand their careers online. These social media platforms have opened up many more opportunities for musicians to network and share their music with a wider audience. All of this would never have been possible without the creation of the many social media platforms that we are going to discuss today.

Alright, here are 6 social media platforms that every musician should be using.

1. TikTok

TikTok logo

TikTok quickly rose to the top as one of the most used social media platforms in 2021. With over 1 billion users worldwide, being available in over 150 different countries. Every musician/artist needs to consider being on TikTok, and here’s why.

First of all, for those who don’t know, TikTok (previously known as Musical.ly) is a video-sharing platform where content creators can upload short videos of up to 1 minute. You can use your own original sound/audio in your videos or utilize one of the many sounds in TikTok’s audio library. You can also go Live on the app, allowing you to interact with users who are following you or anyone else that stumbles onto your account.

What makes TikTok one of the best social media platforms for musicians and artists is the opportunities for any creator of whatever size to blow up on the platform. TikTok’s algorithm is very different from its competitors (Instagram & YouTube). It’s very encouraging in making videos go viral, potentially pushing your content to a wide variety of users. The app also does a great job of sharing older content, allowing for more opportunities for people to see your videos.

There are many musical artists already utilizing TikTok and are establishing an audience on the platform. Artists can use this app in so many ways to grow awareness of their music and brand. I’m going to be putting together a TikTok guide for musicians and artists. Once that is finished, I’ll be linking that article here.

(Click Here to see my guide on how I grew to 100k followers in 5 months.)

2. YouTube

YouTube logo on smartphone

As of right now, YouTube is the #1 Video sharing platform on the internet. Not only is this the best place to share your videos online, but it’s also one of the best social media platforms for musicians to grow their music career on. The flexibility on YouTube is incredible as you can share many different types of content.

This helps you build your overall brand as a musician or musical artist.

Types of Content to Upload on YouTube

Your Music

Of course, the first type of content you should consider uploading onto your YouTube channel is your music. Whether it is your original music or covers/remixes of your favorite songs, YouTube will be the perfect place to upload them.

From professionally filmed music videos, to live video recordings of you playing/singing your favorite songs, you’re truly in control of what types of videos you want to upload onto your channel. You could even upload recordings of your songs with a still image as your video if you wanted to keep it simple. Just remember to follow all of YouTube’s guidelines.

Vlogs (Behind the Scenes)

Vlogs are great ways to connect with your audience. Not only do you get a chance to show everyone what happens behind the scenes, but you also have the opportunity to show your personality. Something I like to keep in mind when it comes to the online world of Social Media is that people come to your platform to be entertained by your talents, but they usually stay for your personality. Be yourself and build a connection with your audience through your videos.

Collaborations

In the world of Social Media, it’s very important to network with other people within your field. We can collaborate with other musicians on YouTube by putting together videos with each other. The best part is that since it’s all online, collaborating has never been easier. It’s now possible to collab with someone who’s on the other side of the world, without the expenses of having to travel to each other to collaborate.

Promotions for your Projects

Do you have a project that you’re working on? YouTube is a great place for you to promote these projects, whether they are albums or mixtapes, or new single releases.

Overall you can utilize YouTube as a place to promote yourself and really brand yourself as someone people can take seriously when it comes to music.

Search Engine Optimization on YouTube

Google acquired YouTube back on November 13, 2006, and ever since then, the shape of online video streaming has changed.

YouTube utilizes the same search engines as Google, the most powerful search engine on the internet. This allows users of YouTube to optimize their videos to gain more exposure through a process called “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO). This is what gives YouTube the edge compared to other video sharing websites and other social media platforms.

With SEO, you can optimize your videos to have a better chance of being discovered by someone new. It can be a lot of hard work ensuring that all of your videos are well optimized to succeed, however, compared to other video sharing websites and social media platforms, this allows your videos to potentially have more longevity and discoverability online.

3. Facebook

Facebook log-in screen on smartphone device

The next social media platform that I want to talk about is the world’s largest social network, Facebook. With over 2 billion monthly users, there is definitely a lot of potentials for you to get more exposure for your music and brand on this platform.

It started as a platform where you can connect with all of your friends and family but has become a very good place for creatives and influencers to grow an audience.

Facebook has implemented many tools and features for its users to utilize that helps them grow their online presence on the platform.

Facebook Pages

You can create a Facebook page for yourself where you can share all of your work and updates regarding your music career. You can also utilize Facebook to upload your videos and other content.

While Facebook doesn’t utilize a strong search engine that allows you to optimize your videos, there are sharing features where people can share your videos and content to their Facebook feeds. This is where content can receive more potential engagement when uploading onto Facebook.

Facebook Groups

There are many Facebook groups for you to join on this platform as well. Facebook groups are communities where like-minded individuals can come together to discuss topics of similar interest. It’s also a place where you can share your content. You can get more exposure to your content while also getting useful advice and criticism that can help improve your craft.

Promotion

You can also utilize Facebook’s promotional tools to help promote your work on the platform. This can be a very useful way of getting your music and other projects more discoverability, potentially gaining more followers and fans for your content.

4. Instagram (Plus IGTV)

Instagram logo on phone

Instagram blew up in popularity as the photosharing app many people were using. With over 1 billion monthly users as of June 2018, Instagram can definitely be a great platform for any musician/artist to expand their reach with their content.

The Instagram platform started off as a photosharing app but has branched out to many different types of content such as short videos, stories, and it’s newest feature Instagram TV (IGTV), where users can upload longer videos (10 minutes for most users).  Instagram also has its own promotional tools similar to Facebook.

I would definitely recommend musicians use Instagram as one of their primary social media platforms for their music career. It can be very useful as you can use it to drive more traffic towards your other social media accounts or websites while also building a following. For more information, check out our article on 5 Ways Musicians Can Use Instagram to Grow Their Career .

Photos

Sticking to the roots of Instagram, you can upload photos that showcase your personality. Maybe some behind the scenes action of projects that you’re working on. It’s kind of like vlogging on YouTube, but capturing the moment all in a still image(s). You can use the photos that you upload as a tool to drive your Instagram followers to your other social media platforms and websites as we mentioned earlier, but also as a way to connect with your audience in a more personal way.

Remember to upload photos that are eye-catchy so you can capture the attention of all of your followers and potential new followers who stumble upon your Instagram page.

Videos

Uploading normal Instagram videos is also something you should do if you plan to utilize the platform. While normal Instagram videos limit at around 60 seconds, they can be used for snippets or trailers for some of the work you’re working on. Think of them as a way to give your followers a taste of what you have to offer so they’ll want to check out more. Again, this gives you the opportunity to drive more traffic to your main work.

Stories

Stories are a feature that was popularized by Snapchat but was adopted by Instagram when they launched their Story feature back on August 2, 2016. The success of their own version of stories made it more of a popular choice for the majority of people who utilize this type of feature with their social media platforms.

You can use stories as quick updates to what’s going on in real-time, similar to what you would do on Twitter. We’ll talk about Twitter later on in this article.

Instagram (IGTV) Videos

Instagram TV, also known as IGTV is an extension of the already successful Instagram app. IGTV uses a vertical video type of layout, targeting mobile users as their main audience. It’s the only way you can upload videos on to the app without the 60-second video limit.

The limit for most users on IGTV is around 10 minutes at the moment. For some of Instagram’s bigger accounts, they are allowed to upload videos up to 60 minutes long.

IGTV is a great place for musicians to share their music and accumulate a library of their work on their Instagram platform. I talked about how IGTV is a great platform for musicians, singers, and any type of content creator in an article called, Instagram TV (IGTV) – A New Opportunity for Musicians . I also made an IGTV guide for musicians here: The ULTIMATE InstagramTV (IGTV) Guide for Musicians .

5. Twitter

Twitter app on smartphone

Now Twitter is very different compared to the other social media platforms that we’ve already discussed. The platform itself is faster-paced as tweets come and go every minute of the day.

It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a musician/artist. Twitter gives you the opportunity of growing your social media presence even more. You could even cross-post from your Facebook and Instagram accounts straight to Twitter.

Likes, Retweets, and Mentions

On Twitter, it’s about staying updated with everyone you follow while also updating everyone on what you are currently doing. Likes and Retweets are needed for your posts to get more views/impressions. One way to get more Likes and Retweets is to engage more with the Twitter community. Check and see what type of hashtags that relate to you are trending at the given time. Retweet things that you want to share with your followers.

This will show everyone that you are active on the platform, not just constantly advertising your work. Mentions are also important in growing a presence on Twitter. Whenever you are mentioned in someone’s tweet, you essentially get a shout out from them. Conversations on Twitter are public if done solely through tweets so remember to be careful and watch what you tweet.

Posting Content on Twitter (Tweets, Pictures, and Videos)

Whether you post text tweets, photos, or videos, keeping your Twitter account active is important if you want to grow on this platform. Remember that the lifespan of a tweet is very short, depending on how much engagement it receives. When tweeting, try to use relative hashtags, especially when you’re just starting out.

You can also share pictures and videos on Twitter. Whenever you’re posting any type of media onto your Twitter account, try to share content that people would retweet. It’s similar to the App, “Vine” which was previously owned by Twitter before it was shut down. On Vine, those who had successful posts are those who were able to get lots of revines (similar to retweets). This is the same on Twitter so make sure to keep that in mind.

6. Soundcloud

Soundcloud home page

Soundcloud is one the best places where musicians/artists can upload their music onto the internet. There are not that many options on the platform itself when it comes to engaging with fans, but having a Soundcloud can be beneficial for your music career.

The platform is a very good place to build a portfolio of your music. It’s easy to set-up an account, organize your work, and distribute your music to your fans. To be more successful with the Soundcloud platform, you’re going to have to upload your music consistently. Also, try to engage with the Soundcloud community within your music niche as often as possible. And don’t forget to share your Soundcloud links to all of your other social media platforms to get more exposure for your songs.

Music streaming online has become a big influence on how musicians/artists grow their music careers in this day and age. Soundcloud is one of the easier music streaming platforms to upload music on. This is great for anyone who wants to stream their music online.

7. Drooble

drooble profile page example

Never heard of Drooble before? Well, let me explain to you what Drooble is and how it can help you as a musician.

Drooble is a social media platform that is built for musicians. Their mission is to unite musicians and artists from all around the world so their users can gain more exposure, knowledge, and experience. As of right now, everything on this platform is free to use. This includes their promotional tools and radio streaming. They have a system where you interact with other musicians to gain karma points. This is a currency that can be used to utilize promotional tools on the platform.

Content on Drooble is limited to music, feedback, and music discussions. You won’t have to worry about seeing things that aren’t music-related. It’s a great platform to meet and connect with other musicians around the world. You’ll find yourself learning new things and gaining experiences that are beneficial to you.

Byte (Vine 2?)

Byte's homepage

There is one more social media platform that I would like to mention. One of the co-founders of the app Vine is planning to launch a new looping app sometime in the Spring of 2019. People have referred to this new platform as Vine 2, however, it will be called Byte. It’s still unclear if this is going to be an exact copy of Vine or if it’s something completely different.

The reason why I wanted to bring the platform Byte up in this discussion is that it might be good for musicians in the near future. Vine was excellent for a lot of aspiring musicians and artists and has really boosted a lot of people’s careers to a higher level. The simplicity of the Vine app was appealing to a big audience, making it easier for us musicians/artists to reach more people.

If Byte takes a similar approach to how Vine was, it would be another social media platform that musicians/artists need to utilize to grow their music careers. It looks like we’ll just have to wait and see how this new platform turns out.

Until then, if you wanted to stay updated on the Byte platform, check out their website here: Byte’s Website

Final Thoughts

Musicians and artists all have to dedicate more time in growing their social media platforms. The world we are currently living in is heavily influenced by social media and the internet. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be changing anytime soon either. When it comes to promoting your music online, keep in mind that it is similar to growing a brand. Whether you’re solo or part of a band, represent yourselves well and keep growing your online presence.

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