Summer is almost half over! And now is a great time to increase social media following and up your engagement. “I know it’s difficult to focus on interaction with fans of your music when all you want to do is treasure the sunny days of the season,” writes Ariel Hyatt of CyberPR,” but this is prime time to connect with your fan base and increase likes.”
One of the biggest missteps my artists make is frantically trying to amass more and more potential fans while not paying enough attention to the ones that they already have. Followers aren’t things you collect, store away, and never tend to again.
Fans that you already have don’t need to be found and won over. They already support you and your brand, but they may not remain loyal followers if you do not engage with them. Tend to them with the same love and care as you do your garden this summer! Weed out the dead, and uninteresting and water the best and most promising.
Why do this? Studies have proven that it is much more difficult to make a new client than it is to get a client that already knows and trusts you to purchase from you over and over again.
I always suggest that, in measuring followers, the number one place to look is at your existing social networks and your email list.
Here are 9 fail-safe ways to augment and engage with your follower base by pulling from followers that you already know and who already trust and appreciate you and your music…
1. Get serious about your newsletter.
Don’t fret if you don’t have one yet. You can easily use MailChimp to set one up!
Send your newsletter out once per month. Be sure to be consistent. Track the effectiveness of your newsletter by monitoring your open, forward, and bounce rates. Read my Guide it WILL Help you craft a great one.
2. Sift through your email inbox and outbox
Gather names and addresses you can add. Ask all of your friends if it’s OK with them that you add them to your mailing list so you aren’t mistaken for a spammer. That would be defeating the purpose.
3. Run a Spotify Presave Campaign
If you have a summer single dropping run a Spotify Presave Campaign to get more fans engaged with you on that platform so you can shock the Spotify algorithm – use show.co or feature.fm to set one up!
4. Include a special offer on your website and on socials for a free exclusive track or video (or better yet – several)
To deliver a juicy bribe (download, merch, video, MP3) in exchange for an email address. Try Noisetrade! They rock.
5. Follow 25 new people a week on Twitter (or Instagram, or Facebook or ANYWHERE!)
Many of these newly followed people will follow you back and, as a result, your network will begin to grow, especially if you interact!
TIP: Be sure you have a link to your website on your Twitter homepage, or Insta profile.
6. Send out personal direct messages to your most engaged followers
Ask if you can have their email addresses for your newsletter. This is a bit arduous, but the results will pay off. Do the same with any other networks you frequent.
7. Start an IGTV video series / Facebook Live and share your songs stories, and thoughts
Tumblr is great if you like blogging!
You can also start a podcast or a video series on Facebook Live and interview other artists with similar audiences. Ask them to share with their fans and followers. It doesn’t have to be a big production. It can be a small, informal videos. Just have fun with it. Chances are the less you see this as a chore, the better it will be.
8. Record happy birthday videos
Be creative sing happy birthday in a video and post it to every single friend’s page who has a birthday! This will probably be the most memorable birthday wish that they receive on that clutterd Facebook Page.
9. Practice random acts of kindness online regularly
For example, introduce people who may benefit from knowing one another. Always start by asking “How can I help?” instead of “What can they give me?” A little kindness can go a long way.
I hope you found these tips helpful.
Now go forth and grow!
And HAPPY SUMMER 