17 Killer Social Media Content Ideas for Musicians
A helpful guide for artists to cut through the noise of social media with time-tested and original social media content ideas for musicians that fit your brand.
17 Killer Social Media Content Ideas for Musicians to Get More Fans
By David Andrew Wiebe from Bandzoogle Blog
Organic reach is still possible — if your content earns attention. The challenge is that social feeds are crowded and every post is competing for engagement. But with the right ideas you can still stand out and capture your fans’ attention, especially if you have killer ideas to keep your content fresh and relevant.
Why go through the effort? Because if you put in the time and work to build a relationship with your social media followers, you can expect them to care when they see you promoting your music. Build connections through your social channels, and those followers are likely to support you when it’s time to promote your release, a tour, or new merch.
Here are 17 content ideas to help you get more fans on social media:
1. Micro-content and stories
Attention spans are shorter than ever, and social platforms are rewarding creators who post quick, digestible snippets. This doesn’t mean you should abandon longer content, but think of micro-content and stories as small bites that give fans a quick peek into your day-to-day life.
Micro-content can be as simple as a 15-second clip of you practicing a riff, a quick note about what inspired a lyric, or a candid video from the road. These posts don’t need heavy editing or production value. In fact, the more spontaneous and raw they feel, the better they usually perform. Stories, reels, and short videos are perfect places for this type of content, because they disappear quickly and encourage frequent interaction.
Don’t underestimate the power of showing up daily with micro-updates. A short story of you tuning your guitar or a one-liner about your writing process can keep you top-of-mind with fans. Over time, those little glimpses build intimacy and familiarity — they make your audience feel like they’re part of your journey. And when the big moments arrive, like a new single or tour announcement, your followers are already paying attention because they’ve been with you every step of the way.
Pro tip: Batch-record 10–15 short clips in one session so you can post daily without scrambling.
2. Platitudes
Inspirational quotes have their place, but by now most feeds are overflowing with the same recycled lines from famous authors and motivational speakers. Fans have seen these many times before, and the posts are easy to scroll past. A better approach is to create your own platitudes: short, memorable one-liners that carry your personal voice and perspective.
These don’t need to be profound essays. In fact, the best platitudes are simple statements that spark reflection, motivation, or even a smile. Whether it’s on X or Instagram, plenty of artists are seeing traction with platitudes like this one (my own):
“Go a step beyond. Most people don’t and miss out on the rewards.”
Instead of quoting someone else, quote yourself. And if you can create a simple graphic to go with your platitude, all the better. Don’t plagiarize. Create your own quotes.
Pro tip: Add your face and @handle to quote graphics so shares loop discovery back to you.
3. Frameworks
A framework is a step-by-step process to reach a goal. Does that sound boring? These can be fascinating for your audience! People like to learn how to do things, and a framework acts as a summary of the steps a person can take to achieve similar results as you.
One of my most engaged frameworks (shared on Instagram) was an 11-step process on how to crowdfund $15,000 for your next album.
You can create frameworks on anything you know and understand well — it could be about songwriting, playing the guitar, how to set yourself up for a successful gig, or other processes you think would be interesting to share. Frameworks don’t always need to be educational either; they can be inspirational, fun, and even humorous.
Pro tip: End each framework with a simple CTA like “Comment ‘GUIDE’ for the checklist” to spark replies.
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4. Anything handwritten or hand-drawn
Not long ago, I successfully transitioned analog content to the digital world. Anything handwritten or hand-drawn (I use a yellow legal pad and a Sharpie) will draw attention on social media — bonus points if the post also features your face. This type of content can also drive quite a bit of traffic to your music website.
It’s funny to think that Bob Dylan basically paved the way for this with music videos like “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (song originally released in 1965), where he held up lyric cards in front of the camera. And this still works!
You will also see marketers like Russell Brunson doing this, and he’s a great person to follow if you’re looking for cutting-edge ideas.
Pro tip: Photograph your note beside an instrument or mic to instantly anchor it to your music.
5. Polls and surveys
People love to answer polls and surveys. Social networks like Facebook and X have this feature built in, making it easy to access and leverage.
If your engagement has been waning lately, try setting up a poll. You’ll be surprised at the results. Even on profiles with a relatively small following, I’ve seen a significant boost in engagement using this method.
For maximum impact, combine this with audience research. Ask questions that help you understand your target persona better.
Pro tip: Keep options to 3–4 max, and include one playful choice to invite low-stakes participation.
6. Behind-the-scenes posts
To this day, if I find an album I love, I go looking for behind-the-scenes (BTS) footage, whether it’s a DVD, YouTube video, or anything else the artist or band might have put out.
Serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk is famous for documenting his journey on as many social media channels as possible. This approach can work for artists, too. Capture as many moments as you can and share the best ones on social media.
Pro tip: Mix up your media. Create text, pictures, GIFs, graphics, videos, etc. Different users like to engage with different content.
7. Contests and giveaways
The best way to secure your financial future and longevity as an artist is to grow your email list.
The challenge is that getting people to give away their email addresses and open your email campaigns is getting harder than ever.
That said, a relevant and attractive giveaway — like an album, T-shirt, and sticker bundle — is a powerful way to attract quality subscribers that will convert to superfans with a bit of nurturing.
If you plan to run your contests and giveaways on social media, though, be sure not to violate the terms of use or you could be banned.
Pro tip: Make entry actions platform-native (like + comment) and announce the winner on video for proof.
8. Post storms
I can’t count the number of artists I’ve met who’ve told me they’re afraid to post too often. They treat their Facebook profile as sacred, or otherwise can’t see themselves increasing the frequency of their posts.
If your engagement is lagging, though, posting more frequently is a surefire way to boost results. And there are few social networks as forgiving as X when it comes to posting more often.
I’ve gone on post-storms (posting nonstop in a short period of time) multiple times, and what I’ve found each time is that:
- It boosts engagement
- It introduces new users to me and my content
- It has never led to backlash or mass unfollows (usually the opposite)
This also works on other similar platforms like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon.
Pro tip: Pre-write a 10-post thread/series with a consistent hook and number each post to encourage bingeing.
9. Facebook videos
Video accounts for more than half of time spent on Facebook. Use both short Reels (vertical, quick hook) and longer videos (vlogs, music videos) to see what earns the most watch time. Upload natively, add captions, and front-load your hook in the first 3 seconds.
Study your niche in the ‘Watch’ tab for formats and runtimes that perform. Crosspost to your Page and Group, and clip highlights into Reels that point back to the full cut.
Pro tip: Prewrite a 10-post thread/series with a consistent hook and number each post to encourage bingeing.
10. TikTok videos
TikTok now allows you to upload videos up to 60 minutes. And the great thing about this is, you don’t even need to create memes or dancing videos to get attention (if you don’t want to)!
The best thing you can do on TikTok is to find a singular focus. I have a vocalist friend who grew his account to over 36,400 followers in just three months using the same basic video format and the same six hashtags for his daily content.
Additionally, if you’ve been having trouble getting engagement on your videos on other platforms like YouTube, you should also upload your videos to TikTok–you will get more views.
Pro tip: Lock a repeatable format (hook → performance/insight → CTA) and post at the same two times daily.
11. TikTok LIVEs
Once you’ve attracted your first 1,000 followers on TikTok, they bestow you the ability to go live on their platform.
These days, going live on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube is a bit of a mixed bag. It works for those who are already established, but the algorithm doesn’t seem to favor those just getting started.
Meanwhile, even ordinary live content on TikTok can get you many views and followers. It’s a great way to grow your following continually. If you’re still grinding it out on other platforms and you aren’t seeing much traction, give TikTok a try.
Pro tip: Tease a specific moment (e.g. “new chorus at 0:15”) in the title and pin a comment with your link-in-bio.
12. Native videos
When it comes to video content, most people naturally have a strong association with YouTube. But these days, your videos can be uploaded natively to most social networks.
Obviously, it requires a little more time and energy to put your videos everywhere. But what I’ve seen, repeatedly, is that our videos get double, triple, quadruple (even 10x) the views when distributed widely.
The reality is you don’t need a ton of views to get results. You just need the right people watching your content to generate new fans, gigs, PR opportunities, and more.
Here are a few places with which you can experiment, even if you’re skeptical:
- X (up to two minutes and 20 seconds)
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Vimeo
Pro tip: Recut aspect ratios (9:16, 1:1, 16:9) once, then schedule natively so each platform favors it.
13. Online concerts
Online concerts are still a great way to get your music in front of your fans. But I don’t advocate loyalty to any one platform. There’s nothing as unfortunate as a Twitch streamer playing for hours on end to an audience of zero.
TikTok and StreamYard are both viable options. Be.Live and Restream are also worth checking out if you’re thinking about multi-streaming.
Additionally, you can try pre-recording concerts and premiering them at a set time on Facebook or YouTube (when you can hang out in the chat with your fans).
Pro tip: Premiere a pre-record with live chat; pin a tip jar/merch link and shout out supporters by name.
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14. Live Q&As
Live Q&As are quite powerful. If you want to take a break from your live concert schedule and hang out with your audience for an hour or so, why not go live and answer some questions?
Note that getting traction on one platform, even if you are well-known, can be tough. If you have an active Facebook group, though, tap into it. You can also take advantage of tools like StreamYard to stream to multiple destinations simultaneously.
Pro tip: Seed five starter questions beforehand so there’s no dead air while the room warms up.
15. Fan spotlights
When developing posts for social media, it’s altogether too easy to get caught in the content treadmill, generating a never-ending series of videos, graphics, and blog posts. Honestly: you will burn out if you’re not careful.
Recognizing your most active followers is a great way to reward their presence. And because this is so easy to do, it gives you a break from the hamster wheel of content generation.
Note that you can also share press clippings and testimonials (or even user-generated content), and this will give you a credibility boost. Friends of mine have built Facebook groups to 27,000+ members by focusing almost exclusively on spotlighting their members.
Pro tip: Use a consistent template (“Fan Friday”), and tag the fans to trigger shares to their networks.
16. Personal posts
At times, this might seem backwards: why would you post about your vacation, what you had for lunch, or the video game your band likes to play, when you could be sharing about your latest release?
Because it works. And it often works better than promotional posts! Personal posts about your weight loss journey, nostalgic and sentimental stories about your childhood, or how the airline broke your guitar will always drive more engagement. Especially if you include candid pictures of yourself.
Connecting the dots to business results might seem an impossible task, but a boost in engagement now usually translates to a boost in engagement on future posts too.
Pro tip: Tie the story back to your music with a single line — e.g. “This moment inspired track 3 on my latest EP.”
17. Playlists
If you find that being a creator is hard, consider being a curator of content instead. Oftentimes, compiling materials you know your fans would enjoy is just as effective as trying to make something from scratch — if not more so.
From Spotify to Apple Music, various platforms let you create playlists, which gives you the opportunity to be a tastemaker. You can assemble your favorite songs, spotlight local talent, or launch artist collectives. There are many opportunities to partner and collaborate using playlists!
Of course, you can (and should) include your music in the playlists you create and share. While I wouldn’t rely on streaming royalties as a financial strategy, digital service providers can still help bring a great deal of attention to your music.
Pro tip: Name your playlists around moods or moments (“Late-Night Writing”), and update them monthly to stay in feeds.
Final thought: drive traffic to your website
It’s all well and good to build a social media following, but you also need a way to capture and retain the fans you attract.
So, as awareness of you and your music grows, remember to drive traffic to your music website, get visitors to sign up for your email list, and share your merch to generate sales.
Convert your casual followers into lifelong fans. That leads to long-term career results.
David Andrew Wiebe is the Founder & CEO of The Music Entrepreneur HQ and author of four books, including the much-praised The New Music Industry: Adapting, Growing and Thriving in The Information Age. Wiebe has built an extensive career in songwriting, live performance, recording, session playing, production work and music instruction.
