The Fastest Way To Get More Instagram Followers To Promote Music

Major changes in the Facebook News Feed are sending musicians scrambling for new marketing opportunities. As one of the fastest growing social media platforms available to artists, gaining more followers on Instagram, while it is owned by Facebook, is still critical for any artist . Here we look at some tips for increasing visibility.

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Guest post by Nick RogersonInstagram has become one of the most effective platforms to share content and promote your music on social media. With more than 800 million active users as of September 2017, Instagram is one tool you should be using to get your sound out. But getting more people to know about your music and follow you on Instagram doesn’t mean posting photos, videos or stories at random – there should be a strategy to it.Follow these tips to boost your Instagram profile visibility, grow your fan base and promote your music faster.Mix up your content.

It’s nice to see you or the members of your band in various power poses, but not all the time. People also want to know the other things that make up the life of a musician or band – things such as writing and jamming sessions, busking on a street corner, band rehearsals, gig photos, even insights to your personal life and everyday activities such as cleaning your guitar or joking around while in traffic or even where you got your guitar from all make for great content. Post a short video clip of your recording process, some funny outtakes, some warm-ups, custom songs or jingles for your fans, snippets of your compositions or anything else that highlights your sound. Do a live Q&A or gig stream every now and then. Giving your posts variety is a surefire way to get people interested in knowing more about you not only as a musician but a “real human” they can relate with.Use hashtags but don’t abuse them.Hashtags make it easier for those who are interested in the kind of music you make to find you. Always use hashtags relevant to your post; otherwise you may come off as too much of an attention seeker who’s desperate for followers. Choose hashtags wisely and use 11 at most for each post. Some of the most popular hashtags related to music are #music (of course!), #musician, #musicianlife and #musicmonday.Engage your followers.Having a strong Instagram presence isn’t just about using the right hashtags and posting regularly. You also need to engage your followers by asking questions or feedback. Remember that you need to give likes and comments to receive those as well. Check out some of your existing followers’ content, like their posts and leave genuine, non-generic comments. And don’t forget to reply when they leave a note!Commit to interacting with a certain number of people a day (say, 5 or 10). When the followers of those people see your comment or like, they will be more inclined to check you out as well and may even become new fans. Just remember to be fun and personable and not too promotional.Find potential followers.To really get more followers who aren’t just random people on Instagram, you can get proactive and seek them out yourself. Use the Search tool via the magnifying glass icon and type in the keywords that best fit your music. If you play classical guitar music for example, you can type in classical guitar, fingerstyle, Mozart, Cavatina, etc. You can also look for other musicians in the same or a related genre and check out the people who liked their posts because they could be potential followers. If you think they would be interested in your sound as well, follow them. Following other musicians is a way of not only expanding your network but also showing support for others’ music as well. Cross-promote each other’s gigs and music, get commenting, do a contest together and collaborate when you can!Using Instagram to promote your sound is an easy and quick way to get more people to interested in and supporting your music. The best part about it is that you can share your posts across your other social media accounts such as your Twitter feed, Tumblr and Facebook page. So make the most of the platform and see your fan base grow!