I wrote a Twitter thread a few weeks ago sharing five suggestions that artists and their teams can consider when creating content for social to market their music.

The recommendations ranged from actual filming techniques to audio best practices and more.

While the thread performed well (and hopefully shared a lot of value), I thought it was worth exploring these concepts deeper with real-life examples and tangible references to show exactly what I mean.

The below references are from emerging artists who have found success creating content on social media to support their music.

This newsletter covers:

• 5 things worth considering when creating social content to market your music

Let’s dive in ⬇️ 

While there’s certainly more variables and elements to take into account, these 5 were a few things that have been top of mind for me. For the purpose of this breakdown, social content doesn't just mean music videos - it includes anything related to marketing your music (performance content, lifestyle footage, b-roll, etc).

_{1) Audio}

It's easy to use a random part of a song in the background of your content and call it a day but if you're trying to put your best foot forward, it's important to be intentional with the specific time stamps you use.

If the content involves performance (singing or rapping), the time stamp of the song will match the specific part being performed but before even filming, it's important to think about which parts of the song might work best.

You have a few seconds to capture someone's interest with the specific time stamp you use - what part of the song is most compelling?

Is it the chorus that's super catchy and likely has a chance of sticking, or maybe a few lines in a rap song that are potent enough to encourage shareability because of the flow and wordplay?

Disclaimer - this not a call to action to "create" music for social. This is simply identifying the parts of the music you already created (and that you're proud of) that has the highest chance of converting people into listening to the song.

When you identify a time stamp you feel really confident in, don't be afraid to center an entire social campaign using that specific section to really drive home the point.

Here are a few examples of Karri teasing the same part of a song multiple times - you can see it’s the exact same snippet every single time; this was by design and intentional. The original sound he kept tagging has almost 1,000 videos.

4karri

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4karri

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4karri

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Sam Tompkins does the same thing successfully:

2) Brand voice

What does your content say about you? What story are you telling about yourself and who you are as an artist? What can potential new fans learn about you from watching your content? Your content may be super bright & vibrant or maybe moodier and edgier.

Elements like location, colors, contrast, tone, etc all play a part in determining what your content says about you and how authentic it feels.

For example, what comes to mind when you watch Anees’ content?

Vibrant. Colorful. Outdoors. Nature. He’s painting a picture of his brand a certain way and using his content to do so.

While Anees’ content is vibrant and colorful, someone like Karri is a little moodier and mysterious.

3) Depth

There isn't one specific format that's guaranteed to crush on social but if you observe content that tends to perform well, there are definitely patterns...

One pattern (among many) is the subject - especially if it's the artist - occupying a significant amount of space within the video frame.

Instead of being distant and hard to see, it's worth experimenting being prominent in your video, even if it means taking up 3/4 of the video frame.

The depth and space you occupy in relation to the background can help capture people's attention as they're scrolling by making you stand out.

For example, Manny Wellz does a great job of occupying most of the frame while also creating space for the background and lyrics:

LaRussell does the same thing here:

4) Text

Not every video requires text...but it can be helpful depending on the video itself. Whether it's lyrics or the transcription of them talking, text on screen can help retain viewers by keeping them engaged in watching a video.

Text can also help hammer home lyrics and embellish what's being performed to the viewer in an easy and digestible way.

For example, LaRussell repurposes his interviews from other platforms and adds text for social (they previously didn’t have text):

5) Utilizing the features of each platform

Creating content takes time, energy, resources, money, & hard work! When posting the content you worked so hard to create, it's worth being intentional with using the features of each social platform to maximize the post.

For example, on Instagram you can utilize Collab posts to reach a wider audience. On Facebook, the algorithm penalizes you for putting links in the description of posts so you can put links in the comments.

Each platform has their own set of rules and best practices - it can be hard to keep up with them all but they are worth considering to maximize your content.

Thanks for reading, until next time.