mvm.

Thanks to the rise in social media outlets and connectivity, musicians can interact, share and harness their skills with their fans more so than ever before.

And it seems to be always on the rise, too. More than 40 billion photos have been shared throughout Instagram’s history since late 2010. That’s not mentioning the stories, private messages and audience interactivity with them.

More often than not now, more and more musicians are being picked up and starting a decent career in the world of music, thanks to Instagram. But it’s harder than simply picking up a camera and recording yourself. For a start, everyone else is doing that.

So, with me experiencing working as a musician in the world of Instagram, let me you give you some advice as what to do, as opposed to what NOT to do.

1. No matter what you do, do it consistently

One thing I’ve found on this good ‘ol site, is that in order to maintain awareness, interactivity and overall demand for yourself as a musician, is to post consistently. Whether that be stories or posts of you laying down a funk groove or a song cover. Being consistent is the first step to build your audience quickly, as people will be more likely to follow you if you upload every day, as it gives them more of a reason to come back every day. Now, my consistency soon dropped off when life problems got in the way, such as a steady income, academic studies and actually having access to a drum kit… But, it’s always finding the perfect balance between all of them. I just haven’t seemed to grasped that yet.

2. Interaction, interaction, interaction.

There is nothing better than being personally thanked by someone you follow for praising a recent post – and it sure goes a long way. Simple interactions like these allows you to build certain rapport with your fans and these allows them to keep coming back, liking and sharing your content. But there’s just not thank you comments. Instagram has the biggest opportunities in terms of audience interactions. I’ve just listed a mere few below … —

• POLLS: These allow you to really get to know your fanbase so you can really harness your content to them, in order to achieve maximum results. If you want to learn more on these bad boys, I’ll send you to this website, as they have some really helpful advice on the topic of Instagram polls. https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/instagram-stories-polls-how-to-use/
• ASK ME A QUESTION: This story feature allows you to become a bit more personal with your fans, allowing a direct insight into how you work as a creator on this platform. This is all depends if your fans like you of course, and WANT to find out more about you. Then, that’s a whole different kettle of fish …

3. Make it about what YOU want to do, not others want to do.

Now. This is probably the most important advice I could give. But, albeit the hardest to stay on top of, because once you start to get the feeling of building up a following, you soon start to change your ideas to suit everyone else’s needs. And not your own.

This is bad, why? Because then, what is making your content YOU? What is making it stand out from the rest? I’ll admit I have fallen into this hole, and it’s taken me a while to get back out of it. When I feel I have finally escaped the clutches of the hole, it drags me back in, when someone has messaged me a recommendation for a new idea. I’m not saying to not listen to your fanbase. But, take in some handfuls of advice – don’t completely twist and change your content for someone else. Otherwise, they may as well as run it themselves. It’s always hard, but it pays off the best. Especially when you get feedback from them off someone you did yourself.

So, stick with it and do ideas that are different and have never been before. I know that’s pretty hard now, because pretty much every idea has been exhausted. But, more often than not, people will come and stay for YOU. Whether that be your unique ideas, your talent or even just your likeable personality.

As for myself? I’m trying to figure out which one to focus on …

So.

There you are. Tips on working as a musician on Instagram. It’s a heavy load to bear and it takes a lot of improvement and progress to actually get anywhere with it. But these top lads with over 100k followers, have been doing this for such a long time, and doing exactly these tips. And it’s paid off for them, so don’t worry our time will come my friends. It’s just taking longer than expected!

Keep at it.

Alex