Not all viral consideration is sweet consideration.
You may entice precise followers by showcasing your music in a method that’s visually-optimized for social.
Or you possibly can chase traits on Reels & TikTok that harm your music’s attain within the long-run.
How precisely do social traits harm musicians, you ask? Effectively…
Right here’s one cautionary story a couple of buddy of mine who had a video go viral — all for nothing:
Why social traits make unhealthy music content material
Social platforms have shifted from being follower-focused to recommendation-focused.
It was the norm that individuals who adopted you have been not less than considerably more likely to SEE your posts. In the event that they dug what they noticed, they’d stick round and doubtless see your subsequent publish.
Fb started shifting away from that reliable attain way back. However the interplay between a creator and their group took a extra drastic flip with short-form platforms reminiscent of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
I’m positive you’re nicely conscious of this variation, each as a creator and a consumer. “The algorithm” is now recommending a relentless barrage of curated content material, sourced from all of the creators on the platform. This has made it harder for creators to achieve their very own following.
As Patreon’s founder Jack Conte stated in a current publish:
The impression on creators, in lots of circumstances, has been catastrophic. Reaching your followers and constructing actual group on the web has by no means been more durable.
You would possibly assume then, given this problem in participating your group on social, that TRENDS could be the one method to truly attain folks — because the trending idea already has confirmed viral vitality, and also you’re eradicating the specificity of your personal music from the equation.
However the reverse is true: You want to lean even more durable into what makes you distinctive — each on social and in your music. Each publish ought to emphasize one thing necessary, enjoyable, or transferring about your artistry.
In different phrases, you possibly can’t simply be random leisure looking for views and likes.
4 causes viral traits can harm your music
As I discussed within the video above, “success” on social will be counterproductive in your music if what’s going viral isn’t immediately tied to your music or musical persona. Right here’s why:
1. Tendencies don’t usually yield true followers
The explanation the content material works won’t be the explanation you need folks to return.
You’re a musician. You need somebody to like your music and come again for the music. Should you make them chuckle as an alternative, or fire up some outrage, or do a loopy stunt (assuming these issues haven’t any apparent connection to your music), viewers don’t know who you’re.
They’re responding to what you probably did within the video, nothing else. It’s unconnected to you.
Your social efforts ought to be about constructing the best group. Precise followers. So you probably have a knack for humor, satire, or stunts, incorporate these components into content material that’s, ultimately, ABOUT your music.
2. Unfocused engagement “confuses” the algorithm
I don’t imply the algorithm is definitely confused.
The truth is, in case your pattern publish is gaining traction, the algorithm is aware of precisely what it must know: Your publish is nice for some fast laughs, outrage, or wows. And it’ll present your publish to individuals who need these issues.
However which will additionally make it HARDER for the RIGHT folks to search out you, immediately and sooner or later.
3. You develop an viewers of unqualified leads
Should you pay to promote on any of those social platforms, the unsuitable sorts of consideration can dilute your knowledge, creating extra be just right for you and driving up advertising prices.
A social publish succeeding for the unsuitable causes could enhance the dimensions of the viewers you’re promoting to whereas concurrently reducing the proportion chance that any of the viewers will click on the button, care about your call-to-action, or find yourself buying/changing.
Prices up. Morale down.
4. It’s not what you’re meant to do!
I saved a very powerful factor for final.
Did you be taught to jot down songs with a view to be a content-creator or widget-maker, serving to to hold random customers glued to an app for an additional 15 seconds?
No, the platforms ought to be just right for you — not the opposite method round.
And the viewers don’t want traits from you, as a result of they’re already struggling to maintain up with the limitless provide of traits of their feed each day.
What they want is YOU. And also you want your viewers to wish you.
You’ve one thing to supply, one thing to say, some distinctive expertise, perspective, or sound. Discover it, and convey THAT with such deal with social that viewers immediately sense what makes you you.
That’s what true followers will come again for.
Must you NEVER do a pattern?
By no means say by no means.
Should you can make use of a pattern to inform a part of your story, nice! However these posts ought to be the exception, and they need to all the time relate to your artistic life.
Why achieve this many musicians really feel the stress to hop on social-video traits although? As mentioned above, traits can look like a growth-hack. Once more, for all of the unsuitable causes.
However there’s one thing else: As a result of artists put on each hats, we are able to simply confuse the creator expertise with the consumer expertise. When, in reality, these ought to be VERY various things.
Right here’s what I imply:
Conclusion
Have you ever struggled with this as an artist? I believe it’s fairly widespread.
And there’s all the time gonna be some new pattern tempting us to stray off the trail.
Hopefully this text provides you a bit extra confidence to stroll the highway you’re meant to be on as an artist and particular person, even when which means your social following and engagement metrics develop extra slowly than they could in any other case.
Tortoise and the hare. High quality over amount. True followers over mere viewers.
