If you’re a young Millennial looking towards a career as a Youtube musician, you probably think you’ve mastered the art of the internet. You grew up with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. You’re a pro; you’ve got nothing left to learn, right?
Totally wrong.
When it comes to building a social media presence as a musician, there is a whole lot more to it than status updates and video links. Too often, novice YouTube musicians spend too much time focusing on self-promotion. This creates a monologue when what you really need is a dialogue.
Self-promotion is important, of course, but it doesn’t engage your followers. Rather, you need to start by building up your brand and telling your story in a conversational manner. Fortunately, there’s a super simple equation you can use to establish the perfect balance: the 70-20-10 Rule.
Here’s how it works.
70% Branding
The vast majority of your social media content should tell your story and establish your brand. Who are you? What’s your vibe? What are you trying to say? Show us who you are as a person, not just as a YouTube musician, so we can better identify with you. You can do this by:
- Posting a selfie or a photo of you in the studio or on the road to a show
- Writing a sincere status that thanks your fans who follow and support you
- Sharing a music-related article that you’ve read recently or recommending a favorite book or film
20% Networking
This small portion of your content should be dedicated to sharing the spotlight with other artists. As a new musician, you are always performing with other up-and-coming groups as well as photographers, sound engineers, and others in the industry. You can use social media to establish a mutually beneficial networking system that connects you with other bands and influencers. Here are a few things you can do:
- Share a new album release from a group you toured with
- Share an event hosted by a venue you played at
- Write music reviews (as long as they’re positive)
- Keep your followers in the loop about finding new music online
10% Self-Promotion
This doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you have the other 90% going for you, you won’t need a lot of self-promotion. Rather than telling your followers how awesome you are, start a conversation with them and let them see for themselves.
When it comes down to it, you need to be engaging your audience. Today there are 310 million monthly active Twitter users. And according to an official Twitter survey, 54% of users say that they’ve interacted with a brand after seeing it mentioned in Tweets. That’s great, but another 77% say that they feel more positive about a brand when their Tweet has been replied to.
In other words, talk to your followers. As a creative Youtube musician, you shouldn’t have too much trouble pulling this off.