7 Types of Social Media Music Promoters - Which One Are You?

Social media has become a megaphone for the masses. As music artists and producers we recognize the value that it holds for getting our talent to the ears of people who will enjoy it.

Chances are, you’re connected with others in the industry and have witnessed the various tactics employed to get people to listen.

Some strategies work well for some people, while others...not so much.

Every artist is unique and has a unique fan base, therefore a variety of strategies tailored to your personality and those you are trying to reach is important.

No matter what your style is, make it work for you. Below I will point out 7 types of social media music promoters.

The Force Feeder
You fear being lost in the shuffle and want to guarantee that people see your newest release so you post and tweet, almost incessantly, to force your way into your friends and followers feeds.

Potential Upside: The likelihood of people noticing your music is higher.
Potential Downside: You may annoy people and cause them to hide, mute, unfollow or unfriend you, diminishing your reach.

How to Make the Most of This Method: Spread out your sharing a bit. Too much chatter makes it easy to be overlooked. Take advantage of commenting on likes, comments, retweets and shares at various times to keep your music visible but in a less commanding way.

The Name Dropper
You want to be certain that friends and followers take notice of the music that you want to share so you tag or mention them to make sure that they see it.

Potential Upside: They will see it and like, share or retweet it causing it to be visible to potential fans outside of your network.
Potential Downside: You may annoy people and cause them to become frustrated with your promotional tactics, creating resistance to future promotions.

How to Make the Most of This Method: Be thoughtful with your tags and mentions. Only tag people that you regularly interact with, have directly contributed to your work or have a specific interest in your music.

The Graffiti Artist
You have meticulously thought through who you want to know you have new music so you visit the timeline of each individual to post your links. You feel that they may enjoy it and will be delighted that you took the time to address them personally, therefore they will be more likely to listen and share.

Potential Upside: They may be glad you took the time to send it to them and be more likely to listen and share.
Potential Downside: They may not appreciate you posting your work on their timeline and hide or delete it, diminishing your reach.

How to Make the Most of this Method: Carefully select whose timeline you chose to share your music to. Pay attention to what they share and consider if your post would be something they would want people who visit their timeline to view.

The Attention Grabber
You believe you have a slightly more subtle approach. You watch for posts that may draw people that would have an interest in your endeavors and you share your information in the comments section.

Potential Upside: You may attract people to your link and gain new fans.
Potential Downside: You may annoy people, specifically the author of the original post and get your comment removed and/or be blocked.

How to Make the Most of This Method: Be considerate to the original “poster”. Create a dialog that warrants a reason for you to share your work. If that does not occur and it is not directly related, save it for another time.

The Inbox Intruder
You don’t want to be blatant with your advertising so you inbox your connections...a LOT...to make sure they are aware that you have music you want them to hear.

Potential Upside: This approach is a bit more personal than some of the alternatives and may make the receiver more likely to listen and share.
Potential Downside: Too many inbox messages may turn-off potential fans and cause them to ignore you.

How to Make the Most of This Method: Space out your messages. Generate conversation that is not self-serving to let the receiver know that you view them as a person, not just another view or play.

The Meek Mumbler
You’re afraid of annoying people. You’ve witnessed and possibly have been annoyed with all of the other tactics you’ve observed or been on the receiving end of, so you rarely post your music and when you do it is with an incredibly shy premise.

Potential Upside: People don’t see you post that often so they are more likely to engage with you when you do.
Potential Downside: People may be more likely to miss your posts, limiting your potential audience.

How to Make the Most of This Method: Plan a variety of posts that allow you to share information more frequently in a less redundant manner. Experiment with text, photos & videos to get more mileage out of the content you wish to share.

The Privileged Panhandler
You’ve worked hard to build a significant social network connection. People love what you do and so it’s only natural that they are waiting to hear what’s next from you. Instead of asking people to listen to your new music you tell them to, and you already know they’re going to like it so you tell them to share because it’s all a form of support.

Potential Upside: Your core fans may feel compelled to follow instructions and honor your decree.
Potential Downside: You may lose said support from fans who feel that you don’t recognize their time is valuable and that you believe they owe you something.

How to Make the Most of this Method: Confidence in your talent is great, but be cognizant of the fact that your fans have other things that demand their attention. Throw in a “please” as an acknowledgement that they could be doing other things with their time but you hope they choose to spend it with you.

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So now that you've familiarized yourself with the various types of Social Media music promoters there are, which group would you say that you belong to?

It's important to recognize that there are pros and cons associated with each method, but as long as you take the time to build relationships with your audience, your style can provide the results you desire.

Keep in mind that just as you don't want to be viewed as "another artist" your fans don't want to be viewed as just "another consumer".

Initiating dialogue between you and your audience is the best way to lessen the effects of the cons commonly linked to various social media marketing strategies.

Have you noticed additional pros or cons with your promotion technique? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.