- 4 min read

10 Tips To Promote Your Music on Instagram

young woman videotaping herself playing guitar

If you're a musician, there are more ways to promote your music than ever before. One key way for bands to get their songs out to fans is through their social media accounts. With over 200 million monthly users, Instagram is undoubtedly one of the most popular social media platforms out there.

Top Instagram Ideas for Musicians and Bands

If you're a beginner musician and need to get the word out about your music, Instagram is one key to your success. But where do you begin? We've got some tips that will get you started marketing your music the right way on Instagram. It just takes a little work to grow your following, and the best way to start is to dive right in.

1. Get the Right Handle

Your Instagram username is your identity, so be sure to take the time to get the right one. Use your own name so fans can immediately recognize who you are. It may be tempting to use a trendy or descriptive handle like @metalwillsaveusall, but it is better to use your own name or your band's own name. If you find your name is already taken, you can add the word "music" to the end, or something that identifies your area, like @TheRocketsFL.

2. Research Similar Artists

Check out the Instagram pages of other musicians you like, who are in the same genre, who are in your area, or who are doing similar things to you. What type of content are they posting? Check out a variety of pages to get great ideas for your own page. While you never want to steal any other artists' content, it is a good policy to research what others are doing in order to jump-start your own ideas.

3. Be Interesting and Authentic

Make your Instagram feed something special. It is the place to tell your story, so keep things personal and interesting. You can develop different themes with your feed, and post a series on one subject such as performing and recording your own musical interests, and your personal style. Don't take on a persona that is not your own, make your posts just as authentic as your personal posts are. This helps your fans connect with your band as individuals.

4. Stay Consistent

Be sure to keep up with your Instagram feed and post regularly. This means pretty much every day. To keep your followers engaged, you should be posting 1 to 3 times daily. Avoid posting more than that and over-saturation, and be sure to spread your posts throughout the day. If it seems like a lot of work to post every day, you can always use a post-scheduling service that works with Instagram, like HootSuite.

5. Make a Great Caption

The caption should give your readers their information instantly. Keep it short, and have the caption be completely relevant to the image. The image and caption work together to tell a story. Add in an emoji and a few hashtags and you're set.

6. Use Hashtags Wisely

Spend some time scouring Instagram for hashtags that are relevant to your music and genre. When you find them, use them in your posts to get them out to a wider audience. Also, find other musicians that are engaging with the hashtags and like their posts, or make a quick comment. These practices are likely to gain you more followers. Be sure not to overload your posts with hashtags. One or two extremely relevant hashtags are better than a mashup of 10 or more.

7. Only Post High-Quality Images

Your photos are what it is all about on Instagram, so make sure you are posting pictures taken with a high-quality camera. Take the time to edit and crop them until they look their best. These steps shouldn't take long but are crucial to presenting a professional image.

8. Perfect Your Look

It's a good idea if all your Instagram pictures have the same overall look. Obviously, this is going to depend entirely on your personal style, but try not to just load generic-looking pictures. Put some real thought into your compositions. For example, you could give all your photos the same look by always using the same filter on them. Maybe you'll choose to do extreme close-ups. Get creative and let your IG account express your own personal style.

9. Don't be Shy

When people find you and comment on your posts, be sure to comment back! Don't get lazy with your fans. It's important to regularly check your account and respond to anyone who has taken the time to comment. In fact, it is proven that musicians who engage daily with their fans have a much deeper connection with their social media audiences. People are following your band because they are genuinely interested in what you have to say, so don't be shy.

10. Share Your Insta Post on Your Other Social Media Channels

Now that you've got the perfect Instagram post to promote your music, make sure you share it across all your social media platforms. Instagram allows you to automatically share to Facebook, which is a handy feature that saves you a step. You can keep your band's Facebook account updated without ever having to log in. Remember, don't neglect your other media channels or put them on auto-pilot. Comment on your reader's posts and your own posts in order to keep them at the top of your follower's news feeds.

These are just a few ideas on how you can use Instagram to promote your music. Stay tuned for more articles on how to promote your music on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. The most important thing, of course, is the music itself. Be sure you are uploading the best quality digital recording possible by making sure your songs are professionally mixed and mastered. This is the essential final step that separates true professionals from those who are just fooling around.