Social media has become a powerful marketing tool, allowing you to reach potential fans that you might not have made otherwise. It allows your followers to share your music with their friends, so the more followers you have, the bigger pool of potential fans you have a shot at attaining. Unfortunately, getting more followers is a task on its own, meaning that you can’t just sit there and wait for millions to click on your links, like your music and follow your page. The good news is, you can do something about it.    

Make A Good First Impression

If you’ve been on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any other social media site, then you might have realized that people with good profile pictures have more followers than those that don’t. The truth is, your profile plays a major role in determining the number of followers you'll get. Your profile needs to be unique in its own way. For example, your profile should represent your own stuff and not someone else’s. Also, it should let your audience know more about you, your plans and what you have in store for them. In a medium as boundless as the internet, people's attention span is fickle. If you don't catch their attention right away, you'll probably lose it forever.  

Post Often

[caption id="attachment_4653" align="alignright" width="180"]sweet-honey-od_2__4 Check out our gear reviews and product features right here![/caption] One thing that encourages a person to follow your Twitter or Facebook page is curiosity. They want to know more about your band or music or don’t want to miss anything. But if they visit and see the same old stuff, with nothing new posted in weeks, they will eventually disengage themselves completely from your account. If you consistently deliver new content, the more regularly they will check your page just to see if there is something new. People on Facebook also have the habit of wanting to share their interests with their friends, so the more engaged they are with your page, the higher the chance that they will share your posts. And the more they share your posts, the more potential followers you're page will be exposed to.  

Be Responsive

Your followers are your fans and will more than likely post comments or questions on your page. The worst thing you can do is not respond. It’s like telling them that your account isn’t working anymore or worse, that you don't care. To ensure you don’t miss anything, make sure you check in on your social media accounts regularly. Respond to comments, answer questions or, in the case of the occasional hater, address rumors and misconceptions. In short, engage with your followers. As a bonus, potential followers will notice how involved you are with your audience, which might be the tipping point in converting them into being followers as well.  

Follow Your Followers

Always follow back. That is one thing that many forget simply because it doesn’t look professional. Think of it this way. Your followers are fans who appreciate what you are doing. You can show them that you appreciate them following you by following back. Who wouldn’t want a musician as a follower on Twitter or Facebook? Following back doesn't just make it easier for your followers understand that you appreciate them, but will also encourage others to join down the line as well.  

Know Your Target Audience

You can’t advertise a rap song to reggae fans and expect that they will respond. Instead of wasting your time posting your content on more than a hundred groups on Facebook, find a group that is interested in your type of music and post it there. Fans with an interest in your music are likely to do more than just listen to it. They might share it with their friends, talk about it with others, thereby helping you increase the number followers simply because they are fans of your genre.  

Don’t Oversell

Don't forget that the main purpose of your Facebook, Twitter, Sound Cloud or Instagram page is to inform and entertain your audience, not to remind them how good your music is and why they should buy it. Real fans will know about your band's new single the first time you post it, and if they are interested, they will download it, talk about it or share it.  

Additional Tips

• Keep up with trends to engage your followers. • Work with other artists to encourage their followers to follow you. • Ensure that your posts can be tweeted by your followers. You can use a plugin such as Inline Tweet Share.  

The Bottom Line

Today’s music industry relies on social media. With a Facebook, Twitter or an Instagram account, you can persuade more people to like what you are doing without even spending a dollar. However, to make this happen, you need more followers and that is where the tips above come in.    

Your Turn to Sound Off!

How important do you feel social media is when it comes to engaging with your fan base?

Let us know in the comment section below!