While social media was initially built around the concept of connecting with family and friends, it has since evolved into a powerful tool that allows fans to directly engage with the entertainers they follow. This unique opportunity to engage has allowed many entertainers to get creative when promoting their next project — especially in the music industry.
Help your next social media campaign hit the right notes by checking out these lessons from a few of our favorite recent music releases:
Lesson 1: Use Teasers to Build Anticipation
By late 2022, fans of the band Paramore were yearning for new material from the trio. It had been five years since the release of their last album, and with band members dropping hints that new music might be on the way, fans were ready for an announcement at any moment. Then on September 8, 2022, eagle-eyed fans noticed that each member of the band had changed their profile pictures on social media, leading fans to (correctly) assume new music was imminent.
On September 13, the band posted a clip on TikTok featuring very grainy footage and slightly muffled audio. The video seemed to be taken in the band’s studio during the recording of the album, and highlighted audio of what seemed to be a brand-new song. This cryptic video only furthered the hype, and left fans trying to analyze the lyrics and piece together what the song would sound like.
These teases eventually led to the official announcement of a new album titled This Is Why and the release of its debut single of the same name on September 28. Paramore’s use of social media platforms throughout their album release created conversation amongst their fans, such as what the songs would sound like, what the album cover would look like, and more.
As a social media marketer, you can employ many of the same tactics to generate anticipation and buzz. Have a big event coming up? Enlist your emcee to create short video clips hyping the event and telling audiences what to expect, giving you great social media content to post for the weeks prior to the event. Is your organization moving to a new facility? Post behind-the-scenes construction photos leading up to the official ribbon-cutting, or create a time-lapse video showing the process from start to finish.
Lesson 2: Keep Your Followers Consistently Engaged
Another band that has effectively used social media to promote their brand is 5 Seconds of Summer. The pop-rock group has tapped in to the power of social media to attract new fans and engage with current ones throughout their entire career, but they utilized a unique strategy to drum up excitement for their most recent album, 5SOS5
On May 10, 2022, before the title of the album had even been announced, the band tweeted out a different song title in a different language every half-hour, accompanied by a photo of the song title hand-drawn in English.
This slow reveal lasted nine hours, and kept fans glued to their social feeds all day long. By the end of the day, the band had revealed the entire 19-song track list, and the album and its title were officially announced the following day.
This reveal was particularly effective because it lasted throughout the entire day, which meant fans were consistently engaged. The amount of retweets and likes on the posts remained consistent, proving that fans stayed interested as the day progressed.
When it comes to social media, engaging your audience and ensuring your content is seen and shared is important. By putting out content out at a consistent pace (in this case, song titles), your audiences are much more likely to stay engaged.
Lesson 3: Give Your Audience Something to Look Forward To
You might be familiar with the last artist on this list. Taylor Swift has been arguably the biggest musician in the world for some time, and that was especially true leading up to the release of her most recent album Midnights. After announcing the album during an acceptance speech at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2022, fans were clamoring for more details about the album.
Shortly thereafter, Swift began a series of videos on TikTok called “Midnights Mayhem With Me.” In this series, Swift used a bingo cage filled with labeled ping-pong balls to reveal the titles of the songs from the upcoming album. She would use the bingo cage to randomly select a ping-pong ball, all of which had a number on them corresponding to a song on the album. After selecting a ping-pong ball, she would speak into a phone while revealing the title of the corresponding track.
@taylorswift Midnights tracklist reveal!! Introducing: Midnights Mayhem with Me 🌌😎 #TSmidnighTS #SwiftTok #MidnightsMayhemWithMe
She released these videos three days a week leading up to the release of the album. By revealing one title at a time, she was able to keep the anticipation strong by maintaining a consistent presence in the minds (and TikTok feeds) of fans as the album release date drew closer. Fans knew to expect a new song title nearly every other day, so they were ready to watch and share as soon as the video hit their feeds.
Giving your audience something to look forward to is a great way to not only build anticipation, but also allows audiences to share that anticipation with others and build community around your brand.
Is there another musician whose social media campaigns have rocked your world? If you do, share it with us by tweeting @ScooterMedia!
Need more creative inspiration for your next social media marketing campaign? Be sure to check out these blogs:
