For beat-makers, social media is essential for marketing new releases and projects. Find out how you can use your social channels to jump-start your BeatStars Marketplace.
How Many Social Media Platforms Should I be Using to Market my Beats?
From YouTube to Twitter to Instagram, there are a ton of useful social media platforms out there for marketing your music. How many social media platforms should you be using to sell your beats? The answer is simple: as many of them as you can! Cover as much ground as possible and create a social media account on every platform that you have access to. Remember, social media is a free marketing resource, so take advantage of every option out there. The more social media sites you appear on, the more ways artists can discover your music and your BeatStars storefront! Every social media platform offers unique features that can be useful for marketing your music and creating a network.
How to Effectively Market Your Beats on YouTube
YouTube is one of the most popular platforms among beat makers, point blank. Some of the industry’s most prominent producers got their start by posting ‘type beats’ on YouTube. But is it still the best platform for selling your beats on? Well, it’s complicated.
For a new producer, it can be challenging to establish a successful YouTube channel by just posting beats. The platform is oversaturated with beats, meaning users will rarely find your beats in the search results. YouTube favors established creators that already have big numbers making it difficult for new creators to gain exposure.
It’s not uncommon for producers to start posting beats on YouTube and get little to no views for the first few months. It doesn’t matter how great your beats are, you're always at the mercy of the YouTube search results Building a following on YouTube is no easy task, but it’s not impossible. To be successful on YouTube you need to learn how to optimize your uploads to achieve the best results.
Effective Titling
It all starts with titling your beat on YouTube effectively. A quick search on YouTube will reveal the millions of “type beats” found on the site. Why do so many producers label their beats like this? When artists search for beats, they most likely have an idea of what “type” of beat they want. If they want a beat in the style of a Drake song, they would search for “Drake Type Beat,” it’s that simple.
Attaching your beats to some of the biggest names in the music industry is a useful tactic for attracting more listeners.
Think about who your favorite artists are, and what popular artists you feel would perform well on your beat. Once you have decided, you can plug those artists’ names into the title of your YouTube upload to give listeners an idea of what the beat will sound like before they even click. Feel like Future would be the perfect artist for your beat? Then label your beat as a “Future Type Beat” to help your beat stand out in the search results. Don’t be afraid to add even more artists to the title, the more popular keywords you have in your title, the better. “Future x Drake Type Beat” may sound like a lengthy title, but it can increase your chances of appearing the YouTube search results.
Offer Free Downloads
There is a lot more you can do to help optimize your beats when titling them. Many artists searching YouTube are looking for free beat downloads to experiment with. If you are offering free beat downloads on your BeatStars account, you can add the word “free” to the title to further increase your chances of showing up in the YouTube search results.
Pro Tip - Adding brackets and capitalizing the word can make sure that it stands out in the title.
Key Word Optimization
There are a ton of other useful keywords you can add to your title to help optimize your upload. Adding terms like “Hip-hop instrumental,” “New 2020,” or “Trap instrumental” can all help your beat to perform better. Experiment with multiple title variations to figure out which works best for your YouTube channel. Once you find a formula that works, stick with it and continue to use that formula for future uploads. Explore the thousands of “type beats” on YouTube to get a better understanding of how creators are optimizing their video titles. If done correctly, your beats can go viral and drive millions of new listeners to your BeatStars storefront.
Pro Tip - Try using tools like Tube Buddy to help you with key word research for YouTube
Create Eye-catching Visuals
In addition to title optimization, there is so much more you can do to help your beats succeed on YouTube. Eye-catching visuals are essential for drawing in new listeners. Creating custom artwork for your YouTube thumbnails can have a major impact on the performance of your channel. Remember, artists searching YouTube for beats will SEE your beat before they get to hear it. Give them a reason to choose your beat over the rest of the competition by pairing your beat with a unique visual element.
Write a Thorough Description
When an artist falls in love with your beat on YouTube, they are going to want to know how they can lease. Your YouTube description should provide all the essential information the artist will need to proceed with their purchase. Remember to make your BeatStars marketplace or Pro Page link the first thing they see! This will let them know exactly what they need to do to purchase a license from you. You should provide artists with all of your contact information so they can reach you if they have any questions or inquiries regarding your beats. Link your email and all of your other social media accounts to give artists a wide range of options to connect with you.
How to Effectively Market Your Beats on Twitter
Recently, Twitter has been becoming an effective marketing tool for artists and producers alike. Unlike YouTube, Twitter can help you connect directly to your target audience. Smart producers have learned how to use Twitter to build relationships with thousands of artists that could be potential customers. These artist relationships are key to the success of any producer trying to sell their beats online. There are millions of users on Twitter! So how do you find the specific audience that will be interested in your beats? It’s easier than you think!
Fill Out Your Bio
When artists discover you and want to know where to purchase your beats, they need to know how to do so. Edit your bio to provide links to your BeatStars account so they can visit your marketplace with ease. You can even Tweet your BeatStars profile link and pin that Tweet so it will be featured on your Twitter page.
Post Engaging Content
Even if you manage to connect with thousands of new artists on Twitter, the most critical factor in your success is the content. Remember: content is king. Your Twitter content should be unique and interesting. Avoid creating spam posts that beg your followers to buy your beats. There are far too many producers who make posts that simply tweet “buy my newest beat today!” or “lease my beat right here!” This is not effective content and will not get people to engage with your beats. Never direct message another user begging them to listen to your beats; that tactic will more than likely annoy potential customers and result in them blocking your account.
Twitter gives you the power to share anything and everything with your followers. You can post videos, blog pieces, graphics, and much more, so get creative with your content. Don’t bore your followers by just posting an mp3 file of your beat! Make it exciting and give them a reason to come back for more. Finding out what content works on your social media takes experimentation and creativity. Having high-quality and unique content will help you stand out and build a loyal community of fans and followers.
Use Hashtags to Find Artists
Hashtags are your best friend when using Twitter! The ability to search by hashtag makes finding artists who are looking for new beats simple. A quick search for #sendmebeats or #Ineedbeats can reveal thousands of artists looking to lease their next beat. Once you identify those who would be interested in your beats, it’s time to get social!
Connecting with each artist you come across will slowly help you develop a network and build a customer base. Remember, once you start establishing relationships, maintain them! Comment, like, and repost their content whenever possible to stay connected with those artists. The more you engage with others, the more they will engage with you.
Use Hashtags to Increase Reach
Remember, hashtags work in reverse as well. Meaning, artists that who are looking for new beats to use will search by using hashtags. Twitter posts with hashtags are proven to get TWICE the engagement than posts without. Make sure you are always tweeting your beat-making content with proper hashtags. This will instantly increase traffic to your twitter account.
Effectively Market Your Beats on Instagram
Instagram is another platform that is popular for marketing beats online. It’s easy to navigate, it’s content-oriented, and is home to millions of musicians looking to collaborate. Similar to Twitter, Instagram allows producers to establish meaningful relationships with the artists on the platform
Engage with Other Posts
Like Twitter, Instagram lets you search via hashtags to discover new users on the platform. Searching for relevant hashtags is a productive way to reveal new artists who might be looking for new beats. Searching for hashtags such as #hiphopartist #rapartist, or #newartist are all good places to start. Remember, Instagram is a content-oriented platform, so the best way to establish a connection with these new artists is to like and comment on their content. Actually take the time to check out their content to see if it resonates with you. If you like what you hear, you can direct the message that artist and let them know you enjoy their track. If you enjoy that artist, there is a good chance that the artist might enjoy your content as well.
Post Short-form Content
Let’s talk about your Instagram content approach. Instagram only allows its users to post short videos on the platform. This means that if a producer is trying to post a beat on YouTube, they won’t be able to post it in its entirety. This is actually a good thing. Posting teasers or snippets of your beats that feature the most interesting parts of the track will entice artists to check out the full beat. If they like what they hear from a brief 10-second clip, they will want to hear the entire beat. This is where your BeatStars account comes into play! Remember to link your BeatStars account in the caption section to direct listers who want to hear the full track. This will lead listeners from Instagram to your BeatStars marketplace and turn them into customers.
Create Unique Art
Instagram is a visual platform so your content should be paired with some awesome visuals. Like we discussed earlier with YouTube, you want to capture your listeners before they even hear your music. You can do this by creating some unique art that makes your Instagram page stand out. Make sure that the art is properly optimized for the Instagram format so it looks clean and professional.
Post Regularly
Users check Instagram every day! This means you should be posting frequently to see the best results. Posting just one piece of content a week just isn’t enough to build a successful Instagram page. Create a content schedule and stick to it. Consistency is key to becoming successful on any social media platform, so get in the habit of posting wherever you can. When you post that content, remember to use hashtags on Instagram to optimize your post. On Instagram, the more hashtags you include, the better! So don’t be afraid to add 20 plus hashtags to your beat to help it attract more listeners.
Now get started!
Get out there and start creating your social media marketing strategy! Remember, every platform is useful, so use as many of them as you can. YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, they are all fair game! No platform will instantly start helping you sell more beats. However, by creating high-quality content and engaging with your users, you can soon build a thriving social media community.
Download Our Social Media Kits
Ready to start marketing your music business? Utilize our FREE social media kits to help kickstart and optimize your social channels.
YouTube Description Template
Download a FREE YouTube description template for your beats! Just copy and paste when uploading your next beat to create a description to help drive traffic to your Marketplace.
Artwork Templates
Need help creating fire beat artwork? We’ve got you covered! Download our FREE thumbnail template for your beat to create professional-looking thumbnails for your beats.
Hashtags To Try
We’ve made a list of 20 hashtags you can try on your next social posts to help increase your reach. Use these on your next upload and watch your content’s visibility and engagement grow!
