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How To Promote Your Music On Twitter & Build A Following

Are you curious to learn how to promote your music on Twitter?

Compared to platforms like TikTok or Instagram, Twitter is often overlooked when it comes to marketing your music on social media. 

But in the past few years, many artists have successfully launched their careers, cultivated a following, and promoted their music through Twitter. 

Not only can Twitter be used to stay informed and connected with everything going on in the world, but it can also be the perfect platform for you to advertise your music if you have a small (or non-existent) marketing budget to work within.

So, enough talk — let’s get you up to date on all of Twitter’s features so you’re ready to effectively market your music on Twitter like a pro.

How To Promote Your Music On Twitter

Finding Your Niche

Simply put, Twitter is one big online community with many smaller niche groups that discuss and connect with one another.  

When you begin to build your following on Twitter, the main focus in terms of building engagement is to create content that people want to share — which on Twitter comes in the form of a retweet. 

There is a community for everything on Twitter, so while not everyone will want to retweet your meme or video, you will eventually find a community that will show you some love once you have established your niche. 

Let the music speak for itself

In November 2020, DJ and producer Jimir Reece Davis — better known by his moniker Amorphous — went viral on Twitter with his mashup of Rihanna’s ‘Kiss It Better’ and Luther Vandross’ ‘Never Too Much’. 

The video of his remix, which was shot in Davis’ room while wearing a gaming headset he used in place of studio headphones, caught the attention of music fans, celebrities, and the music industry. 

As the initial video made its rounds on Twitter, Davis continued posting videos of him remixing songs — each video gaining thousands of views and attracting thousands of followers. 

Amorphous built his following by focusing on the music and letting it speak for itself through consistently posting Twitter videos. Once one video went viral, he kept on posting videos in the same style — which could be viewed as a strong branding tactic. 

Creating a meme

When Montero Lamar Hill, who we know as Lil Nas X, posted a video of a cowboy dancing to his song ‘Old Town Road’ the day before he released the song on Soundcloud, he knew exactly what he was doing. 

Years before the American rapper released his chart-smashing hit, he ran a Nicki Minaj fan account on Twitter for fun and probably picked up on some tips in order to make his music go viral. 

While there was a chance that his initial meme would not be retweeted by his followers, attempting to embed your own song into a meme — especially a day before it’s first independent release — is a genius example of how to market your music on Twitter, and build intrigue for a debut release. 

About 2 weeks after the initial meme was put out by Lil Nas X, it was officially released on streaming services internationally. The meme was Lil Nas X’s version of a marketing plan that was carried through with virtually no budget. 

If you want to begin creating memes that implement your music, it may take some trial and error. 

To begin, think of memes you currently interact with on Twitter and how you can create similar memes yourself. 

Even if you are not getting a ton of engagement, consistently capitalizing on trending topics in entertaining ways is an effective way to ensure you’re reaching at least a few people with your content on Twitter. 

Getting political

Music is political, especially in today’s world. For that reason, there is arguably no better place than Twitter to promote your music on the social media platform that has shaped politics around the world. 

If the themes of your music are political, begin to engage with individuals and groups on Twitter that share similar views to you. 

Your music is your way of expressing how you feel, and if others feel the same as you (or at the very least can resonate with your views) they are more likely to support your vision. 

However, refrain from chiming in on issues for the sake of capitalizing off of what is trending in the world and online, The issues you talk (and sing) about on Twitter should be topics that you are genuinely interested in or something that directly impacts you. 

Promoting Your Music on Twitter

Since words spread fast on conversation-based platforms like Twitter, many big musicians make special announcements through the social media platform. 

If you have some music to promote, Twitter could be the perfect place for you to amplify your message.

Pinning your “self-promo tweets” to your profile

Whether you’re preparing to tour the world or have a single release coming out soon — Twitter is the best place to let people know. 

Word can spread fast on Twitter without you having to pay for advertisements, especially if some of your fans and friends retweet you.

If you have a special announcement coming up, consider creating a poster that is optimized for Twitter that can be pinned to the top of your profile for as long as you want. 

Whenever someone visits your Twitter profile, the first tweet they will see below your profile photo and bio will be that pinned tweet! 

Building engagement before an announcement

Having a post go viral can be a career-launcher, especially if you leverage a boost of online attention by dropping an announcement. 

If you are thinking of releasing a song or an album, or have some other news to promote — think of creative and fun ways you can capture the attention of your audience in the weeks leading up to the announcement. 

This content does not have to be a high-budget production, nor does it have to go “viral” — this content could be posting photos of you in the studio every day for a month before your album is released or posting videos of sneak peeks to the audio of a song of yours that has not been released yet. 

Whatever you end up creating, taking the time to create and strategize some creative content before a big announcement is a great way to engage your audience and keep your feed fresh. 

The Lowdown on Fleets and Videos

Twitter’s humble beginnings began with features including hashtags and trending topics to keep its users engaged. 

As the platform has grown to over 340 million users in 2020, it has introduced many features for everyday users and businesses to reach and interact with each other — including Fleets and Twitter Videos. 

Fleets

In November 2020, Twitter introduced its users to Fleets — a way to post content on Twitter or share tweets that disappear after 24 hours. So basically, Fleets are Twitter’s attempt at implementing a feature similar to Instagram and Snapchat stories. 

Although all three platforms share the same feature of expiring 24 hours after posting, Fleets do not have the same level of customization features compared to Instagram and Snapchat stories — at least, not yet. 

While the feature may still be in its infancy, it could still be a valuable tool to drive engagement. 

For example, whenever you tweet something that must be seen by all of your followers — like a tour announcement or an album release — it wouldn’t hurt to also share that tweet directly in your Fleets. 

This just doubles the amount of exposure you could achieve with your tweet in a completely unobtrusive way.

So yeah, Twitter’s Fleets is barebones right now — but it still has the potential to help you reach even more people. 

Twitter Videos

When Twitter finally announced that they would begin to support in-application video uploads, it changed the game. 

Not only have Twitter videos changed the way businesses and individuals market themselves online, but the way the world communicates and relays information with one another — especially during the coronavirus pandemic. 

In terms of your marketing, the most important videos to focus on as a musician are videos of you singing. 

Whether you post a stripped-down cover of a popular song that is filmed in your bathroom or a video of you singing in the studio while recording your latest album — Twitter users love watching in-app videos, especially of people singing. 

In January 2020, Jansen McRae posted a video on Twitter of her singing a song she wrote in the style of her interpretation of a Phoebe Bridgers song in 2023  — thousands of people on Twitter, including Bridgers herself, understood her humor and the video went viral.

One day, the same could happen to your videos on Twitter — but before you upload a video, there are some upload requirements. 

Currently, Twitter supports both MP4 and MOV video formats when uploading on mobile apps and MP4 video format with H264 format with AAC audio when posting on a web browser. 

Your videos can be up to 512MB and must be under 2 minutes and 20 seconds in length.

Engaging With The Twitter Community

Twitter is a platform for conversations, and those are not very easy to have by yourself. 

Starting conversations or joining in on trending discourse is an effective way to engage with the Twitter community and contribute to trending discussions — which could lead to significant growth of your Twitter account over time. 

A networking platform

Like LinkedIn and even Instagram, Twitter can also be used as a networking platform to meet like-minded individuals and build professional relationships. 

When you view someone’s profile, you can see if that person is followed by anyone that you follow — which is a way to build your social network. 

When you create a Twitter account, make sure you are following all of your friends and people you know in the industry. 

Also, I encourage you to forget about having a “follower ratio” for now and follow back anyone that follows you that you know personally. 

To stay engaged with everything going on in the world and the Twitter universe, follow businesses, news organizations, and individuals that interest you and interact with those accounts as much as possible. 

Who knows — one day, you could be having a conversation on Twitter with one of your idols!

Once you have a solid grasp on how to use Twitter and have built some strong connections on the platform, you should tweet frequently to make sure you’re staying on people’s Twitter timeline. 

Take a few minutes each day to tweet about your music, your life, and the leaders in your communities to show your followers that you are engaged. 

Tagging and Mentioning

When used correctly, tagging and mentioning other Twitter accounts can give your posts a massive boost in terms of engagement. 

It also ensures that the Twitter users you tagged in the post see your tweet, which could lead to them sharing your tweet with their followers.

If you just got off the stage from a show, you can tag some of the brands of clothing you wore on-stage, some of the people that you played with, or even the venue that you played at. 

If you’re posting a video of you covering another artists’ song, tagging or mentioning them in the video could boost your chances of getting noticed by them.

Ditch Replies for Quote Tweets

If you’re ever replying to an account on Twitter, consider using Twitter’s Quote Tweet feature so everyone that follows you can see your response. 

You can also add a photo or a video to the Quote Tweet to optimize your chances of engagement! 

To quote a tweet, all you need to do is press the ‘Retweet’ symbol (if the person you are quote tweeting has a public profile) and select ‘Quote Tweet’. 

Final Thoughts On How To Promote Your Music On Twitter

Establishing yourself on Twitter as a musician is not an overnight process, and will take a lot of time and effort. 

If a post does not get as much engagement as you hoped, don’t be discouraged — it takes time and consistency to build a loyal following. 

If you are not immediately achieving the engagement on Twitter you hoped you would, the worst thing you can do is to stop tweeting altogether. 

Instead, continue interacting with people in the music industry and your communities — and keep the conversation going. 

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