The Use of Social Media as a Marketing Strategy for Emerging Artists
Written By: Elainey Bass
The hardest thing about being an upcoming artist is getting your foot in the door. All it takes is that one song to gain attention from the public eye, but maintaining that attention is the tricky part. The use of social media platforms has become a must when it comes to artists promoting their music. But how do artists use these platforms effectively? Digital marketing strategies on YouTube, TikTok, and On The Radar Radio come into play, and artists are utilizing these platforms now more than ever to keep their name buzzing in the industry.
In the early 2000s, YouTube was the go-to platform where artists would post covers of other songs and even their original pieces. Artists like Justin Bieber and The Weeknd garnered most of their attention by posting consistently. Even as time goes on, artists of all genres still use YouTube to publish their music videos for hit songs or other exclusive songs that may not be on other music streaming platforms (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). YouTube also gives people the opportunity to monetize their content and even offers YouTube Analytics, which tells you details about where the fans are located, their demographic, and how often they watch the content that’s published. These extra perks help the artist figure out their target audience, all while making money in the process. YouTube is still used and popular today, but lately, Gen Z has found another platform to take over: TikTok.
Everyone loves TikTok. We all find ourselves scrolling through the app for a good laugh, a new recipe to make for dinner, or another exercise to add to your gym routine. But like YouTube, this platform has launched careers across all genres. The “For You” page on TikTok is simply that; videos that are curated just for you based on the content that you like and the accounts that you follow. By keeping this in mind, artists will post their songs on the app and create some sort of dance challenge or trend in hopes that it’ll gain more traction. The more people that engage with the sound that’s attached to the video, it’s more likely that the sound will pop up on your “For You” page. One of the most famous success stories of the app has been Lil Nas X. His first hit song “Old Town Road,” which he would later go on to win two Grammy awards for, had the entire TikTok community posting videos of themselves dancing to the song. His song quickly rose to the top of the Billboard charts, and the rest is history. Newcomers like Lay Bankz, PinkPantheress, and even Doechii have TikTok to thank for the rise in the number of streams for their songs.
On The Radar Radio was founded and hosted by Gabe P., a journalist from Long Island. The idea of On The Radar Radio unfolded in 2018 and became a go-to platform for upcoming artists in the New York area. When COVID hit, Gabe still conducted virtual interviews with artists. Once the pandemic died down, he expanded on his radio show and created On The Radar Freestyles. This allowed New York artists to perform a freestyle live, which would eventually get posted on On The Radar’s platforms. As the popularity increased, Gabe started to garner the attention of artists outside of New York as well as artists who were already established in the industry. This gave his platform even more traction and even resulted in Drake coming on the show to do a freestyle with UK rapper, Central Cee. Gabe’s platform ended up landing him a permanent spot on Power 105.1 radio station, and many artists today are still looking to catch their big break by coming on the show to do a freestyle.
Overall, it is safe to say that social media plays a big role in the success of budding artists. Consistent posting can be more beneficial than harmful, especially in a generation that fully relies on the internet for everything.