Dos And Don'ts of Social Media: A Guide For Musicians

It is so easy to get excited about following all your favorite artists on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Vine. You're friends now, right?! You can see what they're thinking, talk directly to them, and get exclusive access to all the sweet stuff rock stars do. And for the most part, that's true. There are some musicians who are awesome at social media—they get how and when to use it, and do so effectively. And then there are some who find it necessary to #hashtag #every #word, start Twitter feuds, or post pictures that are just TMI. In an effort to help, we've outlined some basic do's and don'ts for new and veteran musicians alike, to help guide them through the scary and sometimes confusing world of social media. #TakeNotes.

Music tends to attract some crazy, passionate characters. The successful ones—for the most part—have created a persona that fans can understand and digest as an extension of the music they make. Revealing some inner thoughts and personal details can let your base get to know the (wo)man behind the mask. As we'll see later on, however, you really don't want to overdo it.

It seems like a no-brainer not to spew hate in a public space, but...well, I guess that's one of the exciting things about the newness of social media: some people are a little confused as to what it does and who it attracts.

Twitter is a good place to share opinions, offer insight into your life, and direct fans to what you're listening to. It's not a good place to blurt out everything you think about everyone you don't like. It's just not worth it, and it detracts from what you're really trying to do.

In the age of the screenshot, nothing gets deleted forever.

The single best way to garner a devoted following is to pull back the fame curtain and give your fans a peek of the sweet life. Recently we've seen this take the form of rehearsal footage, ticket giveaways, and in a broader sense, vines. Fans want to feel like they're taking the whole journey with the artist. It's way better than just watching a stranger on stage.

It's only natural that when you have something exciting going on, like a new song or an upcoming TV appearance, you want share that news with your fans. And while we definitely want to keep updated, hearing about it 20 times a day through Instagram posts, all caps tweets and Facebook notifications is a little overboard.

When you're ready to release new music, sometimes the best way to reach an attentive audience is to drop it on Twitter or Facebook. Plus, you double your chances of having that song or video shared—and everyone likes to feel like they're getting something fresh from the source.

This one is self-explanatory. Case and point: Lil B. In between dropping nuggets of essential wisdom, Lil B's Twitter is just one big aggregate of people showing The Based God love. After about three hours of scrolling to find his first actual Tweet, you're like "Look Lil B, we're not trying to be ungrateful at all because we really do TYBG, but can we get maybe an HOUR of you not re-tweeting any tweet that has your name in it?" Pro tip: you can turn off retweets when following artists like this.

An offshoot of the VIP treatment, reaching out to other artists not only incites fan-squeals but also just makes you seem down-to-earth and friendly. You think it's a coincidence that "friends" and "friendly" have such similar spellings? It's not. You never know when a random act of tweetness could turn into a collaboration that turns into a hit single that turns into a national anthem.

For every musician who uses social media to give us an awesome, behind the scenes look at their lives, there's that one musician who honestly shows us way too much. Whether it's Rihanna posting pictures of her with an IV in her arm, or Andrew WK tweeting about how he, um, shit himself while driving, sometimes we just have to throw our hands up and say "Enough is enough! Put a damn shirt on Bieber!"

At its core, social media was created so people could connect with each other. When celebrities started becoming active on Twitter and Facebook, fans not only had an inside look into their lives, but also a way to interact with them. While clearly no one expects musicians to reply to every fan, taking time to Tweet back or like an fan's Instagram is a quick and easy way to show you're listening and you care. Because honestly, who wouldn't want to log into Twitter and see they got that exclusive "this is true" reply from Danny Brown?

It gets a little embarrassing when musicians get geniunely hurt by someone and take to Twitter to seek revenge. This just isn't really the venue to pour your heart out. The best way to handle trolls is to celebrate them, à la social media guru Action Bronson.

Important distinction here from making friends. Promoting another artists work is more than a fun Twitter exchange or a tweet of admiration. Social media gives you access to thousands of engaged listeners who will respect your taste in music because they respect your music. When you cosign another artist, the impact of that tweet or Facebook share is immediately felt. Just look at Drake, whose public support essentially helped launch the career of The Weeknd; or Jessie Ware, who recently campaigned hard via Twitter for her fans to buy friends Disclosure's new album. Because if you're not using that social media influence for some good, then we're going to be left with just a lot of weird Riff Raff Vines.

#sometimes #it's #a #little #distracting #when #you #think #everything #needs #to #be #hashtagged