Now more than ever, TikTok has proven to be the Indie artist’s sidekick: Creating exposure opportunities, growing fanbases rapidly, and boosting streaming numbers – the proof is in the pudding. How can YOU best commandeer your career creating TikTok content to your advantage?
- First off, Set Up Your Profile for Success: Make sure you link your other social media or a point of contact, keep your profile public, and use a profile picture and name that’s similar to your other socials. Consistency across your profiles is crucial for artist branding. And now, for content:
- The Hook: The first seconds of your video should immediately hook your audience. Don’t just focus on the catchiest 15 seconds of your song, but 15 seconds that will encourage users to create their own content around it. Think long haul – it’s all about the entertainment factor. Which means…
- It’s (for) Them, not You: TikTok is a special platform because you can reach audiences that are borderline unreachable on other platforms. At the end of the day, you want to curate posts with the maximum potential to go viral, which might be out of your typical music comfort zone. But it’s the variety in your posts that keeps the viewers coming. Here are some of our posting suggestions:
- Think of How Your Music Could Pair with a “Trend”: Walker Hayes earned his first #1 Billboard charting through his most recent single “Fancy Like” – and, you guessed it, the song blew up because of a Tik Tok dance trend. Biggest artists’ success moments on TikTok come from viral dances, voiceovers, “meme” videos, etc. – use your creative juices! What could go viral today?
- Song Background: Explain the story behind your music! Whether it be the backstory behind lyrics, innovative production techniques, or where you got your inspiration – people listen to music because it evokes emotion or interest. It’s up to you to provide the content for people to do so!
- Interact With Your Audience: There is so much talent circulating in “Music Tok” – you want to give yourself the best possible chance for exposure. Utilize the “duet” and “stitch” features, ask artists to improv verses or musical solos, revoice chords, create a track for remix potential, or in general provide their musical input. Established artists like Lizzo, Lil Yachty, John Mayer, and many more have been known to interact with many fans through the app – show them, and many others, your talent!
- Quantity over Quality: In the TikTok world, there is no such thing as too much content. More content = more FYP placement, aka more exposure. No video needs to be picture perfect, but aim for authenticity and videos that pair your audio with trends – that’s your best road to success. It’s all about consistency and relating to a large audience. Get after it!
Stay tuned for the next Intercept Music Blog updates – we’ll be diving deeper into social media strategy, best artist practices, music creator rights, featured artists, and more!