When creating and scheduling social media content it can be tempting to post the same thing across all platforms. This is okay in the case of major announcements, but in the everyday it can hurt visibility and fan engagement. Every social media platform has its own algorithm and unique purpose, and it’s essential that you tailor your posts to each. To make it easier for you to build your online presence and harness the power of social media, we’ve broken down the main differences between each major platform and what types of content are best for each.
Instagram has the widest ranging age demographic of any social media platforms, appealing especially to Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X. People go here mainly for inspiration, entertainment, shopping, and aesthetic interest. Visual appeal is the driving force behind this platform, with photos and Reels serving as the primary form of content. Descriptions matter a lot to post visibility and engagement, so it’s important that you write something that matters to your followers. Your descriptions can be long or short, so long as they encourage interaction. Hashtags help with visibility, too. Use a mix of tags that are highly popular, somewhat popular, and popular in a highly specific niche related to your post to maximize views. Reposting other people’s content to your main feed should be minimal or nonexistent, as it’s likely to interrupt your page’s overall aesthetic. Save reposting for your stories where they’ll get more views and follower engagement. Keep permanent, brief info in your highlights and longer, permanent info as posts pinned to the top of your page. If you aren’t fond of reintroducing yourself once in a while for new followers this can be a great way to keep that info front and center.
Overall, Instagram is great for artists because it focuses on visually creative posts and has a broad age demographic with a minimal learning curve for new users.
Instagram’s unique traits:
- Visual aesthetic driven.
- Photo and video (Reel) based content.
- Descriptions with substance matter.
- Hashtags help visibility.
- Main feed: original content
- Stories: original content and reposts
- Highlights: brief, permanent info
- Pinned Posts: longer, permanent info
Facebook is the predecessor of Instagram and generally caters to an older audience. Facebook content consists of a combination of photos, videos, links to other sites, and reposted content. Unlike Instagram, reposted content tends to take up a good portion of user feeds. This is why announcements, tour dates, and merch promotion will likely do well here. The downside is that it’s less of a creative outlet and caters to a much narrower age group. But seeing as how it’s still one of the most popular social media platforms in existence, it’s definitely worth your time to create some Facebook specific content, especially surrounding new releases. One thing you can do to make things easier when scheduling posts is to have whatever you post to Instagram automatically be posted to your Facebook page as well. Since both platforms are owned by Meta, content created for Instagram will look fine on your Facebook too. Whereas posting the same content you put on Twitter or TikTok may look a bit odd if done without care.
Facebook’s unique traits:
- Best for: announcements, sharing information, & individual opinions.
- Photo, video, text, & link-based content.
- Longer descriptions.
- Great for release announcements, events, & tour dates.
- Reposting is common.
Unlike other social media platforms, Twitter is almost entirely text-based with photos or videos added as an extra, a reversal of the typical image-first format. Most content consists of short-form thoughts and announcements mixed with concisely written discussions. The 240 character cap on each post keeps content bite-sized for quick and easy consumption – something TikTok has mastered in video form. Occasional reposting is normal too, making it even more of a middle ground between social media platforms. People typically use Twitter to share and read individual thoughts, opinions, and discussions on current events. The age demographic here is fairly broad but those who are regularly active are typically far more engaged than users on other platforms.
Twitter can be a great place for more casual thoughts and genuine interactions with fans. It’s also convenient for rapid content creation since screenshots of Twitter posts are often seen across every other social media site.
Twitter’s unique traits:
- Text-based
- Photos and videos add interest sometimes but aren’t necessary.
- Content is mainly: casual thoughts, announcements, & short form discussions.
- Occasional reposting is normal.
- 240 character limit per post.
- People want to see individual thoughts or opinions, news, announcements, & short form discussions.
TikTok
In the last several years, TikTok has risen to be one of the top social media platforms and has popularized short, bite-size videos. The reach of this app has grown so much that Instagram is attempting to take on a similar appearance, which has been met with mixed reactions from users. Unlike every other platform that has a variety of content options, TikTok is only for videos. Descriptions are present but aren’t as easy to read and are usually short. Most content is original or semi-original with reposts possible but not common on more popular feeds. What makes this platform so unique is that it’s more communal. All activity is based on individual engagement. Challenges, dances, and collabs are all based on someone else’s work – unless you come up with your own for others to use. People come here for entertainment and connection, which is also what drives people to social media as a whole. TikTok is different, however, in that it takes many people’s favorite aspects of other platforms and combines them. The content is entirely video-based, but it’s also short. It’s casual and candid while retaining the ability for videos to be well produced. Popularity is dictated by the fans directly instead of advertiser interests. With music being such a major part of almost all content here, it stands to work against the traditional music industry by giving autonomy to artists and fans instead of big labels.
TikTok’s unique traits:
- Video-based content.
- All content is original or semi-original.
- Content can be based on or combined with other TikTok posts.
- Communal
- Encourages individual engagement.
- Artist and fan autonomy.
- People want entertainment, fun challenges, and personal connection.
When you’re starting out with social media as an artist it can be easy to overdo things. Rather than spreading yourself too thin right away, stick to a couple of popular social media platforms and diversify your online presence from there. Going where your fans are is an important part of this too. Keep an eye on your analytics on your artist dashboard and spend more time on the platforms that get the most followers and engagement. If you want to boost engagement on some platforms that are lacking, try playing around with your content and seeing what fans like. Polls can help with this since most people know what they do and don’t want to see.
The important thing is to make sure you’re posting different content across platforms and only recycling posts when making an announcement. Pay attention to your fans and you’ll do great!