How Important Are Social Media Algorithm Updates For Musicians?

Social media marketing has become a great part of the music industry in late years.

The increase of Social Platforms’ popularity encouraged young artists to have more power over their authenticity and brought the freedom to create original content for free.

When done effectively, SMM can lead to a bigger following as well as more engagement from your target fanbase.
However, social media growth can be determined by many factors, and the biggest one is understanding the algorithm of each platform you’re posting on.

As a music artist who’s trying to grow their following on socials, you have to constantly keep up with the updated algorithms, or else you’ll find yourself facing a constant struggle.

The Importance of keeping up with Social Media Algorithms

Social Media is a market full of potential fans who are discovering new music every day. If you’re not properly engaging with your audience, another artist will.

It’s the go-to place for you to build a following of dedicated and engaged fans that feel a personal connection with you and your music.

A 2017 Research by NME found that Social Media is the second most effective tool for growing a fanbase (playing live is first). However, the competition is growing further, so social networks will keep modifying their algorithms accordingly.

Since more and more music is being published every day, social media platforms change their algorithms in order to make it harder to reach an audience organically, thus stimulating the purchase of advertising slots.

This means that Social Media platforms are making it harder for artists like you to see a significant ROI. So to reach a wider audience, you will need to invest more and more money on sponsored posts.

However, fully understanding the algorithms will definitely help you see better results from your marketing efforts.
Since each platform works differently, it’s best to optimize content particularly for each one.

How do the algorithms work in 2020?

Here are the latest updates for social platforms based on the latest reports.
You will find that it becomes easier to optimize content once you understand how each algorithm works.

Facebook:

The new Facebook algorithm works by ranking all available posts that can display on your News Feed based on how likely you will have a positive reaction to it.
As of 2020, Facebook has stated that its focus is on helping users understand the algorithm, and taking control of ranking signals to give it better feedback.

These ranking signals are data points determined by the way someone behaves on the platform. How much a user shares this type of content, how much they like and interact with it positively, the popularity of the content, and so on…

What this means for you as an artist is: you want your content to signal to Facebook that it’s meaningful and relevant to your target audience.

TikTok:

The TikTok algorithm uses machine learning to evaluate the quality of every video uploaded.

It starts by pushing your content out to a couple of people, then measures how much of your content is actually watched. It’s also triggered by the velocity of the engagement it receives. So as you get more likes, comments, shares, and downloads… TikTok will keep pushing your content out to more people.

Make sure to put out videos relevant to your fans, something they can relate to, and try to mix it up to appeal to more people.

Youtube:

YouTube’s algorithm serves the most relevant, personalized videos to its users.

The goals of YouTube’s search and discovery system are twofold: to help viewers find the videos they want to watch, and to maximize long-term viewer engagement and satisfaction.

What youtube does is, they help users find videos they’re most likely to watch and enjoy. By “following” audiences and the videos they engage with, they manage to prioritize certain videos the viewer is most likely interested in. Again, you will need to put out content relevant to your fans. You need to hook them and offer engaging videos that will keep them on the platform, which will make youtube like you and favor your videos.

Instagram:

The Instagram algorithm in 2020 works by showing users the content they are likely to engage with. If you haven’t already noticed, when you engage with someone’s posts, they start to show more on your feed.

Instagram wants content that keeps users on the platform, content that prioritizes engagement.
This means that the more time you spend on the app keeping your followers engaged, the more Instagram will favor you.

You can effectively get more engagement if you post at the right time, provide quality posts, go live, and so on.

Twitter:

The Twitter algorithm prioritizes recent content and engaged users.

Things to keep in mind when publishing content on twitter include the timing of your tweets, the engagement your tweets get (Retweets, clicks, favorites, and impressions), the media you use in your tweets (images, videos, and GIFs), and how active you are on the platform.

It’s important to be active and engage if you want to see engagement on your own posts as well. So try to respond to mentions and messages as soon as possible.

Soundcloud:

According to SoundCloud’s blog, here are some key factors to determine the visibility of your tracks on the platform.

• Clean Titles

Make your project titles clean by keeping them tidy so fans know exactly what they’re listening to.

• High-Quality Artwork

Upload artwork relevant to your project and make sure it’s well put. “The higher the resolution – the better”

• Consistent Descriptions

Make sure to add extra information in your descriptions such as a track’s backstory, credits, lyrics, gear lists, or guest lists. Add links to collaborators and features SoundCloud profiles.

• Genre and Mood Tags

SoundCloud uses an algorithm to recommend tracks to users. So every time you drop a project, tag your tracks with accurate genre information, sub-genres, and moods. It’s better to add a handful of relevant tags rather than go crazy and add as many as you can.

Conclusion

Making the most out of social media marketing is essential to build a following.

Let the engagement on each post guide to understanding what content performs best. Take the time to experiment by mixing up different types of content to further understand your audience.

And remember, it’s not enough to create content. You have to interact with your community!

How Important Are Social Media Algorithm Updates For Musicians?