How to use social media to push your music

Three thoughts from the social media week session, ‘So You Are A Superstar? What Next?' Which has held today, Wednesday, February 25, 2015, hosted by Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi with panellists made up of Noble Igwe, DJ Jimmy Jatt, Chichi Nwoko, Omawumi, and others.

In the hunt for twitter trends and Youtube views, Nigerians has been deceived with the surface belief that the ability to trend equates real success.

At the session, many issues were discussed which has shown that the effectiveness of social media is overrated. Twitter for example can be influenced commercially to make an artiste, a song, or a certain product look big, but in reality, the conversion of that hype to action such as listening to the song, engaging the artiste offline, and purchase of the product might be at an all-time low.

People who rely on social media alone are in a bubble that does not truly reflect the current state of that product and the real value of the singer, and song.

Social media is cheap. It is affordable and technically costless. There is no limit to how much material and songs you can upload and share. But without a good strategy, the impulse to share new material might lead to abuse.

According to panelist DJ Jimmy Jatt who captures this in these golden sentences: “Releasing material every week is an abuse of free platform. I get a lot of songs every week. And I can’t concentrate on one person who sends me music every week. The industry is vast.”

Jatt touches on a very important aspect of social media use for music. Artistes who release music every week without consolidating and maximising the distribution of a particular song, spreads himself thin.

Nobody would love to keep getting material from one particular person, on a weekly basis. The law of diminishing marginal utility will be quick to come into play, and your consumers become immune, and ultimately averse to your material.

One song a season is a good step. At most, keep it at two. The wolrd is vast, and a monopoly on consumption of creativity is a mirage. People explore, people need new stimulation.

Keep yours effective by releasing a little at a time. Conquer the world, one art a time.

Lanre Aina of Google is a firm believer of audience engagement. He believes a holistic use of social media is a firm way to promote yourself and become successful.

Aina believes the use of social media needs to maximised with every effective way. Text is good. Photos are amazing. And with video you get the maximum content. Video isn’t limited to music video alone, the production of a song, the studio sessions, freestyle sessions, performance clips, and many others can be shared.

The engagement of audience makes them connect with you on a relatable level, which ultimately binds them emotionally to purchase your material and spread your word, one circle at a time.

Aina, utilised a good example to drive home his message. A success story is that of LeCrae, American Christian rapper who has effectively connected and made a fortune in album sales and performance fees.

His videos on Youtube are a hit, and they offer a variety of content that reveal who he is as a person. That has helped propel his career to great heights.

Engage your audience and embrace everything.

Pulse is the of the Social Media Week Lagos 2015.