8 Ways to Promote Your Music Online FOR FREE (2022)
“How do I promote my music online for free?”
If you’re asking yourself this question, you’re in luck.
In 2022, there are many, many ways to promote your music online for free. With the popularity of social media and other media-sharing platforms, it’s now easier than ever to get your music heard.
On the other hand, the online world is extremely saturated by musicians trying to promote their music. With this in mind, you need to use promotional techniques that help you stand out from the crowd.
So with that in mind, here are the 8 best ways to promote your music online for free in 2022.
1. Mastering Social Media
Using social media as a marketing tool for your music isn’t exactly a secret. However, the power of social media cannot be understated.
These days, it’s very common for an artist to “blow up” on social media, which can kickstart a successful music career.
In order to promote your music effectively, you need to learn how to use social media effectively in 2022.
Here are a few simple guidelines…
✔️ Post regularly
One of the most important factors when it comes to social media marketing is consistency. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook reward consistency and accounts that post regularly.
Consistently posting leads to higher engagement from your followers. Conversely, not posting for weeks/months at a time can severely hurt your engagement.
So try to aim for between 4 – 7 social media posts a week. Whether that’s clips of new tracks, or pictures of you performing, make sure you are consistent.
✔️ Engage with the community
Another fantastic way to market your music via social media is through engaging with the community.
Let’s look at a highly effective method for growing your social media channels. (This method is most effective on Instagram but works for a number of platforms.)
1. Think of 3-5 artists that are similar to your style of music.
2. Go on these artists’ Instagram accounts and click on their followers.
3. Now click on each of the followers accounts and like 2-3 of their most recent pictures. You can also comment on pictures as well, but make sure it’s highly relevant to the picture and not “spammy”.
4. Do this for about 20 minutes a day (or 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening if you have time).
Some of the accounts you engage with will be curious as to who’s liked their pictures, and may even give your music a listen. This is a fantastic way to promote your music online for free in 2022.
2. Post Everywhere
There are countless places to post your music online, from social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, to video-sharing sites such as Youtube.
If you want your music to reach the most people possible, it’s important you post each track on many different websites.
Here are the main websites you should be posting your music to:
• Your own personal website
• SoundCloud
• Youtube
• Last.fm
• TikTok (more on this later)
By consistently posting your music on each of these platforms, you are significantly improving your chances of people discovering your music organically.
3. Reach out to Online Creators
Another fantastic way to promote your music for free online is to collaborate with online creators / influencers.
For example, try reaching out to Youtubers by offering them free background music for their videos.
Many Youtubers are always looking for professional-quality, royalty-free music and will be more than happy to check out your music to see if it’s a good fit. However, make sure you ask them to add a link to your website/Instagram in the video description.
This method is also fantastic to building relationships with other online creators.
4. Post your music on Reddit
Most of the biggest social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) are heavily over-saturated with musicians. While this does make promoting your music much more difficult, it’s still definitely worth posting your music on these platforms.
However, Reddit still has a lot of untapped potential when it comes to online music promotion.
Make sure you find the best subreddits for your style of production (i.e r/WeAreTheMusicMakers for general music production discussion, r/FutureBass or r/FutureBassProduction for Future Bass, etc.)
Remember, on Reddit you WILL receive unfiltered feedback. If Reddit users don’t like your music they won’t hold back, so be prepared for some constructive (and unconstructive) feedback.
5. Create a buzz on TikTok
TikTok users are always on the lookout for the next big thing.
Recently, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X exploded on TikTok when fans began uploading their own content featuring the song. The viral sensation skyrocketed the track to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it stayed for 17 weeks straight.
Clearly, you should be promoting your music on TikTok in 2022. Here are a few quick tips to bear in mind:
• Focus on the hook – For a song to do well on TikTok, the hook must be a prominent part of the song. It also helps if the hook is extremely catchy with simple, easy-to-understand lyrics.
• Create a Challenge – “Old Town Road” went viral due to the “Yee Yee Juice Challenge”, Drake’s “In My Feelings” went mega-viral with the “Kiki Challenge”, and so on. Challenges expose your track to new audiences, especially if well-known TikTok influencers get involved. Make sure the challenge is unique, entertaining and works well with your track.
• Share Everywhere – In 2022, over 50% of 18-29 year olds in America use TikTok. Therefore, you should share your TikTok content across various other social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat etc.
6. Spotify discover
If you’re an artist in 2022, it’s crucial that you upload your music to Spotify (as well as Apple Music etc.)
Spotify is used by a huge worldwide userbase, with many users relying on Spotify’s algorithms to discover new music.
Unknown artists can be exposed to thousands of new listeners through the “Discover” tool and the “Release Radar” playlists. Plus, getting your music onto Spotify is incredibly easy (click here for our full guide to uploading your tracks to Spotify).
Note: Getting your music onto Spotify is not free, and will usually cost an upfront fee. However, you can then use Spotify to promote your music and reach new audiences for free.
7. Blog posts
Another often-overlooked method for promoting your music for free in 2022 is blog posts.
Posting regularly to an online blog can be used to drive traffic directly to your music.
Writing blog posts about similar artists, music production, live shows, album reviews and other topics can generate a lot of traffic. If you host these blog posts on your own website, it will incentivize some of the readers to check out your music.
Make sure the blog posts are well-written, relevant and interesting to a wide audience.
8. Interact with your Listeners
Never underestimate the power of interacting with your listeners.
If someone sends you a DM telling you they enjoyed your music, reply.
If someone leaves a comment on your Youtube video, reply.
If someone goes out of their way to support your music, make sure they know you appreciate it.
This is also a great way to indirectly promote your music. By interacting with your fans, you are creating a longer-lasting connection with them. This will result in their continued support when it comes to future releases.
Conclusion
In 2022, there are more ways to promote your music than ever. Social media alone has propelled many artists to international fame, and remains one of the most effective ways to promote your music for free.
Overall, make sure you are promoting your music in an authentic way. People will see right through you if you try to market your music as something it’s not. For example, don’t try to create a TikTok meme if you’re a ambient producer.
Also, don’t spam people. Nobody appreciates being bombarded with messages from an unknown artist. Even if your music is great, nobody will reply if you come across as desperate.
Hopefully you found some value in this article, and have a few ideas on how to promote your music for free in 2022. Now it’s time to get out there and put it into action. Good luck!
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