Finding someone for social media promotion

[AwakenTheSkies]

Guys,

I love doing guitar related stuff. But I really hate promoting it. I won't go into detail but yeah, I'm really bad at selling myself and genuinely dislike it.
I want to put my stuff out there. Live band isn't an option, I'm really busy, fucking broke and have tinnitus. Social media is the only option for now.

I'm thinking of "hiring" someone, within my means, who will do my spamming for me. Hopefully someone who knows about guitar stuff so they can criticize my stuff and tell me what works and what doesn't. Where would you try to find someone like this? Should I just DM someone with a successful account, or try to find one on the internet?

As I was writing about this I had an idea about a friend who did well on IG and isn't doing anything right now. He might be interested, have to ask him...

 

[budda]

If you’re broke, I have my doubts you’ll be able to afford anyone/agency worthwhile.

Social media is an actual job, it wont be free. It definitely wont be free to be done properly - and you’ll need to provide the actual content (photos, videos, merch, layout etc) that gets promoted.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

If you’re broke, I have my doubts you’ll be able to afford anyone/agency worthwhile.

Social media is an actual job, it wont be free. It definitely wont be free to be done properly - and you’ll need to provide the actual content (photos, videos, merch, layout etc) that gets promoted.

I don't expect it to be free. I don't know how much would a person like that charge for a month for example, which is why I'm curious. More accurately what I meant is that I'm too broke to start a band properly. Amplifiers, gear, vehicle, etc.

Idk I'll ask around, I'm not looking for someone professional either. Just someone who knows more than me and doesn't get ultra uncomfortable doing it, like me.

I have no problem providing the content.

 

[CTID]

my wife is a social media marketing director and her agency charges something like $150/hr for her time. that doesn't all go to her obviously but just as a frame of reference, this shit is ultra expensive for someone who's actually worth a shit at their job

 

[ArtDecade]

The best publicity is bad publicity. Drop a track online today and get arrested tomorrow performing a Satanic ritual at your local city hall tomorrow.

 

[ArtDecade]

... or date a Kardashian.

 

[budda]

Imo this is something worth figuring out how to do yourself. Good chance for self growth too - learn how to get comfortable with seeing yourself and hearing yourself. You worked hard on creating the music, no one will be as invested as you to get it out there.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

Imo this is something worth figuring out how to do yourself. Good chance for self growth too - learn how to get comfortable with seeing yourself and hearing yourself. You worked hard on creating the music, no one will be as invested as you to get it out there.

I agree, this is a good point - in theory. But in practice it just doesn't work for me. Let me put it this way, I'm 25 and I have been on social media since I was at least 10, you would think this would give me some advantage being in touch with my generation but it's not like that at all. I have been at it on Instagram on and off for 5 years maybe, and I don't get any better.
Some people just aren't meant to do certain things and I guess here we have found one of mine. I believe anyone could do a better job at it than me if they tried.

And I don't think that it's a confidence thing either. I can post clips of myself singing, playing. I can act crazy in front of the camera or give a lesson on playing a guitar solo while talking, no problem.
The problem is promoting it on social media itself. I just don't know the cool thing to write, what hashtags to put or how many. Who to follow or not. Just trying to write something hype feels so disingenuous and fake it makes me uncomfortable, and in the end I think people can see right through it. I just don't get at all.
So I would rather just have someone else do it for me, even if I have to pay them.

In the end not every artist can have good self promotion skills, but that doesn't mean their stuff doesn't deserve to get seen. I wonder where some popular acts would be if they were lead by just one socially inept guy, and didn't have a team of people helping promote them.
If I think about it whatever little exposure I have had, it has always been thanks to someone else sharing or reposting my things, leading to more people finding me. It has never worked with just me..

 

[budda]

Its not your social media, its your musics social media. Treat it as such. Look up SEO and all that fun stuff, put the work in.

Treat it like the job it is in this regard.

You’ll also want to build your in-person network of fans who will then go share your stuff on social media.

or pay someone to bot up so you have 10k likes on paper

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

You’ll also want to build your in-person network of fans who will then go share your stuff on social media.

Years ago especially when I started some people that I knew IRL would share my things. But the problem is that everyone else outside of our small circle doesn't like rock and metal music. So it wasn't very effective, but still way more than I could accomplish by myself. Some people would give it a click out of curiosity but they would never come back.

Another thing is when I was starting out obviously my mixing & production was out of control because I was still learning, and I was exposing normal people to these very rough, unpolished demos and it always sucked to think that a new potential listener would listen to that and never come back. Because once the novelty wears off, "it's a song from this guy that I know", it can't really compete with real professionally produced music in someone's playlist.

I'm better now, obviously I still can't do work as good as the one made by a team of professionals. But I would focus the content a bit differently. No one wants to listen to 4 minutes of my song while staring at a wall paper, I'm not that talented.
But I can do ambient jams, covers, some of my musical ideas, guitar lessons, singing clips, etc.

 

[budda]

I guess focus on what exactly your brand will be. Need to do that either way, so might as well do it now .

Real people on social media are real people in real life - if they dig it they dig it, if not then nothing happens.

Famous bands are “music from these people i know” - just more people know them. All bands were at one point locals - some just had some connections off the hop. The black dahlia murder is still a local detroit band, y’know? They just have a following and a career versus the new guys opening the bill.

Make a game plan, figure out how to execute it and go. Metal is niche. Social media sucks. Stick to your plan and see what happens.

 

[Binneylean]

Hiring someone who's knowledgeable about guitar stuff and can handle the promotional side sounds like a great idea. It's a smart move to seek help from someone who understands your niche.

 

[sleewell]

we get like 30 offers a day from people for this. it all seems like a scam. i am sure there are legit companies out there but they appear to be vastly outnumbered by fraudsters.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

Yeah I've given up lol
I've been watching interviews from some lesser known bands who go more in depth (more in depth than your usual interview anyway) about how the music business works and what it took to make their album and I can't hope to make something like that.

Having input not just from different band members but also a producer, having different mixers do the songs, having a manager, promotion support from a record label. How it used to work in the 2000s anyway.
There's just so many filters the songs go through, all knowledgeable people too. If I try to do all those roles myself it's only reasonable that I burnout.

Don't feel like I have enough talent to do something that good by myself either. I have good ideas, can do the instrumentals but I've hit a big wall with the vocals. And if the vocals are going to be subpar, then what's the point?
Even if I did have the talent then there's so many people doing the same thing, while I have my style I'm not really doing anything new. To me full songs is where it's at, but few people seem to want that and I don't want to do gear-demo-core either.

So yeah fuck it. I still have the drive to make music because guys like us will always have it but I'm really just going nowhere with this.

 

[Demiurge]

^I feel this frustration a lot. For an artist to gain traction, it seems like so many things need to converge for that to happen, and even having one or two things down-pat (talent, songs, recording prowess, fluency in social media promotion, etc.) guarantees little. For me, I've got a pile of songs, but with the meager time I get to even play here & there, there's just no fucking bridge to even recording.

While it's great that technology has made home music production accessible and the decentralization of the music industry has created additional paths outside of major labels, it can kind of create more angst. Everything is supposed to be easier, but it's still so hard!

 

[Randy]

Marketing guy here, and specifically social media marketing (among other mass media).

Everyone thinks you need to be everywhere, all the time. I always tell people, pick one focal point (FB, IG, X, Tiktok, etc) and work on that ONE area. Learn the algorithm, learn what users are like and what they're looking for, work on points of contact to wick traffic off of other posters that are currently getting the traffic.

Some of that is keyword stuff, but content is king. And content generation doesn't have to be "work". Look at a guy like Dean Lamb. Point a camera at you while you try to learn a song. Point a camera at you while you mix or record. You don't have to go out of your way to "make" content. Whatever it is you do will be interesting to someone, you just need to put it out there and make sure people can find it.

 

[budda]

Yeah I've given up lol
I've been watching interviews from some lesser known bands who go more in depth (more in depth than your usual interview anyway) about how the music business works and what it took to make their album and I can't hope to make something like that.

Having input not just from different band members but also a producer, having different mixers do the songs, having a manager, promotion support from a record label. How it used to work in the 2000s anyway.
There's just so many filters the songs go through, all knowledgeable people too. If I try to do all those roles myself it's only reasonable that I burnout.

Don't feel like I have enough talent to do something that good by myself either. I have good ideas, can do the instrumentals but I've hit a big wall with the vocals. And if the vocals are going to be subpar, then what's the point?
Even if I did have the talent then there's so many people doing the same thing, while I have my style I'm not really doing anything new. To me full songs is where it's at, but few people seem to want that and I don't want to do gear-demo-core either.

So yeah fuck it. I still have the drive to make music because guys like us will always have it but I'm really just going nowhere with this.

The point is to do it and say you did it because you wanted to. If very few people will be hearing it (big picture, 100 vs100k) then do it the best you can because you’re your own worst critic and the only one completely invested. “No one cares” so just finish it and move on

 

[Binneylean]

Hiring someone who's knowledgeable about guitar stuff and can handle the promotional side sounds like a great idea. It's a smart move to seek help from someone who understands your niche.

As for finding the right person, reaching out to your friend who did well on IG is an excellent starting point. They might be interested, and since you already have a connection, it could make the collaboration smoother.
And if you're looking to boost your online presence and engagement, here's a little tip: consider trying out the option to get 100 free TikTok likes. It's a handy way to kickstart your presence on TikTok and get more eyes on your guitar-related content.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]