I think every band and musician have felt they are struggling with how to manage time and content having the ”what to post now?” thoughts more often than you like. We all want to focus on making music the marketing side can really drain your time if always find yourself have your social media presence just above the surface. Gasping for air. For time. For creativity. While the guitar stays in the case.
In this article i want to share my tips of how i manage time having social media and overall marketing flowing while still having the time and creativity making new music.
This can very well be implemented in any project besides music. Or when starting a new business overall.
Tip #1 - You need to be prepared to pay the price!
I’ve seen many bands start with a high level of passion not realising how hard the work will be lurking around the corner. If you are in it for some fun. It’s fine!
But if you are in it to grow and stay healthy. Ask yourself how many percent of your life you are willing to spend on your project.
The mindset and motivation need to be switched on to have a better chance to follow your plans and work schedule.
Tip #2 - Planner is your friend
Make a plan!
This has to be one of my best advices.
Make a routine of once a week or once a month (you choose) where you sit down and plan what you are going to do.
Long-term and short-term.
Long-term = During the year. How many songs do you want to release? Music videos?
Short-term = Every month content and what weekly updates you’ll do. Which content and when to make them.
This will make it a lot less stressful and gather your mind together seeing the bird perspective of your project. You will know what content to aim for and plan to execute.
Having a post schedule for my social media saves me.
I know what i am going to post months before i post it. I have the post text ready, content ready and therefore it takes me just five minutes to make the post.
Also the post will be more thoughtful than just taking a picture on the fly and write a caption. Better quality for my audience.
Tip #3 - Batch content
Goes hand in hand with tip #2 and scheduling.
When making content. Try making content for several posts in one sitting.
Time-effective and you’ll be in your creative space.
Examples can be:
Make videos for several posts
Bring different set of clothes to the photo shoot
Write status text for several posts ahead.
Tip #4 - Be flexible
It rarely goes as plan. (the plan is still important)
Be prepared to make adjustments in your schedule. I have never executed a plan like it was planned but if i haven’t had the plan it could have been my downfall a long time ago. It would simply be overwhelming not having some structure and moving the puzzle minor steps instead of major.
Having a schedule and an understanding that adjustments will come will be a mental comfort.
Other useful tips:
Stretch the content
My theory is that social media content is a key to grow.
Giving people that follow you entertainment and also showing people who visit your profile that you are interesting to follow. Quality is of course still important but we’ve handled that with our schedule already.
When having a small project we have a small audience. We are not making any money on our music so we have to make sure all our time and every penny is well invested.
That’s a reason why i separate the music release and the music video release having each of them a month running time.
In your overall planning. Make sure to make the most of every video, photo and audio you have. Don’t just spam it. Create interesting various content with it!
Think content in your everyday life
Some will probably hate on this by stating that this is shoving too much social media in you private life. But having the mind set on ”story” mode makes you find small details in your everyday environment to share with your audience. As a more personal way of sharing a story. Once you start having your mind set on it you start to find story content you didn’t think of before. And to the ones who think this is being disturbed.. I agree with you.
Unfortunately there are some costs growing your music and that includes having a strong social media presence and being public.
Don’t suffocate
Music is a tough business and requires a lot from you.
Keep up the pace but allow yourself to take a breath once in a while.
Success without stress.
It is a marathon not a sprint
Thanks for reading!
/ Niklas, Aristic
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