In the last month or so, I've had multiple consulting sessions where clients expressed that they felt overwhelmed about building their online presence. There are so many options. Where to start? What platforms should they be on? Cue FOMO freakout.
Here's my quick and dirty run down of the bare essential platforms that your project should be found on:
Your Own Website: Essential because it gives both your faithful tribe and curious newcomers a place to come to for official news, updates, announcements, merch. This is your online headquarters. Use services like Squarespace or Wix to create awesome sites.
PayPal: You can't sell merch, pay for mixing, or create a digital tip jar without a payment exchange platform. They all do basically the same thing. Choose any of them. Just get one.
SongKick: This is how you can get your concert and livestream event info listed on your Spotify page! Also, easily place widgets on your website and share to socials.
Mailing List: This is where your ultimate fans reside. These are the people who can be called to action to spin your new track, attend your livestream, or buy your merch. Use a platform like MailChimp for free mailing list services.
Streaming: get your music on ALL the streaming platforms easily by distributing your music through platforms like TuneCore or DistroKid.
Socials: You don’t need to be on all the social media platform. You should decide based on your target audience. If your audience is younger than mid 20s, Instagram and TikTok are where it’s at. If your audience is 30+, then Instagram and Facebook are great places to spend your time. And YouTube encompasses pretty much every demographic.
You can create an audience in any demographic on any platform, but those are the broad strokes when it comes to who’s hanging out on which platforms. Here are a few more thoughts:
Facebook: best for 30+ demographic, creating ads, post versatility.
Instagram: good for younger demographics, great for "swipe up" story ads.
YouTube: second largest search engine behind Google. Be on there.
There are so many options out there, but I’ve found that being on these basic platforms allows you to cast a wide net so you can rest easy knowing you’ve got everything covered.
Leave me a comment, let me know you’re here. I’m happy to answer any questions.
// James
