A Musician's Guide to Social Media Marketing

Marketers can take a lot of inspiration from how musicians brand and then re-brand themselves as their art moves and develops. Devising a concept for a product or a company is one thing, but trying to communicate the essence of what you are trying to sell is a completely different thing.

This is where approaching marketing in a more creative and artistic way can come in handy. Read on to find all the best social media marketing tips for brands, no matter if it’s a private brand or a company.

How social media marketing benefits musicians

My name is Jack Lynskey, and I am ONQOR’s social media executive. Other than being the absolute King of social media, I am also a musician and artist who goes by the name of Jack Rua. I will often use my background in music to inspire me when I approach branding and developing a brand’s identity. I spent my formative years analysing how my favourite artists evolved; I’m very interested in artists that push the boundaries and marry their music with a visual aspect.

With artists like these, a new record will often come with a completely different vibe that ties in to the new music. Think of Lady Gaga taking off her meat dress and putting on a cowboy hat for a country inspired album, or St Vincent switching seamlessly from “dominatrix” to a blonde bob and pantsuit for a more 70s inspired album.

They will change the way that it’s presented visually, communicated on social media, they will even often change the way that they speak and conduct themselves in interviews.

In some cases, they will create alter egos in a bid to communicate their product in a way that is separate from their self. However, the essence of their art will continue to shine through the changing ways their music is communicated. I take these principles on board when I approach social media marketing at ONQOR, and privately.

How do you strategise your social media marketing as an artist?

As a creative, I have to view things in a pretentious and arty way for them to make sense to me, but it is something that I believe can be applied regardless of how your mind works. It can be difficult to view a product or a brand laterally, but this is often what is needed in order to market it.

Find your tone of voice

It may sound strange, but it sometimes helps to pretend that this product or brand is a living entity right in front of you. How does it look, feel, sound and speak?

For example the tone of voice; imagine how it speaks, is it dry and witty, is it soft and genuine, is it authoritative and informative? When you visualise this, ask yourself how will this influence your copy? Answer these questions on a notepad using keywords, and then you may discover a pattern or some connections that can help you when you’re developing the tone of voice.

Example: Innocent Drinks

A prime example of a brand with an interesting and unique style of copy and tone of voice is ‘innocent drinks’. Their tone on social media is laid back as it goes with the name of the brand and the product that they’re selling, so all of their copy is in lowercase with relaxed punctuation and syntax.

This approach to social allows them to have a fairly laissez-faire content strategy, with a focus on UGC on TikTok and Instagram Reels. This would not work for many other brands, however for a brand like ‘innocent’ it is absolutely perfect.

If you view social media as not just a ‘channel’ but as your story-telling vehicle, then the story of your brand can begin to unfurl in incredibly unique and interesting ways.