As of April 2015, there are over 1.3 billion people on Facebook. BILLION. 51% of those people actively use Facebook through their mobile devices. 50% of Americans who use Facebook on a daily basis also watch at least one video on the platform every day! Lastly, there are 54 million Facebook Pages. That’s a lot of people. Are you doing your best to reach them, using all the resources at your fingertips to get the most you can out of Facebook as a musician? Here’s five things you definitely should be doing to get your music heard on Facebook.
1. Cover Art and New Call-To-Action Button Page
Your Facebook cover art is the first thing people will see on your page. It’s at the very top, is prominent and therefore it needs to be optimized. Recently, Facebook added the call to action (CTA) button option to the cover art. This feature offers seven options: Book Now, Shop Now, Contact Us, Use App, Play Game, Sign Up, and Watch Video. So what do you do? First, optimize your cover art. Use a high-quality picture, and make sure the dimensions are 850×315 pixels. Then, decide which CTA button would benefit your goal the most. Want to get your music heard and purchased on iTunes? Send people to your iTunes page via the “Shop Now” option. Debuting a new music video? Direct traffic immediately when the page loads to your video via the “Watch Video” option. This tool is free, so use it and use it often as your priorities change!
2. Facebook Ads and Power Editor
You’ve probably seen an ad on Facebook, but have you ever made one? If not, you should, and it’s relatively easy & cheap. You can target users based on location, age, gender, languages, generation, and more. The minimum campaigns start at $1/day. You can use ads to raise attendance at an upcoming gig, promote your new release, promote your page and even get video views. However, if you’re more experienced and/or curious, you should try the Power Editor. Power Editor is a tool designed for advanced advertisers who need to create lots of ads at once and have precise control over their campaigns. It’s only available in Google Chrome, however. You can use the Power Editor to create unpublished posts AKA “dark posts” that won’t appear on YOUR Facebook page but DO appear in the timelines of everyone else, similar to ads. These type of posts help avoid the appearance that you’re spamming your fans with info daily. It is also a great tool if you’ve considered making multiple posts about the same thing, say, you have new music you want everyone to hear, and don’t want to negatively affect your organic reach. You can make a few ads and see which performs better, and then focus on that particular ad. Power Editor can increase your campaign’s click through rate significantly. Also keep in mind, Facebook has a 20% rule when it comes to text within ads. Too much text and your ad will be rejected!
3. Video Call-To-Action Option
Facebook and user-generated videos have a more symbiotic relationship these days though it isn’t perfect. You now have the option, however, to include Call-To-Actions on your videos after uploading: No Button, Shop Now, Book Now, Learn More, Sign Up, Download and Watch More. Use these buttons to drive the viewers to more of your content. For example, if you’re posting an original cover on your Page for fans, make sure your video has the Call-To-Action “Watch More” included. When the video ends, and they want more, you can set the link to direct people to your YouTube page, for example, despite your video being hosted on Facebook.
4. Featured Video and Playlists
At the beginning of 2015, Facebook rolled out the “Featured Video” as a rival to YouTube. When your fans click the Video tab on your Page, the first thing they can now see is your Featured Video. It appears in an extra large format in your Video tab, and it will appear on the main page of your Facebook Page, under the About section. You can also setup a playlist of videos, just like YouTube. This is helpful especially if you create a lot of video content. It will also increase viewing time, help new fans discover more of your content, all in one fell swoop.
5. Pin Music To Page
One of the simplest, smartest and highly visible features of Facebook Pages is the ability to “pin” posts to your page. When you pin a post, it remains at the top of your timeline. This makes it optimal to promote your new video, single on iTunes, contest winners, etc. After reviewing your cover artwork, a “pinned post” will be the SECOND piece of content your page visitors will notice.
Make sure as an artist that you’re aware of all the ways to make the most of whatever mediums you use to spread your music. Some of them might require a bit of self-teaching and experimentation, but it’s better than just throwing up a post and just liking comments under it. Invest in yourself by Googling directions for these processes above. Make the most out of your time put into social media by using it smarter!