Snapchat is a quintessential app for “living in the moment”. Snaps are shared on the fly and in the heat of a moment without the attached worry of how many likes or comments they’ll receive, allowing for more realistic and unedited looks into people’s everyday lives. When using Snapchat as a musician, following this level of openness and transparency shows personability, promotes your art, and shows interesting content beyond your music that fans will be sure to love.
A Day In The Life
If people take an interest in your music, chances are they’ll take an interest in how it comes to fruition. Try snapping some footage of your process, and what goes into making your music what it is. This could come straight from the inception process in the form of songwriting or jamming, to actually recording and mixing the track with snaps of studio sessions and various instrument demonstrations.
But hey, you don’t always have to snap about your music! Let people know that you’re a human being; give them a glimpse of your life outside of music. What goes into your smoothies? What do you do to de-stress after a day of producing music? Fans like to know that their favourite musicians are people who they can relate to: people who take part in everyday chores and activities just like they do. So stop overthinking and let your snaps show your fans the real you!
Previewing New Music
A great way that musicians can easily use Snapchat to promote their music, is by previewing new songs. This can be as simple as firing off a quick snap story of you listening to a track that’s currently in the works, or even recording a new track in the studio with your band.
Previewing new work creates a buzz. It gets your followers excited for what’s to come and gives them something to look forward to. Not to mention that sharing these quick snippets is essentially creating shareable content in the easiest way possible. If you’re already in the midst of recording or listening to an upcoming track, why not turn it into a shareable snap that can get people talking about your music?
Behind The Scenes Footage
If you perform live, giving your fans a behind the scenes look is a great way to create excitement and give them a VIP treatment of what goes on backstage. You can show them snaps of what it’s like to make sure your instruments are in tune and ready to go, how a sound check works, or even the various staff at the venue who are working hard to make the concert a reality!
This also goes back to being personable with your followers and shining a light on what life as a musician is really like. Even if your just cracking jokes in the green room or making small talk with the sound guy, most of your fans are likely unfamiliar with what happens beyond the stage, so let them into your world!
Creating A Geofilter For Your Show
This one’s more so for those with a bit of graphic design skills. But if you can pull it off, it can be a HUGE benefit to your live show and the promotion of your music. Ever noticed how when you go to a certain location, new filters directly related to that location pop up for you to use? These are called Geofilters, and they’re actually free for anyone to make! So making one for your show that features branded images and awesome graphics related to your band is a surefire way to get people snapping and sharing that they’re at your show! Pricing to use Geofilters changes according to size of duration and campaign duration.
This is a Geofilter!
To learn more about these Geofilters and how to create them, check out this great walkthrough by SocialMediaExaminer.
If you have extra marketing budget, look into Snapchat Lenses. Similar to Geofilters, a Lens can appear according to your geographical area. Here’s an example of how Ed Sheeran used Snapchat Lenses to promote his new single.
Snapchat Spectacles
Snapchat Spectacles are the newest and greatest thing to come out of Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc. Spectacles are sunglasses with built in cameras (talk about 007) that allow you to take snaps hands free, from a high definition, first person POV.
As a musician, these can be used to add an entirely different perspective to any of your snaps, with the most notable setting being live shows. Showing your fans what you see from stage is an awesome way to let your fans virtually walk in your shoes, and it gives them a much more intimate feeling of what it’s like to be you!
In conclusion, it’s truly best not to overthink it. As long as you remain tasteful and appropriate, your fans will be interested in what you post because they are already interested in you and your music; so get out there and start snapping!