How to Use Social Media as a Rapper or Recording artist

​​Getting to the top in the music world has changed, artists no longer depend on old-school strategies to try and have a record deal. Technology has disrupted the music business using social media as a vital platform to building a fan base.
There are numerous social media platforms that you as a rapper or any artist can utilize to promote yourself. It is because of these platforms that almost all artists can reach their fans more easily via a fan base.
Daily use of social media is what most music artists battle with. A feeling of ruin comes up with all the, Facebooking, tweeting, hash tagging, and pinning that has to be done. Social media can turn in to a responsibility that needs to be taking care of rather than an effective marketing tool that can help you grow your fan base.
What’s more important, most artists are not seeing results from their hard work. Even if you post regularly and put some effort into making sure your posts are appealing, you are frequently rewarded with zero interaction from your fans and generally, your subscriptions and likes have been on the same number for months or growing at a creeping rate. So the large question is this: How do you succeed in social media?

• Before you begin:

Content is king in this day and age.  Traditional marketing does not work anymore.  No one likes banner ads or pre roll ads on google and youtube. Most people use adblocker or other ad blocking services anyway(I Know I ignore ads).  Your music, your website, you as a person, rapper, or recording artist is your content, it is your maketing and promotion.  So this is your starting point. Make sure your music is fire!  Stand behind what you do 100% before you start marketing and promoting.

• Viral Marketing!

Viral Marketing is basically creating content that can be liked and shared peer to peer.  With every person that likes or shares your content, not only do other social media followers see it, and share it, but it also leads them to more of your content.  This allows more oportunity for your fan base to grow at an exponetial rate.
Below are some ways to build/grow your fan base using viral marketing:

• The Power YouTube!

YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet right after Google. YouTube is one of the main instruments for music promotion. Create a free account and start uploading . Creat a concept or plan when uploading content to youtube. I think Kanye West is a genius when it comes to these angle's of marketing. His Good Friday campaign is a good example (although it was on soundcloud). Kanye released new music every Friday leading up to the release of his album, creating hype and a buzz online. 
Tip:   The best thing about youtube is that you can tell people what to do. Tell your audience to share, like, and download, your music. Also, Hire a professional to help set up your youtube campaign. It will be professionally done and work more efficiently.

• Tweet your way to the top!

Use Twitter to stay in touch with your fans. Again, it's a good idea to give incentive to your followers. Giving away some of your albums and mixtapes, stickers, posters and T-shirts(I offer a free beat).  Let people know about a potential sweepstakes(fans love these) , and tell them that they are then automatically entered when they follow you on Twitter . Then randomly select a winner after a few weeks or months, and to give him or her your free gifts(people love free stuff). 
Tip: to 10-20 messages per day to post on Twitter. Send non-commercial links, news, articles and videos that are relevant to your own music. All 10-20 tweets include a purely promotional message.  This does sound like a lot and their are ways to automate your twitter and schedule out your twitter for months in advance. Take advantage of this technique and watch your twitter blow up. (I am currently in the process of setting this up).

• Soundcloud

Soundcloud is the single best tool to use to share your music. It is like twitter but specifically for music.  You can gain followers, like, share, post, and repost just as you would on twitter.  Instead of posting small messages maybe try a small podcast or specializing in reposting the hottest track or making cool playlist's to share.  The most powerful thing about Soundcloud in my opinion is that you can set up download gates, share gates, and re-post gates in return for a free download. you can also post all your links in your bio sending potential fans to all of your other social media websites.

• Instagram

Instagram is the most active of all the Social media websites in my opinion.  It is a great way to give people a window in to your world. Did you do a show that went crazy? Post a pic of a packed room full of people. Do you have rough drafts of songs that aren't finished? Post a 15 second snippet of the song. Post pics of your notebook or lyrics. These are just a few examples of the power of Instagram.

• Social buttons

Be sure that you have integrated social connect buttons on your website (E.g. like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter buttons and more). Also integrate buttons for connecting and subscribing to your, Pinterest, YouTube channel account and any other social platforms where you can be found. Place social sharing buttons on each page of your website that contains music, event calendars and more. Make it simple for visitors to share your content and this will help you build and also grow your fan base.    

• Old School still works: E-mail List

Use your E-mail list to build a relationship with your fans.  They say each E-mail subscriber you have is potetially worth one dollar. Imagine if you have 10,000 E-mail subscribers.
So, How do you build an E-mail list? Create a subscription form on your website or landing page. Offer exclusives, current updates, behind the scenes footage.  Fans love insider info on their favorite artists.  Send e-mails 2-3 times per week featuring important news, free giveaways, free downloads, concert dates and exclusive tickets.  Be careful giving away to much value. Think about what will keep the attention on you.  Note:  Getting fans to subscribe to your e-mail list should be your ultimate goal.

• Connect with others in the music industry and Network, Network,Network.

 Talk to people! Don't keep your project a secret, please.....
If you wanted to be popular in school, you would find out who the cool kids are and befriend them. If you want to get on a popular social network, look at the top users. Contact them and lead them to your music. Befriend them. Take an interest in them. Create reasons for their music to spread. Use incentives if necessary. Reward the people who are on your side.  Bands, labels, venues, and music related things.  These connections/associations can be useful for interlinking-promotion with other bands/artist. Also, venues can effortlessly check out your pages when they’re searching for new bands/artist to hire, and labels and music industry professional continually post about the kinds of music they are looking for. Developing these connections will get your music in front of the right audience and also increase your fan base. The same idea works for the blogosphere, the mainstream music press, the podcasting world, college radio, or any other area of ​​the music industry.  

• So how do you go viral?

Make your social media accounts work together.  Post a sneak peak on instagram, and share it on twitter.  Think about it, you just put yourself in front of double the amount of potential fans. When you have all your incentives set up correctly, fans can follow you on twitter and you could have an auto responder message that sends them to a free download gate on soundcloud. Or, what if you sent them to share your Youtube channel on Facebook.  The possibilities are endless especially if you have all of your social media accounts working together. When building your fan base initially, it might seem hard but if these methods are set up correctly your fans will start to do the work for you, growing your fan base exponentially.