How to maximise every music release with ongoing social media content
A practical guide for artists to stretch every piece of content and keep fans engaged long after release day.
Creating fresh promotional content around a new release can feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, one single release can fuel weeks (or even months) of great content with the right approach.
The RouteNote Blog has often covered tips around mastering content, including platform-specific advice and cross-posting content. However, we’ve never actually gone deep on how to go about repurposing content for each platform. This blog aims to fix that.
Here’s how to keep your fans engaged for weeks without burning yourself out.
Look at all your material
When you put out new music, you’re usually sitting on a goldmine of content: music videos, artwork, lyrics, behind the scenes footage, or even demo recordings. That one release can be the foundation for dozens of engaging content. It’s all about knowing how to repurpose and plan.
Repurpose content
You don’t need to start from scratch. Repurposing content is an easy way to keep your socials active. Here are a few quick ideas to get the ball rolling:
- Music video clips: Transform a music video into shorter vertical clips to build hype on TikTok, Reels, or Shorts.
- Lyric graphics: Pull out a few of your catchiest lines and design simple lyric posts for Instagram, or short lyric videos.
- Behind the scenes: Share raw moments from the studio to engage fans in real-time on Instagram stories, and use the same snippets in short clips to build anticipation ahead of a release.
You get the idea. Start with your main content, and think of all the ways it could be reimagined.
Repurpose your content for each platform
Edited a quick promo video and ready to post it across all your channels? Well, that may not always be the best idea.
Each social platform has its own vibe. Don’t just copy and paste the same thing everywhere. Instead, tailor your content for each space:
- TikTok: Short, engaging, relatable content. Think raw and trend-aware.
- Instagram Stories: Great for real-time fan interaction. Think countdowns, Q&As, or quick teasers.
- Instagram Reels: Use your best edits to engage fans.
- YouTube: Longer videos like lyric breakdowns, vlogs, or behind the scenes content- which can all be transformed into shorter content for Shorts.
Repurposing content doesn’t simply mean reposting it everywhere. Reimagine it for each platform. In doing so, the content will feel fresh to your followers and fit better with what they expect to see.
Consider your posting timeline
After perfectly crafting your content, you may be eager to get it out as quickly as possible. However, the secret lies in posting your content gradually over time.
A good rollout schedule helps build momentum and keeps fans checking back over time.
Here’s an example of a four-week plan:
- Week 1: Tease with a behind the scenes studio clip or photo- shared to your Instagram Story or Reels, TikTok, and Shorts.
- Week 2: Drop a short video trailer of the track on Reels, TikTok, and Shorts.
- Week 3: Launch day! Release your track, complete with a lyric video, and engage with fans.
- Week 4: Go deeper with a lyric breakdown graphic on Instagram, with accompanying Reels, TikTok, and Shorts videos to the most memorable lyrics.
Quick & easy tools to help you edit content
Worried about how you’ll actually create all this content? Don’t be. You don’t need to be a full-time content creator. These tools make it way easier:
Video editing
Use TikTok’s CapCut or Instagram’s new competitor Edits for native editing tools across each app. With built-in music tools, it makes it easy to create polished content.
And remember- RouteNote can help you get your music on TikTok and Instagram’s music libraries, making it simple to soundtrack your own content. RouteNote even has comprehensive guides on using both- find out about CapCut and Edits with ease.
Image editing
As for creating compelling graphics, Canva is a great free design tool that could help you make lyric posts, promos and more with ease. Using royalty-free image sites like Unsplash and Pexels can also help add imagery that brings your visuals to life. More image sharing sites can be found here.
Alternatively, Instagram Stories native editing features could help you create engaging posts for your fans in real-time.
Final thoughts
Creating content doesn’t have to be a constant uphill battle. One song can be more than just a release- it can be a full campaign.
With a bit of creativity and some smart planning, your next release can turn into a full campaign that runs for weeks. It doesn’t require new content or material either. Repurpose what you have, tailor content to each platform, and keep the momentum going.
So don’t just release your tracks. Stretch the story. Own the rollout. Make your music work for you.
With the right strategy, your next release could build and carry the momentum of your content for the months to come.