Is TikTok good for music promotion?
Image credit: Olivier Bergeron
How to promote your music to over 1 billion people.
You’ve heard of TikTok, even if you’ve tried not to. With over 1 billion monthly active users around the world, there’s a 1/8 chance that you’re a regular viewer yourself.
That’s a massive audience. Many an artist has seen breakout success from the viral use of their track in trending videos. Other artists have had views explode after taking to TikTok to create their own engaging videos, building their fanbase beyond a marketing expert’s wildest dreams.
But, is it a viable audience to reach for your music? We’re going to take a look at whether you should be promoting your music on TikTok, and how you can do it if you decide to.
As one of the biggest social platforms in the world, the potential to reach new audiences on TikTok is massive. There are a number of ways in which your music can blow up on TikTok. Let’s take a look.
Become a Creator
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Creating videos on TikTok is so easy, and anything goes.
We’ve seen bands, singers, rappers, and all other colours of the rainbow uploading to TikTok and you know what, it works!
You can upload behind the scenes footage, reveal clips of new tracks, show your recording sessions, even just have a laugh and post some funny clips.
Fans love to see what’s going on with you, and staying relevant is key in a digital age where audiences can move quickly thanks to the plethora of content out there.
Get creative, be true to yourself, and start giving your fans something to connect with you through.
Should you use this method: Yes!
Song Trends
One of TikTok’s (once) unique features is offering a huge database of music that creators can easily add to their videos. This has led to trends, where creators across the world use the same song to create a similar video, do a dance, create the same comedic timing, etc.
This has led to the overnight success of smaller artists, their songs being picked up for a trend and suddenly being heard by millions of people worldwide.
Whilst this is a powerful result for artists, it’s also pure chance and has to happen naturally (internet users can smell a plug).
Should you use this method: No.
Song Uploads
Whilst hoping to get used in a trend isn’t something to rely on, it’s still possible. However, it’s only possible if your music is available on TikTok.
With RouteNote, you can upload all of your songs to TikTok for use in any videos. Not only does this give you the chance to be featured in videos, you’ll also get paid every time your music is used.
Simply head to www.routenote.com to upload your music for free.
Should you use this method: Yes!
Pay for TikTok Promote
If you have the funds to try some marketing, you can pay to have your videos promoted and pushed to more viewers rather than relying on natural engagement.
If you’re looking to drop some cash, make sure that the videos you choose to promote are worth it. You want to advertise content that is engaging, enticing, and, most importantly, actually represents you.
If the purpose is to promote your music, make sure to use it. If the purpose is to promote your image, make sure it looks and feels like the image you’ve developed and plan to cultivate further. Essentially, promote what you want people to stick around for.
But does it work?
Caleb J. Murphy recently shared their experiences trying to promote their music using TikTok Promote on Digital Music News. Murphy wrote that before using Promote they had consistently average views of 200-300 views a video, with their top video reaching over 4,000.
They chose four videos to promote, picking their options wisely to represent the best of their music and content. They chose to get more views on their video rather than website clicks, as their criteria for promotion.
Their videos showed a significant rise in views for a small budget of just under $50 across all four videos. Murphy said that it worked to get eyes on their content and they gained a number of followers.
Murphy was smart and used relevant content to their music and profile in general, so that fans of the promoted video will likely be fans of everything else they do.
However, they did mention that they didn’t notice any significant change in their streaming numbers. So, the promotions had helped to build Murphy’s presence on TikTok but not necessarily beyond.
Should you use this method: Maybe.
In summary, it’s not worth waiting to go viral but it’s definitely worth putting yourself in a position where its possible. Make sure that you’re pro-active with your presence on TikTok, and you may well naturally build a strong audience.