When hired to help bolster the web presence and public profile of a few up-and-coming musical artist, I put together this document as a tool to help them use social media to grow their potential audience. Over a 4 week period, each client who used the template here experienced average follower growth over 200%; average conversion rates increase of 150%, and average engagement increase of 300%.

1.
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

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WEEK 1: JULY 20th-JULY 26th
SOCIAL MEDIA GAME PLAN
● Build social media pages for all relevant platforms: FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram (Vine,
Snapchat, etc.)
● Increase followers­­> 5 new followers on IG & Twitter per week; 5 new likes on Facebook per
week
● Develop effective social media habits through the 4 C’s­­ Create Consistent Compelling
Content
INSTAGRAM
Instagram is the billboard for your brand. Everything on IG should show who ​you​ are­­ what you love, what
you do day to day, who you do it with, etc. It should also have an aesthetic­­ not just words and pictures­­
and should have a representative feel when you just glance at it. Draw traffic to your account by following
these tips:
● Engage!! Ask your fans questions in your captions (ex: Got this new shirt. Hot or Not?), and ​reply
when they respond.
● Comment on people’s photos. Follow them. Get them to notice you. But DO NOT ask them to follow
you via social media. Amateur mistake.
● Be consistent! Every time you post a photo, you are engraining yourself into the mind of whomever
is following you. They ​chose​ to follow you, because they want to know what you’re up to. Don’t let
them down­­ give them something consistent so that you are consistently engrained in their mind.
This is how to build brand loyalty.
● Use hashtags­­ focus on hashtags with between 50,000 and 150,000 posts to maximize reach
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3.
● Focus on hashtags that your target fans would click on (ex: if you were a pastry chef, use hashtags
#cupcakes, #ilovemuffins, etc.)
● Sometimes branching out with your hashtags draws traffic (ex: the same pastry chef could tag
#deliciousthings, #favoritebrunch, #FranceRocks, etc.). Imagine what your target fans are doing and
looking for on instagram, then use the hashtags to draw them.
● To build the aesthetic, invest in a photo editing app on your phone­­ there are dozens. I personally
use Afterlight to edit photos, bring out certain colors, and add white borders to every picture. I also
use Phonto to add text to photos that I need to use for promotions.
● Find the accounts of artists you love or think you are similar to, look at their activity in your ‘News’
section, and ‘like’ the same photos as them. It’s harnessing the power of similar social networks­­ if
an artist similar to you likes a magazine, go like that magazine’s photos, and maybe the magazine will
check out your account and follow back.
● Follow the 4 C’s­­ Create Consistent Compelling Content!
● Be patient. Building followers takes time­­ unless you have something go viral.
Goals: 5 new followers per week. Get them any way you can­­ use these tips, ask friends, ask strangers­­ just GET
THE FOLLOWERS.
FACEBOOK
Facebook is mostly just a bulletin board for your music. The difference between a billboard like Instagram
and a bulletin board like Facebook is that Facebook doesn’t necessarily have to have an aesthetic look to
it, although it doesn’t hurt to have one. Use it to post about new shows, announce radio appearances,
new project releases, etc. Because of the way Facebook controls the audience that your page will reach,
people tend to engage with Facebook a lot less than they do with Instagram and Twitter.
So use it mostly to post finished­product type things that you want people to see and share on their own
page, ie professional photos, show flyers, new music videos, new songs, etc. Again, Facebook is mostly a
formality these days. Labels check it just to see how many followers you have, but people don’t really
engage with it as much as the other social networks. It can be really helpful, though, when it’s time to put
out a new project­­ using the paid advertising function can spread your post and target specific audiences
in a specific areas. It is a HUGE tool for a great value if done the right way. It can also be an expensive tool
if done the wrong way.
Goals: Get 5 new likes per week. Same as Instagram­­ ask friends, share your page on friends’ walls,
invite people to join/like. Really take advantage of the fact that you’re part of a development program,
and tell people you need their help to get better. GET THE LIKES!!
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4.
TWITTER
Twitter should be treated like a cocktail/networking event. Have you ever been to a meet and greet, or to a
networking event? The best way to maximize your spread at those events is to go up to people and make
them ​feel special, feel recognized. You introduce yourself, then you ask them about what ​they ​do. Twitter is
the same way. You don’t get followers by asking people to follow you. Instead, treat twitter like a cocktail
party: be the center of attention by making everyone else feel cool. Use some of these tips:
● Go to your followers. Find tweets of theirs, and favorite them, retweeting some of them. If they
follow you, it means they’re a fan of you. Recognize your fans, and make them feel cool. Reply to their
tweets, LOL at their tweets­­ interact with them. MAKE THEM FEEL COOL AND SPECIAL!
● Look at some of the favorited tweets on your followers’ accounts. Favorite and reweet some of
them. Visit the pages of the accounts they favorited. Favorite and/or retweet a few of their tweets. Just
like Instagram, GET THEM TO NOTICE YOU. You want your name appearing on their notifications a few
times. It definitely helps to add a comment­­ i.e. “Dope!” “Hahaha true true” stuff like that. Everyone
wants to feel cool­­ Twitter is your tool make people feel cool.
● Share funny thoughts you have throughout the day. Any awkward moments with strangers?
Share them. Any funny moments with friends? Share them. Someone at a party getting a little too drunk?
Share it. You have direct access to your fans to let them know what you’re up to. Use it.
● Ever hear of the Universal Law? What you put into the universe you will receive. Help other
people share their music, their stories, their videos, etc. Show enthusiasm for what they’re doing. 9 times
out of 10 they’ll return the favor.
● Focus on the 4 C’s­­ Create Consistent Compelling Content!
● Be patient. Just like Instagram, building followers takes time, unless you have something go
viral.
Goals: Get 5 new followers per week. It would be great if this was done with interaction with people­­
Twitter is a powerful platform. But just like instagram­­ just get the followers! Friends, family,
whomever­­ get them to follow!
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5.
WRITING GAMEPLAN
● Improve writing ability
● Identify good writing habits and song structure
● Focus on the 3 Ps­­ Potent in a Pretty Package
Writing is a difficult skill to master, but can be done with practice and intentionality. Most rappers aren’t
interested in crafting songs; they just focus on writing a “hot 16.” NONE of these rappers have careers.
NONE. If you want to have a successful career (and a #1 single, bestselling album, awesome live show,
money, cars, bitches, all the glitz and glamour and good stuff), you NEED to know how to write. The best way
to do this is to learn from the best, and to practice your own way.
Exercises:
● Find 3 albums that you love. They don’t have to be hip hop. Listen to them front to back. Write
down one thing that you love from the songwriting of each song. Ex: Kanye West, ​My Beautiful
Dark Twisted Fantasy, “Blame Game”­­ ​I love how simple the song is, how graphic the lyrics are.
They’re kind of jarring, like he says stuff that people aren’t supposed to say, but it makes me
want to listen to the song and makes me understand the situation.
● Spend the week paying attention to what you and our friends talk about often. Pay attention to
what you think about a lot. Pay attention to what you ​feel ​a lot. The best songs come from things
that we feel strongly about. Write down 3 things that pop up this week that you have strong
feelings about. We’ll talk about them when we regroup in the next week.
● Write about one of these things. The only great songs and great artists are ones who are
authentic. By writing about something you feel strongly about, your authenticity will shine. You
don’t have to write a verse about it­­ you can write it in journal form, in poem form, in essay
form, whatever. Just focus on what you are feeling, and why. Write down why you feel strongly
about what you’re writing about. Ex: I saw a homeless man passed out at the subway station. I
immediately started feeling scared, like if I didn’t hustle hard enough I was gonna turn out like
him...
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