Top 10 Instagram tools (or features) to boost your music career

Instagram is one of the top social networks, currently holding the largest number of users in the world. Therefore, those who use this network professionally, like independent artists, need to know it well and explore to the maximum all the features and tools it offers to the users. 

In our last article, we showed you, independent artists, who are looking to boost their music careers, the great importance of keeping Instagram engagement up. Today, we present to you the main tools of this platform that, when used strategically, will help you increase the visibility of your artistic project, the reach of your music and, consequently, lead to greater recognition of your work. 

So if you are an artist, stay tuned for the tips we are going to give you! At Groover, we know that you are interested in improving the strategies of your music releases to increase the number of streams of your songs, and, more than that, gain more and more fans that like and follow your work. 

After all, promoting a song requires a time investment, so nothing better than knowing exactly which features of Instagram – the main social network when it comes to promoting your image – can help you! 

💡 This article is updated as soon as a new Instagram feature appears!

1. Use all the tools available on your feed!

Instagram is constantly updating and bringing more and more news and resources to enhance the results of users. Already in the Feed, we will highlight 6 amazing features for artists to explore in their profiles and have even more success and visibility to promote their music. They are:

1.1 Reels

Surely you’ve heard that videos are all the rage?

That’s right! We’re living in the age of videos and that’s why focusing and investing in this content format can help you gain visibility and reach in your publications. After all, studies show that videos can receive up to twice as many engagements as photo posts.

So go for the reels! These are short videos that can range from 15 or 30 seconds to a max of 1 minute. This is Instagram’s main tool when it comes to delivery. This is because the reels are usually videos focused on entertainment, more relaxed and fun, being a content format that ends up, many times, going viral and falling into the “Explore” tab. In addition, it’s a great tool that attracts new followers to your profile, giving more people the chance to get to know your artistic project. 

There are countless possibilities! Work on your creativity, hop on some popular trends, consume reels from other content niches and adapt to yours. For example, you can show the chorus of your new single; make a reel showing the behind the scenes of a recording session; make a reel showing what a day’s is when being an artist; or join in on a dance that is trending; and so many more possibilities! 

1.2 Videos

Along with reels, you should also explore the feature of longer videos, which are over a minute. After all, video is video and as you already know, an excellent format to get more engagements with your profile!

You can record videos singing your songs, doing covers, showing rehearsals, showing clips from your shows, interviews, fan content, and more! Your audience wants to see it and you want to be seen, right? So show up! 

1.3 Hashtags

Although this Instagram feature is quite old, it is still effective when used strategically.

Hashtags are used to tag your content. Therefore, try to use strategic hashtags that will help people find your post more easily. When you use them, you increase the chances of people who do not follow you or your work find your account through this search engine.

However, don’t think that just any hashtag will bring the proper engagement. It is necessary to select hashtags considered “good” before using them. Hashtags that are too broad, such as #Brazil, #music, and #artist, for example, usually have many uses associated with them, making it difficult for a person to find your post through them. 

Ideally, you should choose more specific hashtags that relate to the subject of the post. For example, #Riodejaneiro, #independentartist, and #popmusic are more targeted and less used hashtags, resulting in a higher chance of someone finding the post through this use!

1.4 Pin a specific comment

This Instagram tool is very important to explore. Your followers probably won’t read all the comments on your posts, especially if they are many. 

This feature allows you to pin up to 3 comments from your followers, making them stand out in each post. That way, when the follower comes across the post, the comments that will be prioritized and appear first are the ones you selected. To set it, it’s easy! Just slide the comment to the left side and click the pin icon that will appear.

The choice must be made thoughtfully! It is very important that you choose relevant comments.For example, if it’s a post featuring your new single, opt for comments that add some praise or positive comments about the track! If it’s a post announcing the dates of your upcoming shows, you can pin comments that are relevant questions, because then more people will be able to see it. They might be asking the same questions!

1.5 Instagram Guidelines

Although the tabs have been available since May 2020, it is still a tool very little explored by artists. 

The tabs allow you to group your feed posts – or even other profiles – by subject. They work like “folders” organizing and grouping content by theme. A profile that has updated tabs makes it easier for followers to find exactly what they’re looking for and what they’re most interested in consuming. 

Through the tabs, you can curate content by even choosing the ideal order of posts for followers to consume. 

For example, you can create a tab with content that tells about you, your history with music, and your career. Or, a tab of your singles! In it, you can group, for example, your videos and reels which show your songs and productions. Another suggestion is to create a tab with content that is relevant to your followers. For example, posts that talk about your upcoming releases, concert dates, musical schedules, etc. 

1.6 Favorites

And of course, we couldn’t leave out the platform’s latest update: the “Favorites” tool. Through this tool, the user now has more control of their Instagram experience. If before there was a Feed, now you can choose to navigate between 3: Home Feed, Favorites, and Following. 

The Home Feed is still the feed you already know! It’s the main one, which appears right away when you open the app. Beyond that, you can switch between the Following Feed, to see posts from all the accounts you follow chronologically. The return of chronological order! You can also choose to browse the Favorites Feed. These are the accounts you’ve selected as favorites by marking them with a star. You can choose up to 50 accounts to favorite. 

This tool can be very advantageous for artists because if your profile is chosen as a favorite by their followers, the posts will be delivered first in this new “tab” that the platform now has. And that’s the goal! Being in someone’s favorites means nothing less than guaranteeing that this person will see your content, which greatly increases their chances of interacting and, consequently, is great for your engagement. Soon, your work will be seen by those who are interested in following it, after all, you were chosen to be there!

2. Tools on Stories are also extremely useful!

2.1 Lives

Many artists shy away from this Instagram feature because they think it’s saturated. It turns out that Instagram lives are an excellent tool to work your approach with the public and build your authority and credibility. After all, they are live broadcasts and in real-time, which enables this direct contact with the public.

In addition, lives are a content format that brings a lot of visibility, besides generating a lot of engagement for the profile, since when you join the broadcast, your profile is fixed in front of the others, until the live is closed. 

No wonder, you should realize that most of the big artists usually use this content format a lot. Through it, you can show shows, events, rehearsals, CD recordings, and/or singles, you can open question boxes and dialogue more closely with fans, teach some content, and more!

2.2 Filters

Let he who never got hooked to a filter, cast the first stone! The famous effects available on Instagram are extremely viral. Therefore, you can bet on creating your own filter like many artists, influencers and brands do. 

In this way, the more people use your filter, the more your profile will be promoted on the network, making your engagement increase and you gain a lot of visibility in your work. 

2.3 Question box feature

This tool never goes out of style! 

It is very important for you, artist, to create the habit of using the question box because besides generating engagement for the profile, you can get closer to your followers, answering their doubts, queries, and identifying what they most want to see and follow your work! Excellent content insights and audience testing come from using the question box.

2.4 Stickers

Instagram takes advantage of some important dates to create temporary stickers to commemorate that date. Use them! These stickers are a great tool to increase engagement on Instagram since they increase the story views, after all, you can also see who is using the special sticker. 

2.5 The countdown

This stories tool is very importantbut not much explored! Creating a countdown can be useful, for example, to announce the date of a show, to announce the day that you will open the pre-save, to create expectation and anticipation of the date of a musical release, among many other possibilities! 

When seeing the countdown, your follower can interact with the countdown by clicking on the small arrow in the corner of the sticker to activate the reminder. They can also share the countdown in the story itself. When the countdown ends, all people who have activated the reminder will be notified by Instagram that the countdown has ended, reminding them, therefore, of the event. It’s a great tool to work on what you love doing most: posting! Always use it to your advantage! 

2.6 ‘Add your’ sticker

This tool of stories is new and is already making a big hit on Instagram. The sticker “add yours”, allows you to participate in movements created by other users on a particular theme, and you can use it by sharing photos and videos. 

This feature allows a significant increase in engagement, greatly increasing the views on your stories, after all, It’s possible to see who is participating in the stream since the profiles of users are the sample. Consequently, many people who do not necessarily follow you can find your profile and see your stories. 

Also, try to create your sticker and start a movement! If the sticker goes viral, you will have the chance to be seen and found by many profiles, since it is possible to see the profile that created the movement. 

Conclusion

As we have seen, Instagram is a very important social network for professional growth when used with strategy. Therefore, it is important that you, artists, know in depth its main tools and all its features to use them wisely in your favor!

Gaining visibility, building authority, attracting followers, and converting them to potential fans are some of the goals that you surely aim to achieve with the help of the platform. So, use and abuse the tips we shared in this article and always count on Groover to boost your music career. 

Make sure to use our platform to promote your singles: Groover allows you to get in touch with professionals from the music industry, media, playlists, and more. The cost is 2 € for each selected professional. On the platform, you can send your track to over 1500 curators around the world. You are guaranteed to receive written feedback about your track within 7 days and a release if it is approved.

– Translated by Betty Gonzalez Gray –

Next articles:

> How to gain followers on Instagram?
> Why you should avoid DMing on Instagram?
> Facebook and Instagram Ads
> How to manage an Instagram account to promote your music?
> How to increase engagement on your Instagram account?