Unfiltered Authenticity: Social Media Strategies for Independent Artists

Abstract

This paper explores the application of social media marketing practices in relation to building my brand and following relevant to a song launch. To achieve this, I explored different marketing strategies for social media to increase my own social media presence, following, and engagement on Facebook and Instagram. I then applied the marketing strategies in curating social media content relevant to my brand as a singer-songwriter in order to build a following, to help me find exactly who my audience is, what their interests are, and how to effectively target them when I release an original song on May 28. This research project can help other upcoming singer-songwriters who do not know how to begin building a social media following, and finding an audience for their music. It is my hope that these strategies can be applied across multiple artistic disciplines beyond music.