With over one billion monthly users, TikTok is one of the best social media platforms around when it comes to promoting your latest hit song.
Musicians like Lil Nas X, Sam Ryder, and Baby Ariel all hit the big time using TikTok to showcase their music, and the great news is that you can too!
Why is TikTok so great for artists? With TikTok, users can add audio clips to their videos with just a tap of their phone. This makes it easy to amplify the reach of your song and get new audiences listening in.
Adam Gonzalez’s music industry experience comes from his early days of doing digital marketing for his pop/hip hop band “Thursday Night Out” while attending Eisenhower High School. He was able to build a big online fan base which led to his band getting over 100,000 + streams a day and their songs charting top 5 songs in the myspace music charts. With his band’s online success they were able to open shows for music artists like Drake, Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Miguel, Tyga, YG, and various other major artists at the age of 17 years old. After his band broke up his passion for music continued along with his new love for digital marketing which lead him to work with some of your favorite music artists today.
Adam Gonzalez has worked with major record labels like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Capitol Records, Atlantic Records, Hitco Entertaiment, RCA Records, Astralwerks, APG, Empire, Republic Records and more. His digital marketing and social media strategies have built fan bases for internationally acclaimed artists including Pitbull, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Ava Max, Zayn, Bazzi, Magic!, Smokepurpp, Arizona, and many others. Now, Adam Gonzalez is one of the most sought-after marketing experts in the music industry. In 2022, Eisenhower High School recognized Adam as a notable alumni due to his success in music, business, journalism, and marketing and pr.
We asked Adam to give us his top three tips for using TikTok to make your song the next viral sensation:
1. Make your music TikTok Friendly
While you can upload videos up to ten minutes long on TikTok, the reality is that users won’t stick around to listen to your song for that amount of time.
TikTok is centered around short-form videos, and the optimal duration for music content is 15 seconds. That’s not a lot of time to showcase your music, but there are things you can do to increase the odds of people viewing your content.
Find the 15 seconds of your song that is the most catchy. As an example, when ‘Old Town Road’ made it big on TikTok, the clip focused on the drop about 25 seconds in – perfect for that all-important reveal! You ultimately want TikTok users to create their own videos around your sounds.
If you’re looking to create a challenge (more on that later), you’ll want your TikTok clip to connect with the challenge’s theme. Be honest; would the music inspire you to take part?
Need a little inspiration? Check out songs from artists similar to you. What part of their song have they focused on to capitalize on likes, reposts, and comments?
2. Create a challenge people want to get involved in
TikTok is a place where challenges, contests, and dances thrive. If you’re looking for a way to advertise your music, it pays to create an innovative challenge to accompany it.
For example, the ‘Savage’ dance challenge helped launch Megan Thee Stallion to international stardom in 2020, with the #SavageChallenge hashtag being viewed over two billion times on TikTok.
Before you get ready to launch your challenge, it’s essential to do your research. You need to:
- Invent and film a memorable challenge. Whether it’s dance, lip-syncing, comedy, or cosplay-related, make it relevant to your song. Most importantly, make sure your challenge is easy and fun to do!
- Choose the right time to launch your challenge. Due to how quickly content moves on TikTok, most challenges don’t last longer than a week
- Decide whether you want to run the challenge as a contest. Some musicians and bands offer prizes to encourage people to take part, but this is entirely optional
- Come up with a well-thought-out hashtag – it needs to be unique, short, and easy to spell
- Encourage influencers to get involved with your challenge (read on to find out how to do this)
Don’t forget to check your analytics through the course of the challenge if you have a Pro account. This will show you how many times your video has been viewed and how many followers you got off the back of the challenge.
3. Find influencers that will use your song
TikTok is a hotbed for influencers, with TikTok paying high-profile creators to use the platform and create show-stopping videos. TikTok influencers currently have significantly higher engagement rates than Instagram and YouTube.
You can use this to your advantage when promoting your latest song.
By reaching out to influencers on TikTok and asking them to use your music in their next video, you can introduce your hit track to brand new audiences.
When people think of influencers, they typically think of celebrities with millions of supporters, but the truth is even influencers with a couple of thousands of followers can help promote your music. As long as they have a loyal fanbase and good engagement rates, these influencers (often known as ‘micro-influencers’) can help boost your songs.
The best way to find the right influencers is to make a list of similar-sounding artists that have gone viral on TikTok in the past. Check out the song’s sound video history and look at the first twenty or thirty micro-influencers that have used the tune in their videos.
It’s then a case of sending them a DM and asking if they’d be willing to use your song in their next TikTok – you might need to follow them to do this.
Do you have to pay for influencers to use your song? It depends.
Some influencers will be happy to do this for free if you give them a shoutout or repost their video; others may ask for payment. As a rule of thumb, the more popular the influencer, the more likely they will ask for remuneration. It’s always a good idea to put together a small budget for your song that will cover any requests for money.
In summary: Are you ready to promote your latest song on TikTok?
Marketing your music on TikTok may sound like a challenge. However, three out of four TikTokers say they have discovered brand new artists through the platform, making it a great way to promote your music.
Summary:
- Choose the most TikTok-friendly part of your song
- Develop a fun challenge that Tiktokers want to take part in
- Ask influencers to get involved
With a bit of research and creativity, you can use TikTok to get lots of free or low-cost exposure for your latest song. Good luck!
