Oh, Social Media, how you’ve turned the hungriest starving artists into wannabe marketing machines. From Twitter, to Facebook, to LinkedIn and beyond, artists have taken it amongst themselves to shove their music down the throats of anybody within reaching distance, er within reach of internet access, rather.

But with all things business comes etiquette and what better to discuss when it comes to spreading music than Social Media etiquette? You see, it’s been too long that artists have gone without any guidance or how-to’s on delivering their music on Social Media platforms. Well guess what – YOU SHOULD NOT BE DELIVERING YOUR MUSIC ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. Perhaps this is why there is so little information on the world wide web on how to do this, hm?

Fear not, hungry rapper/singer/producer/guy-who-knows-how-to-press-buttons-on-a keyboard for I will help you! For this edition of Words From a Music Blogger, I will go into four essential tips on Social Network know-how.

1. SOCIALIZE on Social Networks

DUH! The point of a social network is to SOCIALLY connect people from all over the world on one NETWORK. Use Twitter to send out Tweets that keep you and your fans connected. This doesn’t have to be complicated; “I’m in the studio making music for YOU!!” works great. Use your Facebook page to add photos to show people you’re not some mythical figure and you are, in fact, a down-to-earth, real-live person. Trust me, this goes a long way in revealing your personality and putting a face to the music. Lastly, interact; if a fan asks a question, answer – this goes again with the point I mentioned earlier. Connect with your fans and they will feel more and more like a piece of your journey to success, something they deserve because without them, you’d have no success, period.

2. Do NOT submit your music via Social Networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

Us music bloggers don’t like when artists send us their music through a Twitter mention or Facebook message. NEVER EVER SEND YOUR MUSIC TO A MUSIC BLOGGER, FAN OR OTHERWISE, THROUGH ANY SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLET! I hope I made that clear enough to leave any doubt in the dust. There is nothing more teeth-grindingly, wall-punchingly and hair-pullingly irritating than having an artist go:

“@HipHopSpeakeasy ayo! check out that new shit I dropped right here – xyz.com… hope ya dig!”

How this comes across is as follows:

a) You are unskilled in the communications field of proper manners,
b) I will NOT check out your music and will make sure to never do so again, even if you do find it in your right mind to use the SUBMISSION EMAIL like you should have done in the first place; and
c) You lack the common decency and respect to follow the rules like everyone else.

If the above description is something you do not want to possess, I suggest you heed my advice and do one or all of the following:

• Find a website’s submission procedures (usually found through a Contact or Submit page) and follow the proper guidelines to submitting music to said site
• Hire/recruit a Social Media guru/marketing manager/PR to submit music for you, the RIGHT WAY

Follow these steps, and you’re on your way to blog stardom.

3. Use Social Networks to not only gain fans, but blog appreciation, as well

Of course you want to build a fan base, every artist does, and now, with Social Networks, this task is only that much easier. But you should also harness the power of Blog pages and their owners/writers/contributors to further excel your career. Now by the above tip, I am sure you understand that you should NEVER EVER SEND YOUR MUSIC TO A MUSIC BLOGGER, FAN OR OTHERWISE, THROUGH ANY SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLET! I am not saying that this is what you should do when reaching out to blogs and bloggers through their Social Media pages, no no no. What you SHOULD do is reach out in a way that is endearing and appreciative, as such:

“@HipHopSpeakeasy what a great site! I really dig what you guys are doing, keep it up! #salute”

That right there will bring a smile to any blogger’s face, no matter how rough and tough. This also goes a long way in that

1) The blogger will recognize your name in the future
2) You present yourself as courteous and respectful
3) You take the time to show appreciation, which speaks volumes for your personality, work ethic and values

It’s tough for bloggers to gauge who an artist is as a person through Social Media, but by following proper etiquette, you can greatly improve your image online.

4. Track your music using Social Media

How do you know people are hearing your music? You are probably (and should be) posting your music to your own page so fans know about the newness, but how do you know if that music is getting out? Well, one way to find out is search Twitter or Facebook or YouTube and see if you find anything. Even if you find someone slandering your material, take it, use it as constructive criticism and build. Social Media is a useful tool in many ways and using it to better your skills, target your audience and more is all within reach.

In conclusion…

Social Media is great; whether you’re an artist, regular Joe Schmo and everybody in between, Twitter, Facebook and all the others can be excellent mediums to reach the rest of the world. However, as with everything, it’s important to be smart and use Social Networks to your advantage. So if you are an artist or label person or someone else, I hope you find these tips helpful and you think twice the next time you hop on Twitter to spam your music.

Be sure to stay tuned and find out more about Words From a Blogger as I will go into a variety of topics and subjects seen from this side of the music-sphere.

Please feel free to comment below and pose any ideas, ask questions or just to let me know how you liked this article.