With the launch of Threads, which sparked the discussion of an actual fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, we have yet another social media platform to consider using in digital marketing. Despite Threads being almost a carbon copy of Twitter (now X), it has been a clever move from Meta, who have recognised a gap in the market from the millions of people leaving Twitter (X) after Elon Musk’s reported $44 billion takeover. 

So is this new social media platform worth using? We can figure this out by applying the same thought process as we have been for social media platforms such as TikTok. Though we recommend setting up an account on every popular platform to save the username for potential future use, using every single social media platform might not be feasible, depending on the size of your team. 

1 – Who is my target audience?

This is a thought that is overlooked or generalised. Yes, it is true that classical and contemporary spans a variety of people, but to make the most of your time, work out what platforms are being used by the people you want to reach. 

User age demographics are available online to see and research to ensure you are using your time to reach the right people. For example, more educational-minded musicians and organisations might benefit from using TikTok to reach a younger audience. 

2 – What are my goals? 

Although you might have many goals when it comes to marketing, it is best to stick to two or three main goals when it comes to social media. Here are some common ones that we see for social media usage:

• Concert ticket sales
• More concert bookings
• Keeping current fans engaged and connected
• Having an online presence
• Build partnerships

With goals in mind, how will you reach them using social media? For example, keeping current fans engaged and connected is something that CAN be done completely organically (not paying), but concert ticket sales would benefit from digital advertising being shown to those outside of your existing audience. 

3 – What will I be posting? 

We always recommend posting video as much as possible. As it usually means users spend longer on a social media platform, the algorithms favour this type of content over images. Knowing what platforms favour what type of content can help you decide your social media strategy. I.e. videos don’t particularly work well on LinkedIn so you should adapt the content.

4 – What platforms are suited to me?

Social media should be thought of less of as a chore, and more of a project to test and experiment different types of content with. This can be helped by using platforms that you enjoy using, as well as using platforms that are used by those around you. In our line of work, we find that Instagram is the main platform that is used by most people within creative industries. It’s best to do 2 social media accounts well, than do 4 social media accounts badly. 

5 – News and Trends

As social media has become incredibly popular, there are a number of newly unique problems that have come with it. Those of you who have been reading our newsletter for the past few months will have seen the developing story of TikTok being banned from U.S. and U.K government devices and constantly being under threat from consumer bans, particularly in the U.S. When deciding on social media usage, it is important to be aware of trends on social media, especially when it relates to whether it is worth investing your time in using a platform. 

We’d love to be able to recommend which social media platforms to use, but the truth is, every person, project or place is different. A general go-to selection is a Facebook Page (properly set up with a ‘Business ownership) and Instagram, but we would exercise caution if starting Threads, TikTok and Twitter (X), the first having some bugs, as a brand-new platform, and the latter two are in somewhat of a volatile state for political and business reasons. 

If you’d like assistance or advice in setting up social media accounts or anything else in digital marketing, let us know by emailing hello[@]wildkatpr.com