As a marketer, I get this question asked a lot for a variety of industries. What is the answer, then? Will it be Instagram? Or Twitter? Well, there is no correct answer. Life is neither black nor white, and choosing the right social media for your personal brand depends on your unique brand DNA.
Everyone is different. Yet, there are some markers you can use to guide your decision on what you should focus on.
Understand your audience
Getting crystal clear on who your audience is can make or break your decision. Where is your audience hanging out? Which platform do they love, and why?
Who do they follow on those platforms? Which content do they love?
If you are not 100% sure about this, it's time you head back to your current favourite platform and ask your fans. Using Instagram stickers and Twitter polls to ask meaningful questions can teach you a lot.
Understand your brand purpose
What value are you bringing to your audience with your pieces? Entertainment, motivation or inspiration? TikTok is an excellent platform for fun, engaging videos. Instagram is primarily full of inspirational or behind the scenes content. Because of the different formats, you can adapt your content.
By getting clear on which side of your brand as a musician you want to share, you'll be able to choose the right platforms for you.
Bonus: use what you love as a user?
There is something to be said about forcing yourself to use a particular platform because it is allegedly the Holy Grail of media. It will make you a very miserable being. Seriously, go with your gut on this one.
Putting it all together
Despite my points above, I also want to guide you on some of the most common types of musicians you may find on specific platforms. Hopefully, it can help you understand what may work for you.
LinkedIn for tough leadership
LinkedIn is great to build your personal brand and authority. Newsworthy pieces, the latest trends and anything that screams expertise and your professional network may find valuable counts. It is also great for you to build relationships with PRs, journalists and people in the music industry. The fact that links are easy to access has been a massive perk for traffic.
Twitter for journalist connections
Overall, Twitter is a very writer-driven platform. From journalists to bloggers, Twitter is a place where trends live and foster. Yet, the transient nature of the tweets can be a double edge sword. It can be pretty time-consuming.
As a musician, it can help you start conversations with journalists, keep in the loop with the latest from your favourite publications and become part of valuable threads.
TikTok and Instagram for entertainment
If you are a visual person, you will probably thrive on Instagram, as it allows you to showcase pictures and snippets of your day-to-day. That said, as a musician, TikTok should become your favourite platform. The main downside is the lack of linkbacks (unless you direct people to your link in bio), but that is something you can always work on over time.
Those platforms genuinely allow you to showcase your music and personality in a fun and engaging way.
All right, so maybe I am not giving you one option - but if I did, I would go against the way I work as a marketer and consultant. Edge brand DNA is different, and that rings true also for musicians. When it comes to social accounts, pick one first and focus your attention on it.