WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DOES OUR CONTENT GO? OPTIMIZING YOUR ARCHIVE
Have you ever wondered what happens to your content while you’re away from your phone? Who is looking at it, and in which part of the world? How about the music video you released seven months ago—how is it performing? Is it still climbing in views, or could it use a boost? We often forget that a public post shared on any of the major social media platforms has the potential to reach dozens of countries across the globe. Dozens!
Many questions, but truthfully—in a fast-paced, ever changing “news feed” world, we rarely take the time to explore our archived content, examining which posts may be still working in our favor without much lift.
So, what does this epic digital journey look like? What is the plight of your selfie, as it pertains to its noble quest into the screens and hands of others? And most importantly, how can you capitalize on the algorithmic powers-at-be to convince them to work in your favor?
Let’s take a minute to explore a few quick ways to optimize your existing content.
MAKE ME S-E-O-VER
It’s likely you’ve heard the term “SEO” in your digital travels—it stands for “Search Engine Optimization,” and it measures your content’s relevancy in engines like Google, YouTube and more. Sounds important, right? Oh, it is.
Think about this in the context of YouTube. Say you’ve recently released a music video, maybe three months ago. Open up YouTube Creator Studio and take a look at the stats. Have the views stalled? A quick refresh your tags might do the trick.
This is actually an easy (and fun) process, when done right—it all boils down to the hashtag philosophy we love here at HEADS on TV: “Would I type this into a search bar?” If you’ve included things like #music or #vibe, it’s very unlikely your video will have any chance in the search rankings amongst the millions of other videos under those same topics. Instead, emphasize niche subject matter hidden within the music video—the type of camera used, the products visible, etc.—in addition to key buzzwords that pertain to your genre, like “post hardcore band” or “Soundcloud pop” (get creative!). It can’t be overstated how important this step is to the overall performance of your video, especially as a new artist or creator.
Brian Dean with Backlinko has a fantastic, step-by-step tutorial on this process, including free tool recommendations like TubeBuddy and VIDIQ—article here.
YOU’RE REEL-Y MISSING OUT
Instagram recently rolled out its competitor to TikTok—Reels. Reels offers a similar content creation workflow to TikTok, in which 30-second video clips exist amongst a bed of popular or trending music. And the added bonus? The laziest engagement-boosting trick we’re seeing TONS of creators taking advantage of: why not just share your already-made TikToks in Reels?
There are two reasons why this is key to help grow your Instagram audience:
You’re getting an engagement and video view boost. Because Reels is categorized within your Instagram engagement overall, you’re missing out on tons of extra impressions by skipping this step.
You can do this secretly. That’s right—no one even has to know! If you’re sensitive to your followers knowing that you’re posting more than once a day, you can select the “Share to Explore only” tab, which means only new audiences and your most dedicated fans will be recommended this content in their Explore tab.
#NationalShareYourOldContentDay
Another often-overlooked opportunity for artists? Capitalizing on the #NationalDayCalendar! In the social media manager world, we start each calendar month by observing which National Days are coming up, and deciding if any of our content pool is relevant to those days. In many cases, if a day is popular enough, and enough users are posting about it, using that hashtag can create additional buzz around your post. And no, we’re not talking just Thanksgiving or Christmas—we’re getting weirder, celebrating #NationalHotDogDay (July 22) or #NationalViolinDay (December 13) right along with the rest of Twitter.
After you’ve marked down dates of interest, comb through your own archive and figure out if any of your past photoshoots, lyrics or video content pertains to these days. For example, if it’s #NationalSweaterDay, and you have a few shots leftover from a fall photoshoot, you’ve got the perfect throwback post (just don’t forget that hashtag). Harmless, easy, and always a crowd pleaser.
And seriously, the list of national days is ENDLESS. Check out the full calendar here.
PINTEREST INTEREST
Pinterest is credited as one of the original content archive meccas, being home to several million archivable pinboards that remain in place over time, rather than topical newsfeeds that change by the hour. In Pinterest land, the date of the content’s posting doesn’t necessarily matter as much as its relevancy in a standard search.
If you don’t have any physical merchandise to sell, remember that your latest release or video can be viewed as a commodity of its own—start brainstorming how to extract content pieces or excerpts from your art to live in a Pin-worthy universe. Did you have a photoshoot the day of your latest music video with an aesthetic-worthy outfit? How about repurposing music video teasers with relevant tags that include the styling products used and/or outfit choices?
A properly-maintained Pinterest board can do wonders for you while you’re away—not to mention their newer, business-friendly dashboard experience, which allows users to switch to a business account to maximize on perks like detailed analytics and ad campaigns. Learn more about how that works here.
Don’t forget—social media is a digital extension of your personality, so don’t be afraid to share a more comedic or intimate side of yourself on your professional artist page, as long as it remains true to your (experimental) comfort zone as an artist, and who the audience hopes to connect with. That’s the core of social authenticity—that, and a lot of relevant hashtagging.
