You won’t get the Social Love you expect if you don’t bother to write descriptions that entice people to click your social media links to listen to your songs…
Posting a link to your online music is a common song publicity strategy… but if you don’t write a rocking description it’s a waste of your time!
A description is an introduction to your song, like a subject in an email or a headline… until someone clicks and listens, you’re silent.
You Don’t Exist for Them (You Can’t Love What You Don’t Know)
Is it easier to start a conversation with someone you have just met if someone else introduces you first?
It’s the same for your song… write an awesome description and make a potential fan want to listen to your song. Use:
- Curiosity
- Surprise
- An intriguing lyric
- An interesting desciption
- A piece of the story, part of the back story that caused you to write it
- A question that needs an answer…
So they click to listen and find out more!
Sparking Interest in Your Song to Get That Social Love
You need to answer at least two of these questions in less than 3 seconds or they will move on:
• What is it?
• What is it about?
• What will I get out of it?
• Is it worth my time?
When you’re on social media, typically you decide whether or not to click on a link or an image before you even consciously think about it. Make it easy for a potential fan to click and discover you!
How many times have you seen posts like these?
LISTEN TO MY HOT TRACK!
or
Check this out!
or
Here’s my new song…
or
Listen here!
or the worst:
No title, just a link of random characters
What is it?
Why would anyone click?
This Might Seem Harsh
But, I always wonder, if the writer has nothing to say about it… why would anyone else care?
I’m not being judgmental… I’ve written a few descriptions that were almost as lame, but I noticed a pattern in my own clicking behaviour. I rarely click a link without something to set the context to tell me if it might be worth my while. So I started working on my own song descriptions!
Which of My Songs Would You Click?
Let’s try a quick experiment.
Which of these options would you be more likely to click?
Then think about how you can improve your posting strategy.
Emoji Girl – a love song
or
Emoji Girl – trying to build a relationship with someone who’s distracted by social media.
Legend in My Mind – I’m legendary!
or
Legend in My Mind – explaining (not excusing) why so many males behave disrespectfully towards women, especially in online interactions… ladies, you know who I’m talking about!
The second of each description took several drafts. It’s hard to summarize a 4 minute song in a brief sentence without losing something!
I usually emphasize the story or plot of the song because most of my recordings are guitar & vocal arrangements that could be reinterpreted by other artists in different ways. If I was promoting a band recording, I’d include more about the sound or style of the song in the description.
What Do They Want to Hear? That’s Where Social Love Starts…
Give a potential fan something interesting and appealing to latch onto…. a piece of the story, a solid lyric, an idea of what it will sound like… they’ll be ready to hear you and listen more carefully to your track.
Imagine you are being interviewed about this song. One of the first questions will likely be “what is the song about?” Now, I agree that the song should be able to speak for itself, a listener should be able to understand it without you explaining it to them first. But first they have to listen to it. If I can get someone to check it out, or deepen their understanding of the song… I will call it a win and do it everytime!
Once you’ve hooked a potential fan into listening with your intriguing title, using an excellent graphic or video and with an awesome description, the rest is up to your song. Obviously you will need the best:
- Lyrics you can write
- Vocals you can perform or hire
- Musical performances you can get
- strongest arrangement you can write, that supports the lyrics and stays interesting throughout the entire song
- Recording, mix and mastering that you can create in your home studio or that your money can buy!
More Social Love: Action Steps
- Think about why someone should click on a link to listen to your music
- While you’re writing a song, craft an interesting description or message to use later
- Create or use a graphic / photo to go with your song
- Who are your ideal listeners?
- What else do you have in common with them?
- Who else would they listen to?
- Where do your ideal listeners hang out online?
- Post links where your ideal listeners will see them… posting in a songwriting group only gets you in front of other songwriters, not the general public!
Create a strategy to promote your songs, don’t just drop random links and hope….
Leave a comment to help other songwriters…
What’s the best song description you’ve written?
(you can include a link in the comment so we can check out your song too!)
