What’s working for musicians lately in the world of social video?
Over the past two week I binged an unhealthy quantity of short-form video content by musicians (so you don’t have to). Seven commonalities stood out to me, and I’ve sorted them into different “trends.”
Let’s take a look together!
In this installment of our Music Career Study Group livestream, we watch and discuss examples of music content that’s getting massive engagement across Reels, Shorts, and TikTok:
7 video trends to replicate for your own music promotion:
1. Walk With Me
I guess we love to watch people walk while singing. So invite your audience into your world by taking them on a visual journey.
A stroll through the studio. Down the street. Across the room. To the other side of a park. Share a bit of your world in a casual format that puts your personality front-and-center.
Examples include:
2. Supersize (or Downsize) Yourself
Lots of people will tell you to be “authentic,” but perhaps the better advice is: “Be interesting.”
Is there a way you can take the most interesting part of your personality, or the thing you’re most interested in, and build a persona around that? How can you look larger-than-life or — conversely — strip away everything to appear vulnerable?
Examples include:
3. I Dare You!
Challenges, stunts, and dares are an excellent way to engage your audience. They create a sense of risk, and keep us watching in suspense.
It could be a stunt arrangement, a unique performance style, a creative mashup, live-looping, or even daring yourself to perform in an uncomfortable situation.
Examples include:
4. Squeeze ‘Em In
At this point, vertical video is nothing new. The format has dominated social for nearly a decade. But we still delight in seeing two or more people squeezed into the vertical frame.
You don’t even need a camera-person. Static camera. Squeeze your band into the shot!
Examples include:
5. Teach Me Something
Educational content performs well, especially when it’s bite-sized.
We love hacks, tips, history. Teach your fans something related to your music, whether it’s how to play a guitar riff, the story behind your lyrics, or a production tip.
Examples include:
6. Make-Music-With-Me
We love to watch a process unfold, and something get built.
Music involves a lot of building. Songwriting. Production and recording. Even rehearsal and choreography. How can you SHOW people the process so they feel like they’re included in the construction of your music?
Examples include:
7. The All-New Old-School Music Video
Though we’ve heard that “the music video is dead” for years, the pendulum is swinging back and retro has returned.
But not widescreen videos. There’s a “new” way that people are introducing cinematic qualities into the vertical format, and it’s a nice mix of scripted/artificial with casual/real.
Examples include:
Those are just 7 trends I noticed while binging too much music content on social.
I’m sure there are many more!
Want to share a trend you’ve noticed? Drop it in the comments HERE.
