5 Ways To Promote Your Music On Google Plus

Today we're going to look at how to promote your music with Google+. Or Google Plus. Or whatever you like to call it. Either way, it's a guide on Google Plus for musicians:)

Regardless of whether you’re a singer, a rapper or in a band, Google+ is something you simply can't ignore. With an ever increasing active user base, as well as other not so known benefits (which I'll reveal to you in a minute), it really is becoming a social networking site worth considering.

Below I'll look at why it could be worth you using this platform, how much you should use it, and ways it can help you market your music. If this guide is useful, please share.

P.S. If you're already on Google+, add me. 🙂

Is It Worth Marketing Your Band On Google+?

So Google+ hasn't always had the best reputation. Many people in the past have recommended only focusing on the big three social sites (Facebook, Twitter and Youtube) and I myself have given that advice on a number of occasions. Not any more!

A number of things have changed my mind:

1. The growing user base. People who actually use this service (not just sign up because they feel they should but don't touch it again) is increasing. Now as you build up a following, you'll actually get people interacting with you.
2. It's largely untapped. As the majority of musicians aren't using it properly, you're not battling with as many people for fan's attention. Create something good and you'll get more interaction then some other social sites and you'll only need a smaller follower list.
3. Probably the most important factor for me: the boost Google gives you in search engines! If you're a friend of someone on Google+ and you use the regular Google search engine to look for something, there's a much higher chance something your friend has spoken about will appear in the search results (if they've spoken about it before on Google+).
   So say for example someone who's not your Google Plus buddy search for ‘new rock music', chances are you won't appear anywhere in the search engines for them to find you. If you're already friends with them however and you've spoken loosely about that subject on Google+, there's a decent chance you'll appear on the first page of search results for that term. This will lead to you getting your face out there more and people being reminded of you. It also will mean more website visits.

Even if you only use Google+ a couple of times a week, it's worth having. At the very least link to your blog posts over there and interact with anyone who reaches out to you.

Now, let's look at how to promote your music on Google Plus. These five tips should help.

1. Auto Link To Your Google+ Page At The Beginning Of Your Posts

In order to make the most out of Google+ you need followers. There are two main ways to do this:

1. Go out and look for people to become your followers.
2. Get followers to come to you.

Now while both of these can work, the second one is what you should start out doing initially. This is because it's a lot easier than the alternative.

The idea is to take visitors to your website and get them to follow you on Google+. While there are a number of ways you could do this, the two most effective ones are:

1. Adding a call to action for people to follow you at the top of each blog post you do, and
2. Talk about what you're doing on Google+ around your site and remind people they can join you.

The above two have gotten me the majority of my followers so far via Music Industry How To and have worked the best for musicians I've worked with. You can see an example of the first one at the top of this post (it's either asking you to join me on Google+, Facebook, Twitter or Youtube).

I've already written a guide about how to automatically add your profile across all posts so have a look for how to implement that today. It talks about doing it for affiliate links, but it also works for links to your social profiles too. This is one of the best way to promote your Google+ profile, as long as your website gets traffic of course.

2. Share Some Things Exclusively On Google+

One of the best ways to get your existing fanbase to follow you on Google Plus is to post exclusive updates and freebies there. After all, if you're only sharing the same stuff you're already sharing on Facebook and Twitter, why would they need to follow you on G+ too? Yes some people will prefer the Google alternative, but you'll lose out on a lot of followers.

So every now and then, share something exclusively with your Google+ audience. Don't make it available anywhere else and make a big deal of that fact. Not only will you get more exposure for your profile, but you'll also get people following simply because they're already on your page.

3. Get Involved In Other Groups

So remember earlier I mentioned you can either go out and get fans or have fans come to you? Well if you feel like doing some of the first, your best place to find fans on Plus is via the Google Groups.

There are pockets of communities on Google+ which are into specific things. What you'll want to do is find groups who are into your music genre, add yourself to the group, and become a member of the community. Get involved with the discussions, let people know you make music too, and share with them if they're interested.

Don't go in sharing your music before you've interacted with anyone though, chances are you'll get ignored and even banned. Instead, show people who you are, get them intrigued then try and make them before a fan form there. The key is not doing it in a spammy way.

4. Reach Out To Fans Of Others In Your Genre

A second way to actively seek Google+ fans is to look at those who are following similar acts to you. Preferably bigger ones as they'll have a bigger and more genuine fanbase. Smaller ones usually either won't have a Google+ presence, or they'll have questionable spammy followers. Not all mind you, but it's still better to focus on the bigger acts with more followers.

Once you've found a few of these profiles, the next thing you should do is start reaching out to them. Get involved in their music related conversations, and where appropriate let them know you make similar music too. You'll get some people going on to check out your music and even friending you on Google+.

I wouldn't recommend spending a huge amount of time doing this as often your efforts are better spent elsewhere using the leveraging strategy. That said, if you've a spare 15 minutes a couple of times a week and want to build up your followers, this will go some way to help towards that.

5. Keep A Consistent Posting Schedule

My final point is one that applies to any social site you decide to promote your music on: post regularly and to a schedule! Forget posting only say once a month or less, how many people do you feel will be able to get excited from you posting based on that? Not many.

Post at least twice a week. These can be links to your songs, blog posts on your website, or asking your fans something. Keep the page busy and interesting enough and more people will want to get involved.

Conclusion

Google+ has finally become something worth using. No longer is it ok to ignore this social site; with it's growing fanbase and boost it gives you in the search engines, it's definitely worth building up your profile.

So do you currently use Google Plus? If so, how are you finding it? Be sure to add me, and if you work in the music industry or make music, feel free to share a link to your profile in the comments below for all to see.