How do you share your music on Instagram?

Instagram has become an important platform for musicians to share their music and connect with fans. With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram offers huge potential reach for artists. There are several ways musicians can share their songs, promote their work, and engage followers on Instagram.

Posting music on Instagram benefits both artists and listeners. For musicians, it provides a way to give fans a taste of new songs, promote upcoming releases, and build anticipation. Fans get early access to new music from artists they love. Sharing music also helps drive traffic to streaming platforms where people can listen to full songs. According to one source, using music in Instagram stories can enhance engagement by providing more emotional and captivating content (https://storrito.com/resources/how-to-use-music-in-your-instagram-stories-to-bring-your-brand-to-life/). Overall, Instagram gives musicians an opportunity to connect with listeners in an authentic way.

Upload Full Songs

One way to share your music on Instagram is by uploading full song clips that are under 60 seconds. Instagram’s limit for videos is 60 seconds, so any full song you upload needs to be edited down to be within that time frame.

To upload a full song clip, open the Instagram app and tap the + icon in the top right. Select a song from your camera roll that’s under 60 seconds. Trim the beginning and end of the song clip as needed so it’s within the time limit. Add any effects, filters or text you want and post it to your feed.

For songs over 60 seconds, you’ll need to edit them down before uploading. Use free editing apps like VLCHelp or Audacity to trim longer songs down to under 60 seconds. Focus on the catchiest part of the song, like the chorus, that will capture attention. Add custom editing to make the transition between sections smooth.

Be mindful of copyright when sharing full song clips. Avoid uploading unedited songs in their entirety, as this could get your post taken down and your account suspended for copyright infringement. Editing the song and only using a short snippet can help you stay within fair use guidelines.

Use Reels

Instagram Reels are short, entertaining video clips that loop and can be set to music. Using Reels is a great way for musicians to share song clips and promote their work on Instagram.

To create a Reel with a song clip, open the Reels camera in the Instagram app and select the “Audio” option to browse tracks and select a section of a song to use. You can trim the song clip down tofocus on the catchiest part of the track. Make sure to follow copyright guidelines and don’t use full songs without permission (https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-reels-hacks/).

You can also use one of Instagram’s Reel templates with a music theme, like “Sing-along” or “Cover Song”, and add your own song as the background music. Templates make it easy to create professional-looking Reels in just a few taps.

Best practices for musicians using Reels include picking strong hooks or choruses from your songs, keeping clips under 30 seconds, using high-quality audio, engaging visually with your music, and posting frequently to stay top of mind. Well-crafted Reels will showcase your talents and personality and help you gain new listeners.

Link in Bio

One effective way to share your music on Instagram is through the link in your bio. The bio area is highly visible right under your username and profile photo, so it’s prime real estate for promoting your work. According to Social Media Examiner, placing your most compelling link first in your bio can help drive traffic, especially if it includes relevant keywords.

Focus your main bio link on your newest music release or a landing page featuring all your songs. You can highlight a new single, EP, album, music video or playlist. Drive listeners to sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or your own website. According to Sprout Social, optimizing your bio link can boost overall engagement.

Change up your bio link frequently to promote different projects. Let fans know when you’ve released something new by tweeting or posting an Instagram story directing people to check your updated bio. Services like LinkTree make it easy to feature multiple links in your bio, so you can drive traffic to various platforms.

Stories

A fun way to share your music on Instagram is through Stories. You can add music stickers to make your Stories more engaging. To add a music sticker, tap the sticker icon at the top of the screen when creating a Story and select the music option. This will open Instagram’s music library where you can browse popular songs and artists (Later, 2023).

There are different types of music stickers to choose from. The basic music sticker lets you add a snippet of a song to your Story. The lyric sticker shows the lyrics as they play. And the question sticker allows followers to answer a multiple choice question about the song. Using interactive stickers like questions can increase engagement (Skedsocial, 2020).

The implications of the different music sticker types are mainly around legal restrictions. The basic music sticker only plays a short clip due to licensing limitations. But the lyric and question stickers allow more flexibility to incorporate full songs (Later, 2023). Overall, music stickers are a great way to showcase your songs and engage fans through Stories.

Live Performances

One of the most engaging ways to share your music is through live performances on Instagram. The platform’s live video features like Live and Live Rooms allow you to stream concerts, behind-the-scenes, Q&As, and more to your followers in real time.

Going Live with full performances is an excellent way to showcase your music authentically. Fans can watch and engage with you as you perform songs, take requests, and interact through comments. Big-name artists like Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, and John Mayer have used Instagram Live for full concerts. It creates an intimate vibe and shared experience even digitally.

You can also do Live Q&As, interviews, or chatting sessions with your followers. Share concert footage or clips from rehearsals while taking questions and engaging with your audience. This personalizes the experience and gives fans a voice.

Promoting upcoming in-person or live-streamed concerts is another great way to build buzz. Share clips of rehearsals, behind-the-scenes peeks, announcements about special guests, and teasers of what the setlist may include. Use Instagram Stories and feed posts leading up to the show to get fans excited.

Overall, Instagram’s live video features allow you to share your music through authentic, real-time performances and interactions. Going Live gives followers a front-row digital seat while promotional posts build anticipation. Fans feel connected and it provides a more personal concert experience.

Behind-the-Scenes

One fun way to share your music process on Instagram is by posting behind-the-scenes clips and photos. Give your followers a glimpse into your songwriting sessions, studio time, rehearsals, or any other part of your creative process. This not only shows fans how the music gets made, but also allows them to connect with you on a deeper level.

Consider filming short videos of you working on a new song in the studio or practicing your vocals and posting them to your Instagram Stories or Reels. You can even go live while writing a new track to bring fans along in real-time. Turn these clips into Reels to save them on your profile.

“Behind the scenes of my music video shoot!!!” (https://www.instagram.com/iamjeremyrosado/reel/CwQM0JOscuY/) and “A look behind the scenes of the ‘Faithfully’ music video.” (https://www.instagram.com/tobymac/reel/C1-0Pd_ocD0/) are great examples of giving fans a sneak peek at the process.

Post photos of your handwritten lyrics, recording equipment, or anything else related to your work. caption them with details to provide context. Images with captions help tell the story of your music-making journey.

Giving fans behind-the-curtain access makes them feel invested and gives them incentive to keep following along. Show them what goes into making your songs to keep them engaged with your musical process.

Collaborations

One great way to promote your music on Instagram is through collaborations with other artists. Tagging collaborators and featuring artists you’ve worked with is an easy way to cross-promote and reach each other’s audiences. When you co-create a song or other content with someone, be sure to tag them in any posts featuring that collaboration. This exposes your work to their followers as well.

You can also create joint Reels and performances to showcase collaborations in action. For example, posting a Reel of you and another artist in the studio together working on a new track is an authentic way to generate excitement. Or, sharing footage from a live show where you performed someone’s song together makes fans feel like they’re getting a behind-the-scenes look.

When you or someone you’ve collaborated with releases new music, cross-promote by sharing it in your Instagram Stories and feed. Ask them to do the same. This mutually beneficial promotion can introduce your music to new listeners from your collaborator’s audience. Tagging each other in posts about a new release means more eyes on your work.

Overall, collaborating with others not only leads to great artistic outcomes but also smart promotional opportunities on Instagram. Team up creatively first, then be sure to work together to spread the word too.

Playlists

Playlists are a great way to showcase your music and connect with new fans on Instagram. You can share playlists from streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. When sharing a Spotify playlist, make sure to tag the playlist name and add a captivating caption to promote it. Using relevant hashtags like #newmusic, #nowplaying, and #spotifyplaylist can help more users find your playlists (Source).

You can also create playlists directly on Instagram by using the “Guides” feature. Curate playlists with your songs, album tracks, or music that inspires you. Give your playlists creative names and tag other artists featured. Use targeted hashtags and location tags to maximize their reach. Post Stories featuring your playlists regularly to keep followers engaged and introduce the playlist to new audiences (Source).

Strategically using hashtags is key for music playlist promotion on Instagram. Include a mix of generic and specific tags like #instamusic #singersongwriter #acousticplaylist #countryplaylist to reach both broad and niche crowds. Research top hashtags used by your genre and target audience. Follow and engage with playlists using relevant hashtags to get on their radar.

Analytics

Instagram provides robust analytics through Instagram Insights. This allows musicians to track views, saves, shares, followers, and engagement over time. Some key metrics to monitor include:

Views – See how many times your profile and posts have been viewed. This helps gauge reach and interest.

Saves – Track how often your content is being saved. Saved posts indicate your content is resonating with the audience.

Shares – Monitor how frequently people are sharing your posts. Highly shared content has strong engagement.

Followers – Keep an eye on follower growth. Sudden spikes or drops can signal how well your strategy is working.

Engagement Rate – Calculate the percentage of followers who like, comment or save your posts. Aim for 3-5% or higher.

These analytics enable musicians to identify high-performing content to create more of, spot issues causing disengagement, and continuously optimize their Instagram strategy for growth.[1] For even deeper insights, specialized tools like Songstats and Chartmetric provide in-depth Instagram analytics and benchmarking.[2]