How to Get More Followers on SoundCloud
1. Use a Relevant Name
See, your display name is the first thing people engage with. It represents you as a brand – and if it’s irrelevant, confusing, or straight-up bad, your marketing will suffer.
I had the pleasure of listening to an artist called DJ Camel on the chill state at this years Rainbow Serpent event here in Australia.
I immediately tried to find him on SoundCloud after the event, but couldn’t. After a bit of digging I finally found his profile:
He thought it would be a clever idea to take his stage name, write it backwards, and use the resulting lemacjd as his SoundCloud name. This poor naming choice has made his profile nearly impossible to find via Google or SoundCloud searches, and he’s only managed to accrue 13 followers as a result.
To avoid such a disaster and properly optimize your profile name and Profile URL (remember these two are independent).
Here’s a few more tips for getting the most out of your profile:
- Pick a name that lines up with your public brand. If you’re a band or musician, go with your stage name. If you’re a label representative, consider incorporating your company into your display name.
- Try get a short rememberable Profile URL, for example:
- If you can’t get the Profile URL you want you might have to get creative (but remember to include your proper Name, don’t have both URL and Name as something abstract):
- Don’t try to get cute or whimsical. Your personal e-mail can be “RockLord99”, but this is marketing – so think of your display name as your brand, it has to appeal to your potential audience.
2. Add Links
SoundCloud is a social network, but it’s not meant to be anyone’s primary social platform. That’s why you get the option to sign up via Facebook: SoundCloud expects you to use other platforms.
Consider SoundCloud as the primary place that you’re hosting your music. You need to consider how to leverage other social platforms to drive your fans to SoundCloud to listen (more on this later).
As a SoundCloud user, the best way to direct traffic to your other social accounts is by adding links to other platforms to your profile. To do this, you need to go to your profile page, click “Edit” and then hit the “Add Link” button:
56% of all U.S. adults use more than one major social media platform, so it’s a good idea offer links to several social media platforms. We recommend focusing on major networks like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, as well as your personal website
3. Your Bio and Contact Information
If you’re an up and coming artist on SoundCloud then your bio is an invaluable way to make a strong impression and highlight who you are as an artist. Focus on who you are, where you’re from, and what you do music-wise as well as all your major and recent accomplishments. Mention any labels you’re associated with, any notable venues you’ve played and any stand-out performances or crowds.
Once you’re done with that, add contact information. This is important – because a page with no contacts implies you don’t have a set process for bookings and studio sessions. This is bad, as people who would otherwise be interested in working with you may be turned off by the prospect of struggling to contact you and working with an inexperienced musician. This isn’t something you want – so, whether it be a manager’s or your own, always remember to add contact information.
For some ideas on how to include some of this information in your bio, take a look at the bio of Amax, and emerging DJ from Melbourne
4. Post High-Quality Tracks
If you’re recordings have low sound quality then chances are they aren’t going to be very well received, regardless of how good the song itself may be.
Make sure you avoid this by only post complete, high-quality songs. This means uploading tracks that have been properly recorded, mixed and mastered. You may not have the best equipment – but you should still showcase tracks where you make the most of what you have.
Bear in mind that SoundCloud streams your tracks in 128kbps, so if you want users to hear it without quality then you will need to enable downloads on that track (which isn’t always an option).
Panic! At the Disco are currently boasting the four most played alternative rock songs of the week on SoundCloud.
5. Focus on Music People Enjoy
Don’t worry about uploading your personal favorite tracks. Instead, work with music that people enjoy – even if you, yourself, are more interested in tracks that aren’t quite as popular with your audience.
Once you’ve established yourself and built up a fan base it will become easier for you to delve into more of the styles you like, but while your still establishing yourself as an artist it’s a good idea to stick to the music that’s most appealing to your audience.
LA based producer Matt Lange originally garnered attention with his glitchy Telefon Tel-Aviv influenced IDM beats:
But over time he started making Progressive House, now more Techno influenced songs and has scored himself an appearance on Mau5trap, deadmau5’s own label.
Sometimes it can take a while for you to find your place in the world of music, at the same time some producers find that having to produce the same genre for every track can really cause strain on their creativity. In this case you might consider setting up an Pseudonym (or separate account) to release your more experimental music.
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