4 Things You’re Doing Wrong on Social Media
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4 Things You’re Doing Wrong on Social Media


Are you an artist or entrepreneur trying to grow a business on social media and just can’t crack the code? You might be driving the wrong way on a one way street, figuratively speaking. No worries! I GOTCHU! Let’s get you on the right track! Here are FOUR THINGS you may be doing wrong on social media that can be resolved with simple fixes!


1. Your Content is Too Dense

Videos under 2 minutes are best for Instagram and videos 3 minutes and longer are best for Youtube and Facebook. I guarantee you, no one is watching your full 6 minute video on IG unless it’s SUPER interesting. And usually the ones that are that long with high engagement either have some longer video or podcast they send you back to or they tell a necessary and complete story/part of a story!

THE FIX

Use clips to send people to the longer version. They’ll check out the longer version if they want, but give the people who want long videos what they want where they want it! Reserve your timeline videos for clips that people are likely to share, save or comment on.


BONUS TIP

Embedding your Youtube videos on other platforms still counts toward your views! So, drive all traffic to YouTube where you can monetize your views!



Watch the entire skit below!


2. You’re Trying to Create Content Instead of Capturing It

When I first met social media expert, Brittany Carter-McKinnon, I picked her brain to discover ways I could use use my social media platform to MAKE MONEY -- not just market myself. So after listening to me complain about not knowing what content to create and not having time to create it because I was busy gigging, she encouraged me to capture me gigging and to create content on days where I already have to be camera-ready! She showed me how to build content creation around my life.


THE FIX

Let your camera roll why you are practicing, doing a recording session or performing. If you are on a gig where you can bring a friend, bring someone to record and take pics of you performing. I have owned several travel-friendly tripods at this point because sometimes, no one is available but you are singing for 30 whole minutes and surely there is 30 seconds to a minute that’s timeline worthy!


Don’t reinvent the wheel or overthink, capture the content you create every day! YOU are the service you are advertising so showing people the “how” and “why” of the “what” you do is just as important as showcasing your skills --- even if that means a clip of you acting a fool backstage! Speaking of...


BONUS TIP

If it’s a public event where people are posting on social media, use their content. When touring with Cory Henry, I looked up content under #CoryHenry after every show to see if there was content I could use...AND did!


Check out my Live In Love Tour VLOG featuring a ton of audience footage!

Click the audience photos below to see my instagram posts!

Blue Note Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan (Photography by Makoto Ebi)

Live In Love Tour at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, MA (Photography by Cedric Pilard)


Live in Love Tour at LEAF Festival in Black Mountain, NC (Photography by Derrick Morrison)

Live in Love Tour at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn (Photography by Joe Gonzales)


Want MORE?!

Check out this impromptu performance from when we were in Jakarata, Indonesia!

3. You Are Only Showing Us WHAT you do and not WHO you are!

We love a good “sit in front of the camera and play/sing” video. We also love a “go live from your very loud band pit at church” on Sunday morning but neither of these things can stand alone because they only tell us a small part of your story! We want to know who the creator is! Is there a reason why you are practicing or singing this particular song? Social Media is free marketing but it works best when people feel a connection to you that makes them WANT to know more about you outside of that platform. The goal is to convert them to wanting to spend money on you, not just follow you!


THE FIX

Post a clip from you rehearsing AND a pic from the show AND a clip from the performance. Now, you have 3 pieces of timeline-worthy content that not only advertise your skills but tell the why (performance clip), what (picture post) and how (practice clip) of the content you're posting. Or in your caption of you singing in front of the camera, tell a story that relates to the song.


Check out these 3 posts from my Instagram timeline that all have high engagement and were captured within 24 hours of each other but posted a month apart from each other.


ENGAGEMENT:

  • Views: 2,240

  • Likes: 475

  • Comments: 55

  • Saves: 24

ENGAGEMENT:

  • Views: 7,933

  • Likes: 1,359

  • Comments: 235

  • Saves: 52

ENGAGEMENT:

  • Likes: 2,671

  • Comments: 259

  • Saves: 25

BONUS TIP

Don’t be afraid to use your caption to tell your story. Sometimes it’s just a happy selfie but the post is about self-care and what you’re doing to maintain happiness. Captions hook people just as much as the image or video.


4. You Approach Social media Like You Approach Creativity

This is a free marketing tool, you can’t be inconsistent or go based on how you feel. I don’t write songs everyday, I write as I’m inspired. I found myself only posting on social media when things were busy and when I was inspired and when I was in chill mode, my Instagram was giving James St. Patrick: GHOST! 👻 👻


THE FIX

Plan ahead! Relevance and timing. Christmas music can’t start at Christmas! As soon as the trees come up, release the content so people can digest it DURING the season. Holidays come every year so why not plan ahead for the big ones? I promise if you wait to plan, record and release Christmas content during the season, you won’t yield results. Think about what you have going on for the month. Do you have regular gigs? Plan to take a picture at your church gig every week. Does your church gig livestream? Make a practice of grabbing a clip or picture before your Sunday nap and BOOM, Monday’s content is planned and ready!


BONUS TIP

Utilize your stories when you are in your down times or taking a break from timeline posting. Let people know you’re still alive. This can be just reposting things you scroll and love. It doesn't have to be planned or fancy, a boomerang of you picking up takeout or a 15-sec video of your driving with whatever song you’re listening to playing. These go a long way!!


My MOST VIEWED video on Youtube was from a video I screen recorded from the church’s livestream recording. The church has since archived it on their website and removed it from their Youtube channel which means MY video is THE ONLY one available online! Watch it below!

Peace,







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