Liner Notes: Video shorts and fan-generated content

Reading time: 7 minutes 👓

I've not talked much about short-form videos on the podcast, but it is a relatively new format.

Full disclosure, I've shot only a handful of Instagram Reels, have yet to create a YouTube short, and am not active on TikTok. But don't let that turn you off. I've done a lot of reading on the topic.

Here's fodder for getting your music out there with short-form video.

Instead of approaching this topic from the perspective of how musicians can or should leverage short-form videos, I looked first at how big brands leverage the format to enhance their brands. The main reason for this is that there's been more written for brands than for musicians. But you or your band are a brand, so the same principles apply. Let's dive in.

Man taking a video of a woman carrying a violin | Image by @kalvisuals on pexels.com | https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-taking-a-video-of-a-woman-carrying-a-violin-2510422/

Best practices

“It all goes back to a very old question: Which channels are your audiences using and for what? And therefore, for which channels does it make the most sense for your business to create this short-form content?”
—Hubspot

Musicians need to know where their audience is, but there's a balance to be struck. You may value one social platform and dislike another. Fortunately, we have several social platforms to choose from. So be where you want to be, but make sure you're audience is there too.

You should do as much prep work as you can before any type of video shoot. Video marketer Tanner Francom of Greatness Studios calls this “gathering inspiration.” He says this helps him craft shots in both pre-production and on set. Before putting together a shot list, Francom's team gathers an inspiration board full of shots that want to replicate or that have certain aspects they’d like to include in their video. While Francom primarily works with big brands, his tactic applies to independent musicians and bands too.

The big is that preparation is key. In the same way prep work helps big brands organize and execute with greater ease, so too will it make video shorts creation easier for you.

Short form video example from Crumbl Cookies

Crumbl Cookies is said to be notorious for teasing new products in YouTube Shorts and then revealing them as the cookies of the week. Product teasers are great because they create suspense by getting viewers even more invested in the launch as they wonder what the reveal is.

"Rotating product reveals with consistent teasers is a great marketing strategy for building anticipation. Whenever you have a new product to launch or a short-lived/seasonal product, be sure to hint at what’s coming at least a week before the launch."
—Hubspot, Marketing Software Company

Independent musicians and well-known artists frequently use teasers. A common example among independent musicians and bands is a social post that says big news is coming. How much more creative, visually appealing, and potentially engaging would YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels teasers be for your upcoming release or festival appearance? I venture to say 1000% more so than a simple written post.

User-generated content

Emplifi's Chief Strategy Officer Kyle Wong told Hubspot, "User-generated content is a 24/7, 365-day marketing channel and opportunity." Wong adds, "The biggest shift that's happened over the past couple of years is word-of-mouth marketing from your happy customers has become infinitely more scalable."

You're already on social media, doing shows, and sending email newsletters, all the while hearing positive things from fans and supporters. Take note of the feedback and encouragement, and file it away for later use.

When businesses invest in a strategy around user-generated content, they invest in a strategy that helps capture more positive word-of-mouth marketing from their customers. Businesses use this feedback to create user-generated campaigns, which they do by amplifying messages already being shared by their customers and they're doing it in video shorts.

When your fans are already providing positive feedback on your work, you can amplify their feedback by sharing it in video shorts. However, you must build in the ability to capture positive feedback and word-of-mouth marketing in a central repository, a place where you can easily find and therefore repurpose as fan-generated content. This is how big brands manage their user-generated content strategies. It's also important to create ways to help capture more positive word-of-mouth marketing from your fans and supporters. Big brands capture word-of-mouth marketing through customer support phone calls, product review pages, or social channels.

So step one is collecting the content and encouraging more of it. Here are some of the ways brands do this.

Create feedback forms
Have a positive story section on your website
Create testimonial pages
They're active on all major social channels

Independent musicians and bands can adopt and adapt these approaches to encourage fan-generated content by being active on the social channels that make sense for you and your audience.

Here are some examples of how you can adopt and adapt these big brand approaches.

Create special hashtags at shows

Create special hashtags at shows and encourage audiences to post videos, pics, and comments on your preferred social media platforms. Offer a free download or drawing for merch in YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, or TikTok posts.

Create a testimonial page

Create a testimonial page on your website. Ask venues at which you've performed if they would give you a testimonial. Provide them with a template that they can customize and be sure they include their social handle, website, or email. Testimonials are much more powerful when tied to a real person. Create a folder of positive feedback emails from fans and ask for permission to use the best ones as testimonials. Feature this page and individual testimonials in video shorts.

Record positive stories

The next time someone walks up to you at a show and says that one of your songs really moved them or changed their life, ask them if they'd be willing to share their story in a quick phone recording that you can use on a positive stories page of your website. You can do this interview style as a video short. Just ask something like, "Can you tell me again about the time that you heard my song and what it meant to you?" Feature these stories on your positive stories page. Fans, supporters, and venues will love it!

Looking at this like a big brand, think strategically by investing time or money in ways to help capture more positive word-of-mouth marketing from your fans and supporters. The goal here is to make it easy for fans and supporters to share their positive reviews where, when, and how they prefer.

If people are posting good stories about your music, the first question you need to ask is, "How can I use this to get my music out there and grow my business?" Step one, again, is collecting positive feedback and encouraging more of it.

Pulling back the curtain

Brands are encouraged this year to pull back the curtain and engage with their audiences on a more personal level. This should sound familiar to musicians, as we're encouraged to give behind-the-scenes looks at our work and share personal facets of our music and lives. As I always say though, be as personal as you like, but think carefully about what you do and don't want to share publicly.

How will you amplify positive messages?

Think about how you're going to amplify these messages. One major opportunity to share fan-generated content is via video shorts on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, and have a dedicated fan-generated stories collection saved in your profile.

Showcasing fan content

You can also create a web page that showcases fan content or create a section on your music or home pages. These sections will allow your site visitors to see how others are enjoying your music, using your merch, and benefiting from services you may offer. A page like this is helpful as site visitors consider buying your music, attending your next show, or hosting a house concert.

User-generated content performs outperforms

Big brands have found that user-generated content performs better than traditional stock imagery when it comes to conversion rates. The same will be true for musicians thanks to the element of authenticity.

Start with a call-to-action

Taking things a step further, you can create a video shorts campaign that you can start with a call-to-action for your fans and supporters when they post user-generated content. Create a specific hashtag for campaigns or ask them to fill out a form for a chance to be featured in your campaign.

Video short campaign ideas could include shout-outs, contests, drawings, and more. Get creative.

Next week, I'll follow up with more about video shorts, the musician's perspective, tips, and recommendations.

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Liner Notes