How to Get More Engagement on Your Music Posts: Give First

Building a fanbase, standing out online and reaching more people all come back to one thing, and that's engagement.

Having thousands of followers looks good on paper. But if only a handful of them care about your music, those numbers don't mean much.

Engagement is when people react to your personal stories, and when they comment on your posts and share them with friends.

Those actions matter more than they look. They make your connection with fans stronger, they bring you to new audiences, and they tell the algorithm that your post is worth showing to more people.

Give first

One of my favorite books is How to Win Friends and Influence People. It came out in 1936, and it's still one of the most important books you can read.

My favorite lesson in it is simple: give first.

The more you give, the more trust you build. And the more likely people are to give back, by sharing, commenting and engaging.

It's the same with your music. You can't just post and hope people love it. You have to give your audience something beyond your songs.

How to give value on social media

1. Learn what your audience wants.

Make content you enjoy making, but also figure out what your audience likes.

If you're a techno producer, study what techno fans enjoy watching. Is it festival clips? Remixes of classics? That's going to get way more engagement than another generic quote on a mountain photo.

Test ideas, and see what works.

2. Engage with their content.

People engage more with your posts when you engage with theirs. Like, comment, send a DM, and show that you care.

The bonus? Instagram notices these connections, and it shows your posts to those same people more often.

3. Ask for the engagement.

Add polls, questions and sliders to your stories. Ask a question at the end of your videos. Write captions that start a conversation.

Don't expect engagement out of nowhere. Ask for it.

4. Keep the conversation going.

When comments start coming in, reply. Ask follow-up questions, and turn comments into conversations.

When someone DMs you, don't leave it hanging. Start a chat with open-ended questions. That's how people feel seen, and when they feel seen, they keep coming back.

Connect more, post less

Posting more won't necessarily build your fanbase, but connecting more will.

Engagement goes both ways. If you want people to care about you, show them that you care about them first.

So be honest with yourself. Are you posting just to post, or are you building connections?

If you want a second opinion on a post before it goes out, Content Buddy is a free tool I built that checks your content and helps you write hooks and captions that get people talking.

A content idea to try: the stripped-back performance

How do you stop someone mid-scroll with just a guitar and your voice?

A lot of musicians think they need a big hook or crazy edits. But sometimes minimalism, paired with the right story, hits the hardest.

The example I love is an intimate performance of a song, with a raw and vulnerable caption that gives the song weight right away.

How to make one:

• Pick a song, or even one section, that carries strong emotion, like heartbreak, longing or regret. Make sure the feeling comes through in both the music and the lyrics.
• Film it up close, and keep it simple and intimate.
• Write a caption that shares enough of the backstory to make people stop and read.
• Add the lyrics on screen so it connects fully.

Why it works so well:

• It feels personal. The close shot and the simple setup make it feel like you're in the same room, playing the song just for them.
• The caption takes a pretty song and makes it hit like a punch in the gut.
• It's shareable. Anyone who's had their heart broken will send it to someone, because the emotion is universal.