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How to release your video on social media

The release process for a classical music video MUST start from the moment you conceive the idea. It really can’t be an afterthought.

Share –

Even if you have tens of thousands of followers, if you just pop your video on to Facebook or Instagram you won’t be maximising its exposure. Got a video that’s sure to go viral? Good for you, but if you have a solid release plan, it’ll go even further.

There’s a crazy amount of articles online that’ll tell you the technical details on when you should post a video – read them and lie awake worrying about it – but remember, if you miss the optimum time to post, or your video doesn’t get much attention…weeeell…just delete it and post about it another time. Use the #TBT hashtag to recycle it further*. But that’s not what I’m trying to tell you about here. I’m talking about maximising the release by having a planned process leading up to it.

You know those dancing dots you see when someone is replying to your message? That’s suspense, and we humans love a bit of suspense, or hype.

So

*Throw back Thursday.

Before & during production

Here’s a list of posts you’ll want to add to your social media plan (you’ve got one, right?)

1 – Yay, I’ve lined up my crew to film and record the previously undiscovered Liszt piano sonata.

2 – Here’s a pic of me totally dead from practicing this piece for 8 hours a day.

3 – I’m nervous – tomorrow is the big recording day! (Facebook pic and Instagram story of the journey to the venue).

4 – Post of crew setting up. People love seeing film equipment and microphones.

5 – Lunchtime Instagram live broadcast from the venue.

6 – Story of how nice the film crew are. They are your new soul mates.

7 – After-math of filming pics.

“We humans LOVE suspense”

A pre-release behind-the-scenes short we made for John Gjylaci

Approaching your release (posting) date

Pick a date for release and start referring to it.

Carry on the hype – mention the countdown when doing your regular posts. It might seem simple, but it keeps it fresh in your followers minds and it’ll spike their curiosity. Do some research into hashtags that gain attention with the kind of people who’ll like what you do, and use these posts to test them out.

Post some behind the scenes footage – ask your media production team to make you a BTS (behind-the-scenes) featurette. A good BTS film is often even more popular than the actual film. When we do our sessions with classical musicians, we always give them a library of professional BTS photographs for them to use on their social media and website.

Make a trailer with some snippets from the video – or ask your production company for one or two.

Finally – the release

And now, having reached the day, you post the video on Facebook. You put a teaser on your Instagram and put a link to it in your profile. Either have it embedded on your website (where you will be able to give people the opportunity to sign up to your fan list, or see your full bio, events and contact you), or link it directly to the platform you have it hosted on. YouTube is probably the best place or you could choose Vimeo amongst others.

Here’s some boring technical things:

720p HD is about right for Instagram and Twitter. 720p HD works well for Instagram and Twitter posts as it will load faster for more followers (with older phones or people in areas with weaker internet signals) and still look high quality.

We always give our clients video files that are optimised for YouTube and Facebook video algorithms – this is so they look and sound their best as each platform differs.

Wrapping up

Remember that having a video to share on social media can give you a great arsenal of content, if you use it in the right way. Build suspense, give people a taste of the fun that goes into it and, of course, the hard work too. Don’t waste the opportunity, use every angle, delight your followers with insight and pick up some new fans along the way.

We’ve covered this topic and more in our video series Marketing For Musicians

James Cardell-Oliver

Creative Director

James is an experienced photographer, digital designer and marketer supercharging the Mill Media Company. He is a multi-instrumentalist living on a blurred line between classical and country music.

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