YouTube and SoundCloud are two media platforms that complement each other well together. With the right marketing tactics, you can grow your SoundCloud community with YouTube, and vice versa. You can’t discredit YouTube's impact on SoundCloud. Having a good following on multiple platforms is vital to achieving social proof as an artist. This includes Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well, but for an artist, YouTube is particularly important because it also focuses on media.

YouTube has a user base of roughly 1 billion people – an un-ignorable number if, as an artist, you’re looking to grow your online presence. There's no reason not to start utilizing YouTube to grow your following on SoundCloud. A little effort goes a long way, so let's get to work.

Getting Started on YouTube

If you're an absolute beginner to YouTube, don't worry – it's easy to get started. You can create a channel with any name, so it’s best to go with the same name you're using on SoundCloud to avoid confusion. As for the content you upload, there's a variety of things that'll work. YouTube opens a lot of doors as far as video content goes, so don’t worry about only posting songs. Share performances, interviews, and whatever else you’d like to share with potential fans.

EDM, House, and other Electronic genres are popular on SoundCloud. If your music falls into these genres, you can use tutorials to bring in new traffic. The tutorial method can work with other genres to some extent, but electronic music is simply the biggest on SoundCloud, and the easiest to capitalize on. There are so many listeners who mess around with Ableton, FL Studio, or GarageBand. Bringing them in with some useful knowledge can turn them into a fan of your music with the right direction.

Another way to make your YouTube content a bit more eye catching is to make music videos. A music video doesn't need to be live-action to be something people want to see. Freelancers can create some pretty high-quality animated videos based on your ideas. You can even find some really good tutorials on YouTube to help you create your own video. The easiest option would likely be to just make a lyric video for your first try. As an example, check out this lyric video for The Hush Sound’s “The Lion’s Roar”:

Putting YouTube content to good use

So you’ve got ideas for your YouTube content. Now, let's dive into how you can direct this traffic to SoundCloud.  The easiest, and one of the most efficient ways, is free downloads. Not all artists want to give away their music for free, but it's becoming much more common now days. You don’t have to give away everything – but a few free tracks will go a long way when it comes to promoting music online.

Another option you have is to offer your music as royalty-free, and just ask that people who use it give you credit. This is another thing not everyone is going to want to do, but as an aspiring artist it could help get you exposure. Not only does it get people looking for a song to use for their content, but it could result in more traffic from the ad. Whether you're offering free downloads or royalty free music, make sure the link is on SoundCloud. Don't put it on YouTube, just advertise it there as a “SoundCloud Followers Exclusive” to encourage people to follow you.

You should also be frequently mentioning that you have more content available on SoundCloud. Anytime you upload a video, add that tidbit of information at the beginning and end. At the very least put an annotation, but a verbal call to action referring to that annotation link is preferred. Always include a link to your SoundCloud profile in your YouTube video descriptions as well.

Double social proof

The nice thing about focusing on more than one platform is that it builds a new layer of social proof. Having thousands of followers and plays on SoundCloud is one thing, but it's not enough. Talent scouts and labels are looking for artists with a big social media following. If you have 43 subscribers on YouTube, it can leave people questioning your SoundCloud metrics.

Getting views and plays is hard enough with all the competition out there. Loading up both your accounts with some paid views, likes, followers, and subscribers can help you out of this early rut. It's not required, but it's an option for those looking to jumpstart their profile on YouTube, SoundCloud, or both.

Remember, YouTube has a bigger userbase, so building social proof on there is vital. There are so many videos to watch, and the ones with no views often get left behind.

All worth it in the end

Once you've managed to get a good following going on both SoundCloud and YouTube, you'll be glad you did. New followers will be coming from all over the place, making ad revenues increase. You'll also start getting some hype around yourself as an artist, which could open doors for a career. Anything is possible, but it all starts with hard work and dedication. All this is just one part of becoming an SoundCloud star, but it's an important part so don't neglect it!

Featured Image via EDMNation

Date: February 23, 2016 / Categories: Getting Discovered, Tips, / Author: Viv