(Hypebot) — New Instagram and Facebook changes are good news for musicians and music marketers working to sell tickets to a show, promote a new release and activate a fanbase.
Instagram updates reposts
An update to Instagram reposts rolling out slowly now means that content re-shared in the app may now appear within the feeds of your followers.
“Before, you could only share someone else’s content to stories,” according to social media advisor Sarah Roizman “Now, when you tap the repost icon under a post or reel, you can add your own text and it’ll show up in your followers’ feeds like a regular post.”
Much like a retweet on X, when fans reshare an artist’s content it can show up in their followers feeds and boost overall reach. Artists can also use this feature to boost their fans’ posts, sharing them with their followers.
Facebook adds a Friends tab
Facebook is revisiting its roots with a “Friends” tab that bypasses the algorithmic recommendations that dominate its main feed. Rolling out in the US and Canada it will show your friends’ stories, reels, posts, and birthdays.
“Over the years Facebook evolved to meet changing needs and created best-in-class experiences across Groups, Video, Marketplace and more, but the magic of friends has fallen away,” admitted Facebook.
For musicians and music marketers it means that fan posts (and perhaps some reposts) about them will be much more likely to be seen by those that care most about their opinions – their friends.
Shift from only-algorithmic recommendations
Collectively Instagram and Facebook changes signal a shift from only-algorithmic recommendations and back to social media’s original purpose – friends connecting and sharing with friends.
That’s great news for anyone working to grow and activate a fanbase to market a show or release.
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency
