This is a guest post by Dani Felt of the Artist Plugin Program. Try a free masterclass on music business for artists here.

It may be difficult to out-viral an online classic like the Keyboard Cat, but following these tips below can help you acquire a much larger following through social media.

“How do I go viral?”

That must be one of the biggest social media questions of the millennial generation.

Going viral is a key way to build an audience, and if you use these techniques effectively, you can rack up the eyeballs, find new fans for life, and help your career long term.

#1: Collaborate!

The goal of going viral is to find new fans—not just engage with the old ones.

Collaborations or “collabs”, with other artists expose your music to the followers of the other artist, and vice versa. This can dramatically increase your reach, and the likelihood of a track going viral.

When a collaborator tags your account on social media their followers will get curious and often head over to see what your account is about. This is a great way to get organic followers, without using any paid promotion.

To reach smaller accounts, a direct message is a great way of getting your message out there. Just remember to be short, sweet and authentic!

But how do you connect with bigger accounts and the artists behind them? Direct messaging through social media can get you bogged down, especially when you are messaging big accounts with more than 10k followers. Your message, even to those who may be interested in collab, may be hidden by the hundreds of messages these accounts get per week.

Aside from making a connection through real life contacts, one of the best ways to get a big account’s attention is to be an active follower. Don’t go overboard, but try to comment on their pictures and posts with some regularity, and bring a unique angle to your comments. Ask intelligent questions about their music so they actually respond to your comment. Once they know and trust your username, that is a step in the right direction and it increases your chances of doing a collaboration in the future.

Pro Tip: If you are feeling especially bold, or feel like a good connection has already been made, you might comment something along the lines of “I love your account, especially (insert song here) – lets collab! I sent you a DM :)”. Always make your messages and comments personalized, and authentic  to your personality. People can tell when you are being genuine or just carpet-bombing the world with DMs.

#2: Create Truly Unique Content

Don’t expect to have your content go viral and reach new audiences without including a touch of the unexpected.

We all try to be different and create new content, but what does “unique” actually mean?

Think about what every viral video has done. It has been different in some way. It is always something out of the norm that grabs new attention. The whole trick to going viral is that this content is so out of the box that it wows people and is shareable.

In the non-music world, funny clips and cute puppies may go viral, but the ones that do almost always contain something unexpected.

What can you include in your tracks that will make people say “You won’t believe this! You’ve got to check it out”? In music, ways to break the mold is with an especially catchy song, unusual and memorable topic, a viral dance challenge or truly outstanding performances.

Pro Tip: Brainstorm and write down what would catch your attention as a viewer, then try some of those ideas out! It will take a couple of tries, but eventually, if you have great content on your page and unique, potentially viral videos to share, your account will start to boom with followers over time.

#3: Connect with Accounts That Share Viral Content

On Instagram, there are accounts that only post viral videos. Getting shared by one of them is one of the fastest to get a ton of views. Tag them in your videos, tracks or photos, or better yet, direct message them to get noticed. Keep in mind, many of these accounts post several times a day so they are always looking for fresh content.

In some cases, there may be a cost for a viral video account to post your video. Think of this the same way as you would for promoting your post through Instagram ads. Some accounts charge a nominal $5-15 per video to post, but it might be worth it, depending on the reach and the quality of their followers.

Pro Tip: Search the term “viral” along with some of your keywords and you may quickly find the kinds of accounts that fit what you are looking for. Once you find some viral content accounts, check their comments to make sure they have some legitimate engagement.

#4: Brand Your Videos

Ever seen a viral video and you have no idea who posted it? Even people in the comments start asking “Who is this?” or “What’s their account?”. This is something you want to avoid.

When you have a great video, make sure to insert your name, and better yet, a username with an “@” at the beginning so people know who you are and where to find you. It sounds simple but is super effective. This way, no matter who shares your videos, if it has your branded username on it, everyone will know where to find your original account for more.

Pro Tip: You can do this even with simple live clips recorded on a smartphone. If you have an iPhone, use iMovie which is automatically installed, and if you have an Android device, download an app like “InShot”. Open your video in one of these apps, and use the “Text” function to insert your username.

#5: Get Back to Basics

What’s the best way to record videos of yourself in the first place? Go back to basics. Especially when you start off in music, sometimes spending $400 or more on a camera is just not in the budget.

Use your cell phone to record yourself singing or dropping a beat, or whatever cool new dance move you have. It’s a free way to get your voice out there, without the hassle of specialized camera equipment.

It’s better to put out great content, regularly, with a basic phone camera than to put out mediocre content, irregularly, with a great camera. Countless viral videos are shared, not for the quality of the picture, but the content of the shot.

If you choose to become a professional YouTuber or streamer, and want to make more professional videos, investing in a camera kit can prove wise with time. These kits can be relatively inexpensive and it’s a great way to improve your quality when you decide to take your videos to the next level.

Pro Tip: When filming with a cell phone, it’s OK to film yourself vertically. Filming the way you usually hold your phone is an easy watch for people to watch and repost your videos. If you’re uploading native video to a medium with a lot of mobile users, this can even be the preferred method.

#6: Be Ready

If you have a video that becomes popular overnight and gets picked up from viral accounts, be conscious of the fact that people will be flocking to your account, quickly. You may not have any time to update it in the heat of the moment.

This means your branding has to be on point, you should already have a ton of extra content there, more videos, more pictures, stories, links to your website or store… everything. Having your brand consistently and impressively in place is the best way to turn a watcher into a follower when your post goes viral and avoid letting all that attention become a meaningless flash in the pan.

For more tips on each of these topics and more, check out the complete Artist Plugin Program that covers mindset mastery, branding yourself, networking for success and monetizing your music at artistpluginprogram.com.

This is a guest post by Dani Felt of the Artist Plugin Program. Try a free masterclass on jumpstarting your career as an artist here.

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