The popularity and growth of Instagram as a go-to social network is undeniable. I’ll admit, it’s currently my favorite platform.
I’ve been spending a lot of focused time on marketing my upcoming releases but nothing has shown me results like the free, common sense strategy I am about to share with you.
It’s only free in the sense you are not paying for advertising or promoted posts. And, in my opinion, this method is waaaaay more efficient in getting the job done.
Like all great ideas, this is not mine. This information should be common sense, but if you are even the slightest bit active on IG, as a creative talent, you will quickly realize no one is doing this.
The best part is you can apply this to other networks. But be aware that the algorithms of the various networks have their own nuances.
The secret? Leave genuine comments on other people’s posts.
Yes, you read that right. Leave. Comments. On. Other. People’s. Posts.
It’s so simple. It’s so humane. Yet NOBODY is really doing this!
If you are reading this, you are a creative. Think about how much you long for recognition, for someone to listen to your song and, going further, telling you what they think about your song. We, as creatives, all want and desire this yet we are HORRIBLE at doing it for others.
When you start receiving DM’s with passionate thank yous for leaving a genuine, non-bot comment….you know you’ve found a niche. Believe me, I’ve been working this and it’s gold
More details? Let’s jump into it.
How To Increase Engagement, Be a Human…
There are multiple benefits that come from the following “commenting strategy”:
- It feeds the algorithms which results in those algorithms liking you more. That never hurts, right?
- In the case of IG, you stand out because you are a human interacting on a network that is currently plagued with bots; that leave ridiculous and obnoxious comments (that can leave one feeling frustrated and depressed), and
- You, your persona, your brand will have a more potent impact on other users which results in more engagement, you sticking out in their mind longer, and potentially developing working relationships with like-minded creatives.
To make things even better, this strategy is really simple.
Go to the Search/Discover tab on the Instagram app.
Depending on your target audience, the hashtags you use will vary. For my music, I am targeting the following hashtags:
- #indiehiphop
- #undergroundhiphop
- #indierapper
- #hiphopmusic
- #makingbeats
- #beatmakers
- #indieartist
- #unsignedartist
I am aiming for hashtags with 5K-100K posts but will also scroll through more popular ones with millions of posts if I am not finding enough content to comment on.
Once I choose a hashtag, I tap on “Recent” feed and start scrolling. I listen to audio clips and then simply leave genuine comments; even if it’s something like “this goes hard 
” or “really sick flow, this beat goes hard” or “that piano sounds fresh”.
I keep scrolling and commenting until I either 1) run out of time or 2) run out of worthwhile content. When I run out of content, I go back and choose another hashtag then repeat the process.
Sometimes I will leave comments on photos if they grab me and make me think something. Majority of the time, I am looking for unknown, DIY, indies sharing audio clips who have 0-10 comments on their posts. Being one of the first to drop a comment makes you stand out even more.
Most of the time, even if there is 10 comments on the post already, I will be the first human to leave a response.
You can execute this strategy anytime you have a free moment: waiting rooms, passenger in a car, taking a dump, etc, etc.
Being humane and treating others like humans should be common sense but no one is really doing this, at least in the indie music world.
I started experimenting with this after hearing about Gary Vee’s $1.80 strategy.
Watch me execute this strategy in the short video below. I will also include the steps to this strategy one more time.
- Open Instagram
- Tap Discover/Search
- Tap Tags
- Search for hashtag related to your target audience
- Choose a hashtag, Tap on Recent to pull up mostrecent posts feed
- Scroll through the feed, listen to audio clips, leave genuine comments.
- Rinse and repeat