Last year, Twitter invested $70 million in SoundCloud, which goes to show that this platform is far from falling off the radar. With over 175 million active and unique users, SoundCloud has a robust pool of potential fans that can help you become a more affluent music creator or podcaster.

Gaining followers on SoundCloud might be challenging if you solely rely on organic growth, but there are a number of things you can do to help expedite the process.

Today, we will be discussing how you can make the most out of SoundCloud to help you boost your credibility and visibility on the platform – in no time.

The road to SoundCloud superstardom begins here!

1. Tag Properly for Maximum Searchability

Whether you’re uploading a podcast episode or a hot new track, you must always, always, tag it properly. This helps SoundCloud’s recommendation system suggest you to the right listeners. You also need to tag your tracks right in order to qualify for charts – which can boost your visibility by a mile.

Choose your first three tags carefully and be as specific to a genre as you can. Right after picking your top three most specific tags, you can proceed to use sub-genres and moods that describe your tracks the best.

Image credit: SoundCheck

Podcasters should use one of the main audio categories in Charts as their first tag. You’d also want to use both specific and general tags that are related to your track.

SoundCloud supports creativity but adding humorous tags won’t get you anywhere – be specific and stick to genre-related tags.

2. Add a Story to your Waveform for Engagement

SoundCloud allows you and your followers to leave comments on a specific timestamp within a track. Use this as a way to nurture engagement with your followers.

Tell a story through the comment section to start a wildfire of conversation. Listeners can ask about the story behind the lyrics or even inquire about the instruments you used. This can help you engage with your listeners a lot easier and more directly.

Image credit: SoundCloud Help Center

Once listeners begin asking questions, take the time out of your day to answer as many as you can. It’s much easier to engage with your followers when you’re just starting out without getting overwhelmed.

3. Buy Plays and Followers to Increase Social Proof

Buying plays and followers can massively strengthen your social proof without overly exhausting your marketing resources.

Not a lot of people talk about purchasing plays because there’s a some number of scammers out there who just want your money. Avoid them at all cost and only purchase from a reputable provider who delivers as promised.

The providers featured on our list deliver high-quality social signals that are as real as real can be. That means you are efficiently boosting social proof without the risk of being found buying engagement!

They also provide value-adding services such as comprehensive guarantees and responsive customer assistance that protect your best interest.

When it comes to buying social signals, never settle for anything less than high-quality. If you’re serious about getting more out of SoundCloud, invest in social signals that can help you achieve your marketing goals without compromise.

4. Get Yourself a Good-Looking Album Cover

An eye-catching album cover is more than just for vanity, it can actually help make you appear more professional – which boosts your social proof.

A great cover image can also help you grab the attention of casual listeners who are just browsing the platform. If you need some inspiration, just take a look at Post Malone’s profile. This independent artist knows how to keep things simple yet eye catching with his professional album artwork.

Image credit: Post Malone

Creating a stunning album cover isn’t all that hard. There are free photo editing apps online like Canva and PicMonkey that make graphic design so much simpler and far less intimidating.

5. Describe Your Tracks Well For Your SEO

SoundCloud allows you to put a description on all of your tracks. Use this space to tell your followers and listeners more about your track.

You can give your listeners the backstory behind your track, credit collaborators, or include a gear list to serve as a resource for other artists.

Image credit: SoundCloud Creator Guide

The description box has a 4,000 character limit, that means you can even include song lyrics and still have enough room to play with.

6. Include Buy Links for Earning Opportunities

The internet has made it possible for passionate artists to make a lucrative career out of what they love doing. Including buy links in your SoundCloud profile can help you make money off your tracks.

Image credit: SoundCloud Help Center

You can direct fans and listeners to sites such as iTunes or Bandcamp where they can purchase your track or album. The buy link can also be used to direct listeners to your sales page for your merchandise if you have any.

The basic SoundCloud account just comes with a standard ‘Buy’ button. Upgrading to a pro account allows you to customize the link. With a pro account, you can customize the Buy button by up to 22 characters – giving you more freedom to personalize your profile.

7. Aggressively Share for Maximum Reach

If you’re an artist on SoundCloud, it’s only natural for you to want to reach more listeners. Aggressively and consistently sharing new tracks to your other social networking sites can help you gain massive reach from your existing connections.

Developing a habit of sharing your SoundCloud tracks can help you spread the word about your latest releases. This will also help you effectively utilize existing friends and family members to build a more credible reputation on SoundCloud.

Image credit: Chance the Rapper on SoundCloud

Chance the Rapper is one of the biggest names in hip-hop today but he knows the importance of sharing his tracks across various social media channels. His SoundCloud profile contains links to his website and YouTube channel, among others.

If you think constantly updating and sharing on social media is a daunting task, consider using a free scheduling app or software. These apps can help you schedule a whole bunch of posts in one go, all in advance, so you don’t have to worry about them.

Some of the most popular scheduling apps out there are Buffer and Hootsuite. Each app offers basic scheduling for free but there are paid and upgraded packages that give you access to in-depth analytics as well as more advanced features.

8. Use the Spotlight Feature to Your Advantage

Using SoundCloud’s Spotlight allows you to put a new track in the, well… spotlight. This means it has the opportunity to gain massive views thanks to its placement.

KYLE is an indie-pop rapper who uses the Spotlight feature to highlight his latest singles, like here with iSpy. The track is placed on top of his profile where his image header would be, making it easily accessible for all his listeners.

Image credit: KYLE on SoundCloud

This is great for tracks that are badly needing a play boost. A spotlighted track becomes one of the first things a listener sees when they visit your profile.

In order to put a track in the Spotlight, all you have to do is go to your Profile Settings. Once there, choose the track you want to highlight and you are all set.

Utilize All Available Resources

In order to make the most out of SoundCloud, you have to learn how to utilize all of the tools and resources at your disposal. Doing so will help you gain an upper hand to stand out from the rest.

Learning more about your SoundCloud profile can help you optimize each part to its fullest potential. All it takes, really, is just some tweaking here and there.

Look for tools that can help you take advantage of SoundCloud to the fullest. Social media scheduling apps can help make sharing tracks a whole lot easier and less tedious.

Remember, buying plays, followers and other social signals from a reputable provider can also help you reach more listeners and gain SoundCloud success without overly exhausting yourself. Sticking to high-quality providers who deliver as promised is the easiest and fastest way to strengthen your social proof.

Make good use of the available tools and resources so you can maximize your presence on SoundCloud, and reach ever more listeners!

Date: April 13, 2017 / Categories: Getting Discovered, Marketing, SoundCloud Plays, / Author: Mariko