Social media seems like the easiest part of getting started as an artist. Create a Facebook page, open an Instagram account, maybe add TikTok and YouTube, upload a photo and start posting. I thought this part would take an afternoon.
What I didn't realize was that I wasn’t just creating social media accounts. I was creating Matt's digital identity, and the decisions I made at the beginning—artist name, email address, usernames, account ownership, passwords and who had access—would follow us everywhere.
First Things First: Get an Email
Before creating anything else, create a dedicated email address for the artist. Not your personal email. Not your spouse's email. Not the email you've been using since 2007.
That email is going to follow you everywhere—social accounts, booking inquiries, distribution, radio submissions, websites, licensing opportunities and dozens of services you haven't even discovered yet. Choose wisely. Your artist email probably shouldn’t be something like Imastar@gmail.com.
Decide on your artist name first. Matt’s social media handle is mattpenrodmusic. Unfortunately, that email was not available so I went with musicbymattpenrod@gmail.com which still clearly identifies him as an artist.
Claim Your Name
Once you've decided on your artist’s name, claim it on the major social platforms. I wanted Matt's accounts to be recognizable as the same artist wherever someone found him. That sounds simple until your preferred username is available on one platform but taken on another.
You don't need absolute perfection, but consistency helps. And write everything down. Username. Email address. Password. Which phone number is attached to it. Who owns the account. Who has administrative access.
Future you will be very grateful.
Personal Matt vs Music Matt
There is a difference between Matt the person and Matt Penrod the artist. The two serve very different purposes. Matt's personal Facebook profile is where he communicates with family and friends, shares things about his life, joins a debate or posts as many memes as his heart desires.
His artist Page has a different job. That's where we're building the artist identity—music, performances, releases, photos and things related to his career. His artist Instagram account serves the same purpose.
There can certainly be some crossover. In fact, sometimes personal content helps people connect with the person behind the music. But I don't want his professional presence to simply be an extension of his personal Facebook feed.
Don’t Just Click “Connect”
This is one of those areas where I wish someone had told me to slow down.
When you start connecting Facebook and Instagram, don't just keep clicking buttons because Meta tells you it found an account. Pay attention to which account you're connecting, who owns it and what permissions you're granting.
I ran into problems because accounts weren't always connected the way I thought they were. Something would appear connected in one place but not another. A feature would work from one account but not the other. Fixing an incorrectly connected account turned out to be considerably more frustrating than setting it up correctly in the first place.
Before connecting anything, make sure you know which Facebook Page belongs to the artist, which Instagram account belongs to the artist, which personal Facebook profile manages the Page, which email is associated with each account and who needs access.
That last part becomes especially important when someone else is helping manage the artist.
Yours, Mine and Ours
I manage much of Matt's business and promotion. That doesn't mean his accounts should become my accounts.
The artist should retain ownership of the artist's digital presence. A manager, spouse, band member or social-media person should have the appropriate access to do their job without taking ownership of the account.
This is where Meta Business Suite became useful for us. It gives me a central place to help manage Matt's Facebook and Instagram presence, schedule content and review performance without constantly logging in and out of his accounts or sharing credentials.
When the artist's Facebook and Instagram accounts are properly connected, it can also make publishing across both much easier.
Matt owns his digital identity. I have the access I need to help manage it.
You Don't Have to Be Everywhere
Facebook. Instagram. TikTok. YouTube. Threads. X. LinkedIn. And whatever platform somebody invents next Tuesday.
This is another rabbit hole I discovered pretty quickly.
You can create an account without committing to actively feeding it. There is a difference between claiming your presence and building a presence.
I think it's smart to secure your artist name where it makes sense. I don't think it's smart to spend every waking hour creating different content for six platforms because someone on the internet told you that's what independent artists are supposed to do.
The goal is still to make music.
Make Yourself Easy to Find
Once your accounts are established, use the same artist name, similar profile photos and consistent information whenever possible.
Someone who discovers you on TikTok should be able to search for you on Instagram or YouTube and immediately recognize that they've found the same artist.
It sounds like a tiny thing. It isn't.
You're slowly creating a digital trail that all leads back to the same person. But eventually, all of those trails need somewhere permanent to go.
Facebook isn't ours. Instagram isn't ours. TikTok isn't ours. YouTube isn't ours.
Which brings me to the next thing I decided Matt needed:
A website.