How to Promote a Concert on Social Media

Getting people to show up for your concert starts long before the doors open, and it ends well after the last note has been played. Social media is your direct line to building buzz, selling tickets, and turning a one-night event into a long-lasting memory for your fans. This guide gives you a clear, step-by-step plan for promoting your concert across social media, from the initial announcement to the post-show thank you.

Laying the Groundwork: The Pre-Concert Campaign

The pre-show phase is all about building awareness and creating infectious excitement. Your goal here is to make people feel like they need to be there. This is where most of the heavy lifting happens, but if you do it right, ticket sales will follow.

1. Create a "North Star" Event Page

Before you post anything, create a single, centralized hub for all event information. This is typically a Facebook Event page or a ticketing page on a platform like Eventbrite or Resident Advisor. This page is your official source of truth. Make sure it contains:

• The Essentials: Date, time, venue name, and address.
• The Lineup: Tag all artists/DJs and link to their social or music profiles.
• The Vibe: A short, compelling description of the event. What kind of music is it? What is the atmosphere like? Sell the experience, not just the names on the bill.
• The Ticket Link: This should be front and center and impossible to miss.

Every single social media post you make from now on should point back to this link. It eliminates confusion and funnels all interested people to one place where they can buy a ticket.

2. Design a Cohesive Visual Identity

In a fast-scrolling world, your event needs to be instantly recognizable. Work with a designer (or use a tool like Canva) to create a simple yet striking visual theme. This includes:

• A main concert poster (for the grid).
• A resized version for Stories (vertical 9:16).
• A simple banner for Facebook and Twitter.

Use the same fonts, colors, and logos across all graphics. When someone sees your event's colors, they should immediately associate it with the show. Consistency builds brand recognition and makes your promotion look professional.

3. The Big Announcement: Make It an Event

Don't just casually drop a poster into your feed. Treat the announcement itself as a mini-event. Use the "Countdown" sticker on Instagram Stories a day or two before to build anticipation. When it's time to announce, go big:

• Coordinate with everyone: Make sure the venue, all artists, and any partners all post at the same time to create maximum impact.
• Use a mix of formats: Post the official flyer to your grid, but also do a more personal announcement on your Story using a short video. Talking directly to your audience about why you're excited for the show feels far more authentic than just a graphic.
• Pin the post: Pin the announcement post to the top of your Instagram and Facebook profiles so it's the first thing new visitors see.

4. Harness the Power of Short-Form Video

Static flyers are good, but video is what stops the scroll. Short-form video on Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts is your most powerful tool for conveying the energy of the event. Here are some ideas that work:

• Let the Artists Shine: Ask each artist on the bill to record a short self-shot video saying they're excited for the show. Edit them together into a single "meet the lineup" Reel.
• Show, Don't Tell: Post clips from previous successful shows. Footage of a packed dance floor or an energetic performance communicates the vibe better than words ever could.
• Venue Walkthrough: Record a quick video showing off the venue. Highlight cool spots, where the bar is, or the view from the stage. It makes the event feel more tangible.
• Rehearsal Sneak Peeks: Share a 15-second clip from a rehearsal or soundcheck. It’s a low-effort way to create exclusive content and give followers a taste of the music to come.

5. Run a Ticket Giveaway Contest

A simple "tag a friend to win" contest is one of the easiest ways to expand your organic reach. Here’s a tried-and-true formula for an Instagram giveaway post:

• Rule 1: Follow our account &, the venue's account.
• Rule 2: Like this post.
• Rule 3: Tag a friend you'd bring to the show (1 tag = 1 entry).
• Bonus Entry: Share this post to your Story and tag us!

This incentivizes your followers to become brand ambassadors, loops in new people, and dramatically increases the number of eyeballs on your event.

6. Partner with Everyone Involved

Your concert's promotion shouldn't rest solely on your shoulders. The artists, venue, sponsors, photographers, and even local media are all invested in its success. Make it incredibly easy for them to help out.

Create a shared Google Drive folder with all the promotional assets: the flyer in every size, pre-written captions they can copy and paste, and any video clips. Send a friendly email with the link and suggest a few dates for coordinated promotional pushes. When you reduce the friction, you increase the participation.

Keeping the Momentum Going: Content During the Show

Your job isn't over when the doors open. The content you capture and share during the concert serves two purposes: it creates a feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) for those who didn't come, and it makes the attendees who are there feel like part of something special.

1. Go Live from Backstage

Spontaneity feels authentic. A few minutes before the headliner goes on, start a short Instagram or TikTok Live stream. Capture the nervous energy, the pre-show rituals, or just a quick hello from the artist. These unpolished moments connect with audiences on a personal level and build excitement for the main event.

2. Curate User-Generated Content (UGC)

Your attendees are your best content creators. Before the event, create and promote a unique hashtag (e.g., #YourBandBigCity24). Ask people to use it when they post photos and videos.

During the show, have someone on your team monitor this hashtag and your location tag. When you see a great Story video clip from an attendee, share it directly to your own Story. This does three things:

• It provides a constant stream of authentic content without you having to record everything.
• It makes the person who posted it feel recognized and appreciated.
• It shows potential future attendees that people are having an amazing time.

3. Stories, Stories, Stories

The Instagram Story is your real-time broadcast channel during the show. Keep a steady flow of content coming, but don't overdo it. A few well-placed clips are better than a hundred tiny unwatchable snippets.

Post short videos of a great performance moment, a shot of the crowd having fun, or a look at the busy merch table. Use interactive stickers like polls ("What song do you want to hear in the encore?") to keep engagement high even with those watching from home.

The Show's Over, but the Marketing Isn't: Post-Concert Strategy

The post-show buzz is a valuable asset. Your audience is highly engaged, and it's the perfect time to build on that momentum to promote your brand and your next event.

1. The "Thank You" Post (Do It Right)

Within 24 hours of the show's end, get a recap post up. Don't post a generic "Thanks for a great night" message. Make it a celebration with a carousel post that includes:

• Your best photos: Highlight high-energy shots from the photographer.
• A short video clip: A 10-second clip of the night's biggest moment can capture the experience.
• Tag everyone: Tag the other artists, the venue, the photographer, sound engineer, and everyone else who helped make it happen. Gratitude goes a long way.
• Engage in the comments: Ask your followers to 'share their favorite moment from the show' to spark conversation.

2. Repurpose Fan Content into a Recap Reel

Go back through your event hashtag and location tags. Download some of the best video clips and photos that fans posted. Use a tool like CapCut or Instagram's Reels editor itself, stitch them into a high-energy recap Reel set to a trending audio track. This is often more powerful than 'official' footage because it shows the concert through the eyes of the audience. Always remember to credit each creator in your caption or on-screen overlay.

3. Announce the Next Thing

Don't let the hype die down without giving your audience something new to look forward to. Are tickets for your next show date already available? Is a new single dropping next week? Is there a fresh batch of merch online? Use a Call-to-Action in your recap captions to direct all that post-concert goodwill toward a next step. A link in your bio is your friend here!

Final Thoughts

Promoting a concert on social media is a marathon, not a sprint. By building a thoughtful campaign that creates hype beforehand, engages attendees during the show, and continues the conversation after, you create an experience that resonates with fans and sells more tickets next time around.

Putting all these pieces together - planning a visual calendar, scheduling content across various platform formats like Reels and TikTok, and responding to all the comments from your growing fanbase - can quickly get complex. We built Postbase to handle exactly this. It lets you map out your concert promotion plan on a clean, visual calendar, schedule posts across all your accounts, and manage all DMs and comments from a single unified inbox so you spend less time juggling tabs and more time focusing on what matters most: the music.