How to promote a concert on Instagram and TikTok and fill the room
People buy a ticket when they can picture the night. The poster tells them when and where; clips from your past shows tell them why. This plan covers the four weeks before a gig, for a small or medium venue.
Before you post anything
Have three things ready before the announcement:
- One ticket link that works on a phone, in the bio and in every post. If tickets are sold at the door, say so clearly.
- The poster: date, city, venue, time and who else plays. In 4:5 for the feed and 9:16 for stories. If it carries text, you can make it with Ideogram in TONTRIA Motion Studio and check every date before posting.
- Material from past shows: a full recording, a livestream or even phone videos from the crowd. If you don't have any, a rehearsal in the room or a studio session works too.
Week 4: the announcement
Announce with the poster and, in the same post or the next one, a clip of your strongest live moment. The poster answers when and where; the clip answers why go. Pin the announcement to your profile until the show.
Tag the venue and the other artists on the bill: their followers are the people most likely to buy a ticket.
Weeks 3 and 2: show what the night feels like
This is where the clips do the work. Two or three a week, each one different:
- The crowd singing the chorus: the clearest proof that the night is worth it.
- The song you will close with, or the one people ask for.
- A moment between songs: a story, a joke, the band laughing. It makes the night feel personal.
- A rehearsal for this show: a new song, a new arrangement, something people can only hear live.
Put the date and city in the first seconds of the video or in the caption, and the ticket link in the bio. If you've played the same city before, a clip from that night (“last time in Austin”) works better than any poster. More ways to open a clip so people don't scroll past: hooks for music videos.
Week 1: the countdown
- Stories every day: “7 days”, “3 days”, “tomorrow”, with the ticket link sticker.
- One last clip two or three days before, with the strongest moment you have.
- Practical information: doors time, set time, how to get there, whether there are tickets left. People decide late, and the ones who already bought share these posts.
The night and the day after
Ask a friend to film from the crowd with a phone and, if you can, record the audio from the desk (how to film a live show for clips). That recording is the promotion for your next show.
The day after, post a thank-you with a clip from the night and tag the people who came. Keep posting clips from that show during the following weeks: they keep the profile active until the next date.
Instagram or TikTok?
Both, with the same clips. On Instagram your followers and the people near the venue are the ones who buy: the poster, stories with the link and Reels. On TikTok the clips reach people who don't know you yet; it works best for the crowd moments and the songs people already know. Sizes and lengths for each platform: video sizes for Reels, TikTok and Shorts.
To turn a full show into clips without editing each one by hand, upload it to TONTRIA Clips and ask for the moments you want: it proposes vertical clips with the singer in frame and karaoke captions, and you choose which ones to post each week.