Group 7: an independent artist's social media experiment

Source: Teaching Social Media

Virtually everyone on social media is flaunting the fact that they belong to group 7, but what is so special about it?

Nothing really.

It started as an experiment for singer Sophia James to promote her new music on social media. James posted different TikTok videos on the same night numbering them one through seven and using her new song “So Unfair” as the audio. Her last video where she speaks directly to the viewer saying, “If you are watching this video, you are in group 7,” gained the most views and engagement among the seven TikTok’s.

The video captioned “group 7” landed on many users’ For You page which they received with gratification. “I have seen my own For You page kind of become flooded with all of you talking about this and putting your own spins on it,” James said in another TikTok video while giving more context to the origin of the trend. Many creators have made their own TikTok’s leaning into the self-proclaimed cool club. Some major brands have claimed group 7 status too including Netflix, Fenty Beauty, Porsche, and PBS.

Source: Netflix

It is especially difficult for independent artists like James to publicize their music when their marketing budgets might be limited. Their team or sometimes the artist themself must get creative with ways to get exposure and engagement.

TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform which has an algorithm—a ranking and categorization system for posts—that is unmatched when it comes to getting visibility for your content. TikTok’s algorithm doesn’t take follower count or past viral content into account for putting videos on the For You page of other users. This makes it easier for users with smaller followings to be noticed.

TikTok has the highest engagement rate (4.07 percent) when compared to other social media platforms like Instagram (0.07 percent) or Facebook (1.3 percent). Users are more likely to like, comment, and share your content on TikTok because the algorithm prioritizes short form and authentic content that resonates with users by measuring watch time and rewatches. TikTok’s algorithm places content on the user’s feed based on their recent activity and engagement from within the app also from outside the app. So, if you like to listen to and search for new music, you might get a lot of TikTok videos about music on your For You page.

While James posted 7 videos that were very similar featuring the same audio and some sort of explanation of her experiment, the seventh video was the only TikTok where James recorded herself speaking directly to viewers. This experiment turned out to be a very successful version of A/B testing, also known as split or bucket testing.

Source: Adjust

A/B testing is an experiment where you see how different changes to the same message can affect the reception by the audience. In traditional a/b testing, the audience is typically split, and each audience is presented different versions of the same message or medium. Many times, it is done via a web page, email, or newsletter with differences in elements like a typeface, layout, headline, or image. In this experiment with the seven TikTok videos, James did not split her audience, instead the algorithm let the videos reach new audiences. James was able to measure the effectiveness of the variables in her message through engagement like the number of views, comments, and shares instead of the typical ways of measurement like click through rates or revenue per visitor.

The variable in this case that seems to produce the best results is effective visual and auditory media. Viewers respond best to visual media compared to captions or text overlay; human brains process visuals a whopping 60,000 times faster than text. Videos that use visual, textual, and auditory senses leave a lasting impression on viewers.

Since A/B testing can be expensive, independent artists can benefit from an experiment like Jame’s since it is so cost effective. Another benefit is that allowing social media to choose the audience can bring new viewers that you might not have expected.

When people resonate with your content, the biggest compliment a content creator can receive is users making their own videos based on your original post. Trends like group 7 don’t just appear out of nowhere, it stems from user generated content that reflects an idea or element of the initial trendsetter’s content. Here the trendsetter is James and the TikTok videos celebrating being a part of group 7 are the user generated content that further publicizes her original message.

Once your content has gained some traction and a positive response, it is important to follow up with additional content that establishes your brand and newfound influence. James has done exactly that by posting a “Step 2 of the experiment,” using another song of hers as the audio to further promote her music. She also hosted a meet up event for group 7 in Los Angeles where she gave a small pop-up performance to build rapport with her fandom and sell merchandise.

Source: sophiajamesmusic

There are a few things independent artists can learn from James to promote their music instead of relying on expensive marketers when a budget can run out at any moment.