How to Use Highlights to Sell One Song
Published · updated · by Loopin
Highlights are the only permanent thing on a profile otherwise made of posts that vanish. Four of them, doing four jobs, and one of them does most of the work.
The four to keep
Listen — the current single, three or four frames, ending on a link sticker. Live — clips of you playing, so a promoter or a listener can see it is real. Making it — process, voice memos, sessions. Words — reactions, messages, anything somebody else said about the music.
Four is the number that fits on one row on most phones without scrolling. A fifth means the last two are effectively invisible, which is worse than not having them.
Listen is the one that converts
It should be short — three or four frames, under fifteen seconds total — and it should end on a tappable link. Anything longer and people leave before the link, which is the entire purpose of the highlight.
Frame one, the hook with text saying what it is. Frame two, a different section. Frame three, the artwork and the link. That is the whole thing, and it should be rebuilt on every release day.
Give them covers that read at thumbnail size
Highlight covers render tiny. A photo becomes a smudge. Use a solid colour with a single word, or one bold symbol, and keep all four in the same style so the row reads as one designed thing rather than four leftovers.
This takes ten minutes once. It is the highest-visibility ten minutes of design on the whole profile because the row sits directly under your bio.
Rebuild Listen every release, archive the rest
The Listen highlight has a shelf life of exactly one release cycle. Leaving last year's single there means every new visitor is directed at your least current work by the most prominent thing on your profile.
The other three age fine and should just be topped up. Add to Making it whenever you have something, and add to Words whenever somebody says something worth keeping.
Put the highlight in your own posts
People do not explore profiles; they need pointing. A story that says "everything about the new one is in the Listen highlight" converts far better than assuming discovery, and it costs one frame.
Do it once a week during a release cycle, not once at launch. Almost nobody saw the launch, which is the assumption behind most wasted promotion.
Frequently asked questions
What highlights should a musician have?
Four: Listen for the current single, Live for playing clips, Making it for process, and Words for what other people said. Four fits one phone row; a fifth is effectively invisible.
How long should a music highlight be?
The Listen one, three or four frames and under fifteen seconds, ending on a link sticker. Longer and people leave before reaching the link, which is the whole purpose.
How often should I update highlights?
Rebuild Listen every release day — leaving last year's single there points every visitor at your least current work. Top the other three up whenever there is something to add.