Influencer Sessions: Get To Know @jace_heyman

We caught up with singer, songwriter and social media extraordinaire, @jace_heyman, to talk about maximising your reach on socials and making it in the music industry. If you want to discover more about Jace’s journey towards personal branding and advocating for up-and-coming artists in the UK, then keep reading!

When did your love for dancing and making music start?

My love for dance and music started very young. I remember being around 10 years old and watching Michael Jackson, Usher, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake and just being in awe. I didn’t realise that even imitating and singing along at that age was me doing research and learning how to be an artist and entertainer. I used to sing along to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin at family occasions and I even used to record myself on my flip phone singing 808’s & Heartbreak.

@jace_heyman

♬ Talibans – Byron Messia

I went on to study performing arts at school, and the singing teacher recognised my talents for singing. I had always wanted to perform but vocal training made me realise I had some more talents than I thought. In 2019, I met a producer called Devin Greenwood at a singing competition. He liked my vibe and wanted to record a track that he and a songwriter had worked on called Drunk Text and the rest is history. Looking back, my young inspirations have moulded my creativity, and is something to go back to if I need something to help a block. The variety of inspirations I’ve had as an artist are what keep me creative and pushing boundaries with my music creation and also dance.

How has the rise in artists on social media impacted your content?

It has definitely made the artist space more competitive than ever. You have to be even more impactful with your posts and creativity, your content has to be memorable and you also have to be very authentic (the fans can see through everything). This is something I had learned even before starting TikTok. The team behind me pushed me to put out my own content on Instagram and YouTube and just to try everything and see what works. At first my content was created and edited to perfection, now it’s the complete opposite, people like to just see me dancing in my bathroom, singing in my cabin or just talking to the camera. Doing this has helped me gain a big fanbase and everyone feels close to me as an artist when I post. I love to respond to comments and DM’s. I think it’s great!

What is your main goal for creating content?

I don’t always go in with a certain goal as we live in a content-rich society, so anything helps. But the main goal I go into content creation with is to either entertain, educate or create emotion. If I’m dancing it needs to be really good or make the audience laugh, if I’m talking about the music industry what do people learn, and if I’m singing the viewer needs to get goosebumps. Creating content for a single or album is different. There’s a lot more work that goes into it, hours of planning and executing to a higher level.

Which platforms do you predominantly use? Which do you prefer for posting, and for community building? 

I much prefer TikTok as it has a better algorithm and the platform pushes everyone, but I personally prefer the engagement on Instagram. I post similar content on all platforms but Instagram allows me to post a mixture of photos, music, stories and it helps keep fans more engaged. I can keep fans engaged with Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal e.c.t by posting links to different platforms. Instagram has more flexibility behind it to show your artistry.

How does community engagement vary on your chosen platforms?

It’s different on all platforms. On TikTok the fanbase love my dancing, and end up streaming my music if a post goes viral. On Instagram, people gravitate towards my music, share it and stream it. I am building my YouTube currently, but if a Short goes viral, that leads to music video views and that reverts to some streams. Each platform is quite unique in the way it engages my fanbase but that is the beauty of it. It’s about understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and working with that. As I mentioned, I put more of a focus on Instagram as that is a more popular platform but I will still utilise the other platforms to continue to entertain different audiences.

@jace_heyman

Vibe Check Out Now

♬ Vibe Check – Jace Heyman

What is your favourite type of content to create, and which works best for your audience? Is there a juxtaposition? 

I personally enjoy putting in effort on a post, especially singing, where I can do a live version of a cover or my own verse on a song. I can video myself in my home studio and add some lighting and the feeling from it is stronger. But my audience love the quick, funny, dancing videos that take 7 seconds to do. You could say there’s a juxtaposition there but I have had to find consistency and discipline in both. I may even get fans saying they want to see more of one or the other, but I have to keep the strategy and plan in place and keep moving from there.

In your own words and experience, how would you define “influencer marketing”?

Influencer marketing is a form of marketing and advertising for a brand, company or person to reach a wider audience through another influencer or influential person on social media. It has definitely changed in the last few years and everything has become more commercialised. I have seen some influencers go off-brand for a pitch but sometimes it can work hand in hand. Either way, a brand is able to gain some more eyes and the influencer is being put on a bigger platform.

Why do you think influencer marketing is so powerful in today’s society?

We are a content rich society. This means EVERYTHING is content. In the UK we saw how social media could change lives with people like Yung Filly and Chunkz, and for me it shows how someone’s face and personality can propel them to work with bigger establishments and become a brand themselves. In the next few years we will watch standard marketing strategies be dropped and influencer marketing will become the standard. I think it has already happened realistically.

Do you have experience working with brands? How do you decide which brands you would like to work with?

In the start, I only wanted to work with brands I knew well and could relate to and, luckily, someone who I went to university with invited me to collaborate with her clothing brand Montrai Clothing. This was perfect for us because we were fond of each other and we knew the vision, so content creation was easy to do and it went really smoothly. Similarly, an old colleague of mine liked my TikToks and wanted to collaborate with her brand Blu Rum. I was sent a lot of drinks and I was able to make some viral TikToks, take them to house parties and share the brand with friends. It’s a great collaboration and I hope to continue working with them.

A favourite of mine so far is with the restaurant Trap Kitchen, who let me film some content in their restaurant and use it for my birthday event along with their Trap Late night. I became good friends with one of the managers so sorting was nice and smooth, the event went great and I still go back for some food and to see the guys. You can probably see a trend that I like working with people I know are working hard on their brand, understand their and my vision. It is very important to stay on-brand and not compromise too much and I think we’re setting up a good pathway.

How do you foresee the influencer marketing space changing within your niche in the next 12 months?

I mentioned it briefly, but I do think influencer marketing is going to become the marketing standard for all growing companies. TV, radio and billboards will always be a thing, but the new generation are locked in with their phones so this will become the go-to for growing a brand and company. I think we may see a slight dip in TikTok due to the agreement with UMG, and less use of music marketing with signed artists possibly, but for companies it’s perfect to work with independent artists and micro-influencer marketing.

Based on your experience, what is one thing you would advocate to change about the music industry?

One thing I would change from my point of view is to channel the saturation of the market. We all know that anyone can upload a song to all platforms, but maybe the platforms can use their data to help push artists that are marketing their music and becoming a brand. Maybe they can use a timescale for streams, if they don’t market their music within 6 months, for example. Maybe they can take down songs that are using bots a lot quicker. These songs are taking up data and it helps bring audiences to the right artists and helps the artist in return. I have seen that the platforms are helping a lot more independent artists which is great, it gives us a platform to grow on and find a fanbase.

@jace_heyman

Plenty of new music to come! #fyp #newmusic #newartist #jaceheyman

♬ Hello – Jace Heyman

How do you balance your online and offline lives?

HAHA – I wish I knew! Only kidding. It is a big struggle and I can say I struggled more in the beginning. Missing birthdays, turning up with friends, me time, I miss out on all of these but it is for a bigger purpose. I like to make time twice a month for family and friends. They are the main reason I work so hard and I want to make them proud. The rest of the time I am either writing, recording, in a music video, working to make some marketing money, making TikToks or planning for a music project. I’m currently working on more ‘me time’, sometimes that’s a lay in watching a series, sometimes that’s reading, sometimes it’s laying and staring at the ceiling. Either way, I can say this journey has been fun so far, regardless of the difficulties.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

I’m working to be one of the biggest artists in the UK, if not the world. I would love to be travelling, performing my music, working on projects for myself as well as writing for other artists. I hope to be a big name in the music and entertainment world. Sometimes I’m unsure what else I’ll dive into, but I guess I can figure that out on the way.

What is a piece of advice you would give to your younger self when first starting out in the music industry?

Jace, relax man. I would tell younger Jace to enjoy the ride, keep working hard and accept everything that happens. To know that everything happens for a reason and the L’s are not losses, they are lessons towards the bigger W’s that follow from it. There’s not just one goal you’re working towards, there’s no peak to the mountain. Everyday is a blessing if you are alive, have food in your belly and have a roof over your head.

@jace_heyman

Vine Check Out Now😈 #fyp

♬ original sound – Jace Heyman

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