Are you a newbie Dj who’s having a hard time to lock some shows? Or a veteran Dj who’s struggling to compete with uprising talents? If you are any of the above, I feel you. I’ve been there myself and found a solution that helped me boosted my career.
We are now living in the age of digital world. As you may know, social media is playing a big part of our lives. We spend more time on our mobile phones checking news, trends, friends and even our loved ones. My question is, do you use social media on its full potential? We often overlooked what’s in front of us. And the truth is, you can use social media to boost your entire career just like the famous Djs do.
I’ve used it myself and it gave me the best results. In just 7 years, as an ordinary Asian Dj, I’ve played in big events like Amsterdam Dance Event in the Netherlands, Thingyan Festival in Myanmar with Laidback Luke & Don Diablo, having an International Dj Residency in Illuzion, Thailand (#81 Top 100 Club in the World) and signed in Deorro’s Imprint, Panda Funk.
So, what are the things you need to do in order to achieve improvement in your career?
I’ve listed these 5 important things that you need, to be successful in 2018.
1. Branding
2. Skills
3. Marketing
4. Attitude
5. Consistency
1. Branding
Branding is a marketing strategy that involves creating a unique name and image — often using a logo and/or tag line — in order to establish a presence in the consumer’s mind to attract and keep customers.
Why should you care about branding? Because these days, everyone will Google you or look at your Facebook Page before they hire you to perform a show or invest in your new or existing venture. Any time you interact with people — online or off — your brand will matter.
Famous Dj brands who uses head gears like Marshmello & DeadMau5, cake-throwing Dj Steve Aoki or sexy female djs like Dj Soda are the best examples of a good branding which paid off really well. Know what your brand would look like, your fashion, that is relevant to your music style.
A successful brand plan must identify consumer targets, the demographic a business needs to support its brand. To entice these people to support you, a brand must have a main message, which explains why you can do things that others cannot. Lastly, a brand plan should include strategies for promotion that gets its targeted consumers to take action.
Most importantly, branding is about emotions and how your customers and clients feel about you. Marketing is about numbers. Both are important, but in today’s climate, how you make people feel can make or break your business.
The more time, effort and resources you spend on your brand plan, the more likely you are to create a sustainable positive brand that resonates with your customer base, grows your influence and impacts your bottom line.
2. Skills
Are you a scratch DJ? Do you produce music? They say, everyone can be a DJ. Yes, that’s why you have to have a different set of skills in order to stand out from a saturated industry. This is the main message that you will have to show people in order for them to support you. It makes you stand out from other Djs because you can do things that others cannot.
3. Marketing
So you can play music and can produce tracks, question is, do you have a gig? I see a lot of underrated Djs who are really good in their field but lacks exposure. They focused too much on enhancing their skills they forgot what is needed for a professional Dj career. You see, you have to treat a professional Dj career like a business. And any business would require a good marketing plan. A good marketing plan for a brand is the best method to a successful Dj career. You have to market yourself like a pro so clients will treat you like a pro and book you as a pro.
Running a professional DJ service takes more than simply buying your equipment, building a website, and opening for business. To be successful you need to put together a strategic marketing plan that will help you to effectively market your business to potential clients.
A marketing plan usually runs between a year and five years and developing one takes time, preparation and money. However, if your marketing plan is sound and effective it will be well worth the time and money you invest in it.
Get an agent or manager to handle you, but most of them will only manage you if you’re profitable. If you can’t find someone to handle you, its better to do it yourself. The cheapest way to market yourself is to do it online, build a website, send out emails and create profiles in social media platforms for social proof.
4. Attitude
Most of you focus on the first 3 things I’ve mentioned above. But you shouldn’t forget that having a good attitude and work ethic is important too. As an entertainer, people will always talk about you, the good and the bad. Its best to always keep your cool and be mindful of things that will burn down your career. Take good care of your reputation and practice good work ethics. Be on time, be nice to other Djs, don’t bash, don’t hate, etc.
5. Consistency
As most successful people say, consistency is key. This is true. People could easily forget you and your achievements as new-comers can have their attention. You want to be relevant on today’s latest music, trends, etc. It is important to be consistent on what you do.
Release produced tracks, film a scratch routine, post funny Instagram stories, etc. You need to post consistently to be visible to your fans and potential clients, new or old. This will remind them about you whenever they need a Dj on their upcoming events. You have to keep your online presence active at all times.
There you have it. I hope this article helped you in any way. Let me know down below the comments if you want to add something or discuss more things related to this topic. I will post more informative articles and tutorial videos in the near future on how to improve your Dj career. Thank you for time reading my first blog. Peace!
P.S. If you need help on social media marketing, I’ve created a business plan designed for Djs only. Please email us at sorastatus@gmail.com and we will give you a free evaluation and provide you the best solution.