5:10 pm - Thu, Jun 24, 2010

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DJs Understand Social Media

While many businesses and industries fail to get social media, I’ve come to find one sector of individuals who mainly understand it.  Many of them never graduated with marketing degrees or anything social media related.  They may even be inclined to tell you they graduated with a degree from Street Smart or Common Sense University.  I’m talking about DJs and their tendencies to share their work, but more importantly, the work of others.

There is a certain type of camaraderie among DJs - a mutual respect, you can say.  I think the camaraderie is what many brands and businesses fail to have with other brands and businesses in their industry.  While every DJ has his or her competition, it is often forgotten about in a way when it comes time to share each others’ work.  When you follow a DJ on Twitter, you’re likely to see the mention of many other DJs in their tweets.  Whether it be about somebody else’s set at a club that night (“oh my god, he is killin’ it right now!!), or a new mix put out, they are constantly as a group featuring what other businesses deem as competition.

DJs are far from corporate and rather than learn the old rules of marketing (focus on self), they just do what makes sense, which is what the new rules of marketing happens to be.  Do you ever see McDonald’s and Burger King talking in a positive light about In ‘N Out Burger?  Probably not.  But if you’re a burger joint owner and truly love a great hamburger, well you need to start talking about what others are doing.  You want to show your love through educating your audience whether it be about a new DJ or a new hamburger condiment.  When you do this, you seem more qualified to serve that burger you claim to be “excellent” or “the best in NY.”

The more you share of others’ work (especially within the same industry), the more likely your work is to be shared.  The more your work gets spread, the more of a presence and influence you have.  It is no wonder why many DJs have followings in the thousands, while accountants and corporate types fail to reach their 100th follower.  There has to be something interesting you read today or saw sometime this week - it’s time to start sharing it.  Keeping that one thing you learned to yourself isn’t going to give you an edge anymore.  If you are not the person sharing that tidbit of knowledge, somebody else will, and get what?  He or she is going to look like the person who knows what’s up…not you.