As a former wedding professional I have been to A LOT of weddings! I have seen a ton of DJ's perform, interact and engage with guests. My brother-in-law, Taylor, is a very talented DJ. Actually, he is one of the best DJs around. You can hire him for your next event here - Bring on the Bash! Seriously, he is so talented and I would be saying this even if he wasn't my brother-in-law.
When I know someone who is self-employed, I often think about what I would do in that industry. I am not a DJ, and have no plans to ever walk down that road, but if I were, here are three things I would do right now to help grow my DJ business from a marketing standpoint.
1. I'd lose the stack of business cards on my table!🚫
Every DJ has a stack of business cards on their table and in all my years of being at weddings, I don't know if I ever saw anyone take one. Maybe a few, but not many. My guess is that if someone actually does take a card, they most likely put it in their suit pants and don't see it again until the next wedding they attend, when they reach their hands into their pocket and said, "What is this?" Instead of standard business cards, I would get buttons printed with phrases like, "The bride is hot!", "I Love the Groom" or "Best Wedding Ever.", and put a small bowl of those on my table (as long as the bride said it was okay). I'd have my website on the rim of the button for promo. Guarantee by the end of the night, loads of guests are on the dance floor wearing a "business card button" as they dance, scream and have a blast! I like the chances of them remembering the awesome and funny button over the 9,000 business card they've been given in their life. Personally, I order all my buttons from PureButtons if you really want to run with this advice!
2. I'd Provide A CUSTOM Snapchat Geo Filter 👻
Snapchat now allows you to create custom geo filters for your event! My guess is that they will be at almost every wedding this summer. It's like the "new hashtag" for weddings. If I were a DJ, I would create my own! The general idea of the filter would be something about dancing like crazy, or having a great time (see below for an example). Most likely a few people will swipe and use them and then you have them telling people about your performance while it is happening. Snapchat is the number one app in the App Store right now and isn't going anywhere! It is also more video friendly which is far more likely to be used during dancing at a wedding, than say, pictures for Instagram. By creating a custom geo tag for your clients, you are adding value to their day that will blow them away. You might have to figure out a few details like their hashtags, colors, etc., but a bride and groom will be so pumped you went the extra mile that they will tell all their friends about it. They aren't very expensive and the value they add is incredible! Below is a really rough example of what it could look like!
My brother Nick and my sisters wedding!
3. I'D LEARN FACEBOOK ADVERTISING AND MAXIMIZE IT! 💰
At the end of 2015 we hired Monkedia to run the Facebook advertising for walk in love. Noah, the founder of the company, is amazing and is quickly getting our customer acquisition cost down and bringing in lots of new customers and sales. Instead of spending money on a magazine ad, wedding show or bridal website, I would spend it on Facebook. It is the most powerful tool on the internet and it is under used by almost every business. As a wedding DJ, I would target brides who liked wedding brands I love (like J. Crew or BHLDN), wedding venues in my area and people whose relationship status is "engaged". I said this same thing in my tips for photographers, but I just know that Facebook ads are being underutilized by wedding professionals. If you spend $100 on Facebook advertising and book one $500 wedding you ARE MAKING MONEY! Do it! Seriously! Test it out, tweak it and dominate!
That's it. Three really simple things I'd do if I were a wedding DJ. I think the first two would add a ton of value to your clients experience that would leave them talking about you to their engaged friends for years.
If you are looking for a DJ for your wedding make sure you check out my brother-in-law Taylor - Bring on the Bash.
I hope these tactics are helpful for any wedding DJ reading this. If you want me to tell you what I'd do in your industry, please leave a comment on this blog post or on one of my Instagrams - @tjmousetis!
And one last thing, here is the face I would make if I was a DJ!
