The quickly changing social media world can be overwhelming, with dozens of new platforms being introduced each year. It’s clear that this era is here to stay, and social media has proven to be a viable advertising outlet for businesses across the board, including mobile entertainers. If you leverage these marketing tools the right way and provide good content to your viewers, prospective clients, fans, etc. then your ROI can look promising.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest have become common enough in our culture that my 89-year-old Grandma has an account. They rule the social media world. In this article, though, I want to talk about a newer social media app, Periscope. It boomed in 2015 and will continue to rule in 2016. And it can be added to our DJ
Definition:
DJ (Disk Jockey):
1. Traditionally applied to people who played recorded music on the radio or at events. 2. Artists who perform using any combination of pre-recorded music, samples, turntables, and musical instruments. marketing toolbox as a sharp new social media tool.
Thanks to social media, we have become a culture that has become enamored with the “in-the- moment” and “on-the-go” perspective at our finger- tips. Pictures can capture memorable moments, but live video takes you to back to that moment any time to experience it again.
And that is what Periscope does. It’s like your own personal tour of a user’s life. It is the most popular app where you can share and watch live video broadcasts from your mobile phone. The live video streamingDefinition:
A method of sending a continuous flow of digital content over IP (Internet Protocol) networks, and often, tailors itself to the user's receiving capability. service—which was acquired in January 2015 by Twitter, before it was publicly launched—boasts more than 10 million accounts, and says its users watch the equivalent of 40 years’ worth of video every day. Twitter shared that Periscope had reached 1 million users just 10 days after launch. Crazy, right?!
Periscope makes it easy to press a button and have a notification go out to your followers to let them know that you’re doing a live transmission. Let’s say you are at a wedding and some family or friends couldn’t make it. You can use Periscope to shoot some of the highlights of the wedding, so now those family members and friends can see it while it’s happening, and still be a part of the experience. I couldn’t make it to a good friends wedding in another state, but one of his guests was “periscoping” during all of the festivities throughout the day, so it was amazing that I got to watch what was happening from my iPhone!
Periscope also has other cool features, including a way for the viewer to interact with the “periscoper” while they are broadcasting. The viewer has the ability to send messages, so the periscoper can respond in the middle of a broadcast. They can express their love by tapping the screen, which triggers multi- colored hearts that float up the screen, which, in turn, will make your broadcast more popular. It’s similar to Instagram, where you “heart” someone’s photo.
Another key feature is that it records the live streams, allowing anyone to watch the videos for 24 hours after the broadcast. This is an especially important feature, given that more people will be able to watch a replay than drop whatever they’re doing to view a live video. And you can personally save the footage to your own phone if you want to keep it to replay or share to other social media platforms. In addition, it’s a great way to gain more Twitter followers, since it’s linked to that account.
If your wheels haven’t started turning yet on how this nifty new social media app can apply to you and your DJ business, let me give you a little push. Periscope allows us to directly connect to our audiences and allows them to interact with us. Our industry is all about connecting and engaging with our audience, right? So this visual echo of what’s happening right now is an effective DJ tool. You can use it at events to show the packed dance floorDefinition:
Either a soft vinyl for temporary dancer protection, a strung wood floor for dancing, or a Masonite topped plywood floor for smooth camera dollying. or the first dance at a wedding. You can record a part of your set to showcase your mixing or mic skills. You can interview the bride and groom or people at the events you are performing and tag them in the video, which will then draw any of their viewers or followers to your Twitter feed. If you get to travel with DJing like I do, you can periscope from cool local spots and show your audience the places you get to explore. Plus, it’s great to reference to clients who ask for video of you performing. You can let people know when your upcoming events are and they can tune in.
It’s important to remember that the key to using any social media app effectively is the content. Be smart about it and provide content that is interesting, appealing, and shows you and your business in a good, unique light. Also, remember to utilize your social media platforms as hubs to promote an event or periscope broadcast ahead a time. Instead of thinking about them individu- ally, think of how to use all the tools to your advantage and how to send your followers/viewers/clients from one place to another. Crossing platforms can be a sure way to build the audience you are aiming for. Some of you may decide not to become an avid Mr./ Mrs. Periscoper right away, and will stick to other social media that you feel more comfortable with. But, for those of you who decide to join in, I’ll see you live in...5, 4, 3, 2—and 1!
By DJ Dayna
Originally published in Mobile Beat issue #169 – link to http://www.mobilebeat.com/emagscurrent/169