How to Promote DJ Gigs and Parties with Facebook
Alright, we all know about Facebook because we use it ever day but there’s a whole other element of the social network that can be tapped into in terms of promoting DJ gigs.
Sure enough, you probably already have some friends that are constantly sending you party invitations – well, this is essentially what we’re going to be talking about but on the other end where you will be setting up the promotions for your gigs, mixes and so you can build a fan base. Sound good? Let’s get going …
Get a Facebook Fan Page
There is a 5,000 friend limit on normal Facebook pages which is no good in terms of building a fan base because, in time, you will hit that limit and then no more people can follow you. Facebook saw this and so they put together Fan Pages which are nothing more than a normal profile but with the ability to add in a few extra features for building a fan base.
Although this video is a bit cheesy, it’ll take you through the process of setting up your Facebook Fan Page. There is a bit of hype and gimmicks to the video but it still shows the process which is what you’d need to work through in order to get something setup.
Link to video: http://youtu.be/bsobq2Jk6YI
I know you’re tech-savvy, you are DJing after all, so something like setting up a simple Fan Page shouldn’t be any problem but if you do get caught up, refer back to the video or check out David Sabat’s Guide to Facebook for DJ’s – he takes you through a lot of the pro’s and con’s of the different Facebook features and gives a few tips on promoting your Facebook page.
Get a Sexy Flyer
People’s attention spans are incredibly short; I’ve probably already lost half of you in this post – just as an example – so one of those all important elements of promoting DJ gigs on Facebook is to create a gig flyer that’s going to catch someone’s eyes really, really quick.
If you’re the DIY type, I suggest you check out an earlier post about which has 10 Photoshop Tutorials for Creating DJ Flyers. Of course, you don’t actually need Photoshop, you can use a free program like Gimp or use an online photo editor which can handle just about anything you throw at it.
If you aren’t DIY, than I suggest you hunt down a few local designers or ask fellow DJ’s where they are getting their flyers from. Chances are, a friend of a friend probably knows someone that understands design and is itching to work on DJ flyers – I’ve had my hand at it, it’s fun, there’s others out there that are the same.
The flyer is what’s going to get people to take notice immediately. You have the title and link and everything but nothing stands out more than a picture on Facebook – remember, short attention span, etc etc. Grab them quick with something that looks hot and you’ll get them over to your event or fan page.
Share Great DJ Mixes
Perhaps the best way to promote yourself as a DJ, on Facebook, is to share your DJ mixes (or others you’ve found to be really great). People are following you because they want the music; they don’t necessarily want to hear what you had for breakfast or some broken relationship status poem – give em what they want, give em music.
Use websites like Soundcloud and Mixcloud to upload your mixes so you can easily share them on your Facebook pages. In fact, you can even embed some of these onto your Fan Page using some of the widgets; you could create a page solely dedicated to something like “mix of the month” or something like that.
Upload a Video to Facebook
I’ve talked before about using Youtube to promote DJs but, as you know, Facebook also has video sharing which is perfect for sharing some of your mixes, party videos and more.
A local crew where I’m at is always uploading the latest videos from the parties they throw. What it does, from people’s reactions, is get them talking about the music, the parties and the fact that they can’t wait til the next one.
If you’re doing gigs, setup a video camera and record it. If anything, you could rip the audio and upload the live mix but you can also take advantage of the video so people can be a part of the experience if they didn’t get to go.
To go even more hardcore, you could upload videos as the nights go on within your Fan Page so that if someone is 50/50 on going to the party and see the video, they’d be all over it. You could also do this with streaming video from UStream and let people watch the party unfold live!
Take some Event Pictures
Pictures get people talking, plain and simple. Facebook is great at facial recognition so it’s a great way promote your gigs by uploading event pictures and then tagging people that showed up. The people getting tagged will come over and talk about the event and their friends will see the good time they had and may join in next time.
Hire a photographer to take great pictures of the gigs or just ask people to upload their shots after the party is over. You’ll find that people are easily on board with sharing their experiences and this is a great way to get some excellent feedback on the gig and get people talking about the next.
Final Thoughts
We live in the information age; you no longer need to send out thousands of mixtapes and demos to get people interested in your music or parties. With a simple upload, you could create an event page for the next gig in a few minutes and have people ready to go months in advanced. Facebook is pretty awesome for promotion; you already know it so use it to get your name out there!
