While any number of artists have seen success using Snapchat, DJ Khaled has unquestionably his use of the popular photosharing platform to a whole new level, with over three million followers engaging with his content. Here we look marketing strategy which has allowed Khaled to achieve such Snapchat fame.
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Guest Post by Matt Voyno
Does it even need to be repeated at this point? DJ Khaled is the undisputed king of Snapchat. He’s taken a goofy medium and helped make it a mainstream success. People finally get Snapchat because of DJ Khaled, and a whole lot are listening to what he says. Over 3 million people in fact. That’s more than most TV Shows, and that huge audience means a lot of people want to know how he’s doing it. Last night Elliott Wilson dove deep with the Nue Agency produced CRWN interview series at NYU to find out. #Clothtalk.
Keys To DJ Khaled’s Snapchat Game
1 Presentation:
DJ Khaled has been going through the trails and tribulations of being a working artist for decades. That’s a lot of years to figure out how he needs to present his ideas. On Snapchat as with his life, DJ Khaled acknowledged that to communicate effectively you need to present it the right way and at the right time.
2 Deep Relationships:
Throughout the talk DJ Khaled kept coming back to the importance of his deep relationships with his team. Those deep relationships go way back. Khaled stressed the importance of taking that authenticity and bringing it to Snapchat. He knows it’s his deep relationships with his fans that helped him become a global star. He respects and nurtures that.
3 Personal Touch:
The thing that DJ Khaled loves about Snapchat is the immediacy of the medium. Those moments can’t be manufactured. Even if they’re not always perfect they give Snapchat soul. Khaled stressed that a personal touch communicates that authenticity, that soul, better than staged moments. Keep it personal.
4 Long Game:
The tenacity and long game that DJ Khaled has sustained throughout his career was another key. This man is no overnight success. He left his family at 15 to DJ for a living back in the early 90s! That’s over two decades of career investment. Snapchat has come along in the last few years but DJ Khaled has been putting in work into hip-hop and only recently has he blossomed into the global star. With Snapchat, as with anything, if you put in your time people will reward you
Photo credit Daniel Vasquez
BONUS KEY via Lyor Cohen – Relationships
A nice touch of the night was when hip hop icon Lyor Cohen came out to lend his support to DJ Khaled, this right after his recent hospital scare. Lyor said “I touched the other side” and it was Khaled who saved his life…His doctor Khaled that is, but DJ Khaled visited Lyor in the hospital and brought him good spirits. Another classic example of how important relationships are.
Throughout the night DJ Khaled gave the audience what they wanted, inspiration motivation and rules to not only succeed at Snapchat, but in their whole life. It was almost a spiritual experience with the street wear and tech wear crowd. The final cut is airiring on MTV2 April 27th at 11pm so mark your calendars. But maybe DJ Khaled’s most important key came when he was asked how he’s able to literally keep his phone charged. For that the key is a “team of portable chargers.” #CRWN