The DJ Guide to Content Creation & Social Media

In this article we talk about how DJs can use TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to promote their DJ career. These three social media platforms are the best platforms for DJs to master in 2024.

We also cover the essential devices, accessories and lights you need to make engaging DJ content for TikTok and Instagram. We’ll teach you about algorithms and how to use SEO and hashtags to get more reach for your important posts. Overall, this blog about social media and content creation will help you promote your DJ career and land more DJ gigs.

In this ever evolving digital landscape, DJs and musicians alike have access to more tools than ever before to market their music and get themselves heard. Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Youtube are quickly becoming instrumental in letting the next generation of DJs find their community and audience. In this two-part blog I will be going over some of the best and affordable equipment you can buy to elevate or start your content creation journey, as well as going over some pro-tips for social media to kick-start your growth and get your videos going viral!

Essential Gadgets for DJ Content Creation

If you want to take your career in music to the professional level, it is paramount to have a good image to go alongside your music. In the digital age video and audio quality is essential to catch the attention of any could-be fans that stumble upon your videos, thankfully it is easier (and more affordable) than ever to get your videos looking and sounding fantastic!

Make sure you’re top of the game and delivering your DJ fans the best quality content. Social media algorithms will also give high-quality content more exposure. If your content is of low quality it won’t be shown to a large audience. Think about it, social media companies like Instagram and TikTok want content on their platform to look good, therefore making them look good. Therefore the only content that goes viral is high quality, well lit and non blurry.

Here is a list of some great gadgets every aspiring artist should consider for their setup.

1. Ring Light (£19.99)

Having a ring light is the cheapest and easiest way to do wonders for your content. A ring light is usually the main light source for your shot, whilst also acting as a tripod for your phone or camera!

The purpose of the ring light is to light up your face and whatever else is in your shot, whilst also eliminating any harsh shadows cast on you that might form from your filming environment (especially if filming with lights above you!). Besides looking great, this will make it easy for your camera to focus on you and get the best possible image with no blur.

This is a massive win to help your content get promoted by the algorithms. Ring lights are also excellent for the common type of videos that DJs often do on social media including DJ live streams, talking direct to the camera, tutorials and more!

2. Tripod Lights (£34.69)

In the world of content creation for DJs you can never have too many lights! This pack of two tripod lights can be used in endless ways to help capture the best image in any environment.

Firstly, if you already have a tripod for your phone/camera, then you can use one of these in place of a ring light to achieve the same effect as a front light. The other can be used as a backlight (soft light placed behind the object to fill out shadows caused by the front light) or as a contour light (light placed at a near 45 degree angle behind the object (you) to create separation from your backdrop and at a professional depth to the shot. This will make the image more engaging to look at and captivate your viewer increasing the average watch time of the content.

Another great thing about these particular lights is that they include a couple coloured filters that can be placed over the light to change its colour. This can be used in a variety of ways to give your shot a different vibe - for example using a blue front light with a red contour light can create a 3D-glasses filter type effect for your subject!

3. Colour LED Lights (£39.99)

Now that you have your ambient and task lighting looking fantastic, it is time to add some ‘feature’ lighting. Feature lights are not used to light up a shot, but are instead decorative lights that can add further separation from the object, as well as make the shot more visually appealing and interesting. These two LED light bars can be placed wherever you like in the shot as standalone colourful decorations, or to light up certain items you want to highlight in your backdrop. For example, to light up a plant or other decorative object.

Top Tip: Add a splash of colour to your backdrop

A good trick would be to face them directly at the back wall of your shot (works best on white walls!) to create a brightly coloured wall, adding another layer of professionalism and making an otherwise normal room look exciting and fun. To top it all off these lights can even be set to flash or change colour in beat with your music!

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If you want to go really pro then check out the Nanlite range of light tubes. They are some of the best LED colour-changing lights you can use for film shoots, photoshoots and content creation.

Using coloured LED lighting can again enhance the backdrop of your content making it not only look more professional but grabbing peoples attention. Using lighting techniques like these in your social media content will result in more plays, more likes and more views.

Top Tip: If you want inspiration type in a key hashtag, like ‘DJ mix’ into Instagram or TikTok and you can see what other DJs are doing to make their shots look nice.

4. Editing software (free!)

After you are done recording, you will need a place to edit and sync your footage to any recorded audio. There are many great options available out there for editing footage on either a laptop or phone, but Capcut is a great free app for phones that has become increasingly popular for short form content on instagram and TikTok. Within the app you can sync audio to video, adjust saturation, contrast, brightness and lots of other video parameters, and add cool FX and filters like a stutter or glitching effect. Capcut is super easy and intuitive to use and achieve professional results straight from your phone!

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A professional option would be Final Cut Pro from Apple. Many film editors use Final Cut Pro for an in-depth range of editing features and plugins. If you want to get the best results on social media consider going the extra mile. This will help you stand out as a DJ.

How DJs Get Seen On Social Media

With your setup looking great and your videos crisp and polished, it’s time to make your presence known to the masses - and contrary to what you might think, there couldn’t be a better time to get onto social media than in 2024. The social media landscape of today is dominated by algorithms. This may seem daunting at first, but by learning about how they work and how you can take advantage of them, you can find surefire success in such a seemingly saturated medium.

1. Algorithms

With the rise of AI, algorithms are smarter than ever before and are used first and foremost by platforms like TikTok and Instagram to sort out the good from the bad. Luckily for us, by following a few parameters we can guarantee that the algorithms let us through the noise and find our audience! TikTok’s algorithm picks up on things like bad video or audio quality, blurriness, bad lighting so by sorting those things out you can instantly put yourself ahead of the game and become a headlining account. Here is a quick checklist to make it past the algorithm's initial checks.

1080p portrait video in a 16:9 ratio. (TikTok and instagram do not support 4k video yet and will downgrade any footage to 1080p which might make your videos look worse! Always convert 4k footage down to 1080p using an external converter before posting to social media)
Make sure no text or captions are cut off the screen or are hidden by the ‘like’ button or ‘comment’ button. A good rule of thumb is to keep text either in the centre of the shot or slightly above centre.

Top Tip: Leave some empty space in your shot

By leaving some empty room above your head when filming, you can use this space for text such as lyrics or captions when editing!)
Use a tripod to avoid camera shakiness
Avoid dark and dingy shots! Having a well lit and bright shot is great for capturing attention (especially as many social media users will be scrolling at night time and will have their brightness turned way down)


2. Use DJ-centric SEO

SEO (or Search Engine Optimisation) is key in any online business, and social media is no exception. When you post to TikTok, you are really posting to the algorithm more than you are posting to actual people. In short, you want to tell the algorithm that you are making quality content in your niche consistently! How do we do this? SEO.

Having a great high quality video of you playing your mix might be enough to convert someone who sees it into a fan but the algorithm has no idea what your video is about, so we need to tell it. There are a couple main ways of doing this:

Keywords - Keywords can be inserted into your video using captions, hashtags or onscreen text. For example, by putting the text ‘Playing my new House mix’ over a video you are specifically telling the algorithm what this video is about and are helping it decide who to show your video to! Keywords can also be picked up in audio, or inserted in hashtags…
Hashtags - Many people overlook the use of hashtags, but they are essential in your SEO! In order to use a hashtag all you need to do is put it in the caption of your video (EG. #DJLife or #HouseMusic). Much like keywords, they are a great way to tell the algorithm what your video is about so that it can show it to the right audience, and it will also help you show up on the top of the search results when people look up things in your niche!


3. Consistency Is Key

As with any skill or habit, consistency is absolutely essential in forming a lasting habit that will reap rewards for years to come. If you really want to grow on social media, you should be posting on TikTok at least once a day, and around 3-4 times a week on instagram. This may seem pretty scary at first but from experience I can say that it really does get a lot easier and quicker the more you do it! Your content creation ability is like a muscle you need to train, once you start working it out it will get stronger and used to the work. Do not be disheartened if your videos aren’t getting more than 200-300 views on TikTok even after weeks of daily posting. Every time that you post the algorithm is gathering data on what you do and what kinds of people respond well to your content! Keep trying out new things and just try to keep improving the quality with each post. Eventually you will have your first viral video and it will all be worth it!

Top Tip: Cross post your content to get more reach!

You don’t need to create different content for instagram! Simply upload a couple of the videos you used for TikTok to instagram reels each week to double your reach! You can even post the same thing on youtube shorts too - why not!)

Conclusion

Social media management and content creation can seem daunting at first but if you follow this guide you’ll be a pro in no time! Make sure your follow this advice to help your DJ content get more views on Instagram and TikTok. Be consistent and realise that the results might take a while to  show. One of the best tips for DJs about social media is look at what other viral content looks like, learn how to replicate it and then go one step further so your content is even better.

Further Reading And Advice For DJs

If you’re a DJ and music producer and you’re looking for content ideas check out our sixty-day promotion strategy.

Thanks for reading our guide on how DJs can create successful content for TikTok and Instagram. We hope you found this article useful, please book mark and share if you did. If you would like further help with your DJ or music production create you can browse our range of courses by clicking here.