Apart from Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, I have been doing two things over the past few years. I have been reading every marketing and psychology book I could find and I have been following DJ KHALED on snapchat. Here is where those experiences collide. That’s right; we’re talking about DJ KHALED’s snapchat marketing.

Who or What is a DJ Khaled?

Dj Khaled is a hip hop producer/ entrepeneur/ Spiritual guru / catch phrase expert. He is also a marketing genius and built on of the biggest snapchat followings to date.
He repeats his favorite catch phrases constantly. Here are some examples:

• MAJOR KEY ALERT
• THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO EAT EGG WHITES, SO YOU EAT EGG WHITES
• BLESS UP
• FAN LUV

Watch the video below to get a better view on who or what he is.

Why should you care about DJ KHALED’s snapchat? FOR MORE SUCCES

A lot of my friends seem to think that there is nothing to be learned from his snapchat stories. One person even going as far as to say that he could feel his brain cells dying with every second he spent watching these snapchat stories.

And I agree, that content wise there isn’t much to learn. But if you look at what he does instead of at what he says. Then there are so many MAJOR KEYS to be found. Let’s not forget that he did amass a huge and committed following in a short time. He has to be doing something right.
Don’t listen to what he’s saying, look at what he is doing.

Also:

• supposedly he has more than 6 million snapchat followers (not confirmed)
• he used his snapchat to earn his first n°1 album, called “major key”
• if you google “DJ KHALED snapchat” you get about 627000 results
• he estimates that 50% of his fan base consists of new people that he attracted through snapchat marketing

Anybody can see that there is something to be learned here.

Without further ado, here 4 of DJ KHALED’s “MAJOR KEY” snapchat marketing hacks

1. “THEY” or how creating a fictional enemy makes your group stronger

“the best way to cement a group’s cohesiveness is to ferment the groups hatred of an external enemy” — Dr. Peck

In the fields of psychology and sociology, many believe that finding an external enemy makes your group tighter. If you don’t have an enemy you might as well imagine one, that works just fine. YOLO.

It’s a common technique used by dictators and politicians. Now, when those people use this technique, usually it harms some people. When DJ KHALED talks about “THEY” it’s vague enough to be harmless but clear enough to be effective.

When you can turn your fans into a tribe, you start playing in a whole different ballpark. Everybody wants to feel like they a part of something. Playing on this need is definitely a smart and effective tactic, especially for snapchat marketing.
The amount of control you could get over a group in a setting like this is mind baffling.

2. “Bless up”, & “Fan Luv” or why “other-praising emotions” make you feel connected

Almost every day, DJ KHALED talks about how grateful he is for his life, his fans and more importantly, his flowers. This might seem like some cliché self-help stuff but in reality, the effects of this are fantastic. Both for his own mental state and for the connection with his fans.

In the book “the happiness hypothesis” Jonathan Haidt talks about what he calls: “other-praising emotions”. These are moral elevation ( what you feel during a spiritual experience), thankfulness and admiration. They are emotions you feel towards somebody else when they act admirably. These are positive feelings but still different from happiness.

It’s been proven that these emotions release oxytocin. This hormone produces a sense of unity and connection with the group. So you’ll start to feel as if you are actually DJ KHALED’s friend and like you are one with the group.
Creating a strong bond and interacting with your audience is the ultimate leverage, in a world where paying for an album is basically an act of charity( pirate bay exists).

3. “MAJOR KEY ALERT” or why people want secrets and shortcuts

I wouldn’t mind becoming a millionaire, seems fun enough. But I know that getting there requires long, hard and consistent effort. So I, like most people, am content with a bit less.

Still in the back of my mind there is this idea that it would be awesome to just wake up as millionaire music producer DJ STAPHO ( WE THE BEST MUSIC). Although dj KHALED isn’t promising me that this will happen. Nevertheless, I still connect with that feeling every time he says “MAJOR KEY ALERT”.

On top of that, most of us secretly desire some mysterious life hack deluxe that can transform our life, overnight. “If I just knew this one secret, it might change my life.” That’s another thing the “major keys” play on.
So we keep listening to DJ KHALED in the hope that maybe just maybe we can get a bit “MORE SUCCES” too.

4. “LOST AT SEA” or why being authentic and likable is the ultimate marketing hack

I don’t know about you but the biggest turn off for me is when I feel somebody is being fake. And one of the most attractive qualities I can find in people is authenticity. I don’t really care if someone has some weird habits or some opinions that I disagree with. But it bothers me when THEY pretend to be somebody that they are not. Conversely, when somebody is being authentic it makes me trust and like them.

When I saw DJ KHALED get lost at sea I felt that it was real. I thought to myself: “man, this dj Khaled guy gets lost some times, just like me”. That he gets lost at sea on his jet ski and that I get lost picking up bread around the corner is irrelevant. I felt that he was authentic and it made me like him more.

In the book, “influence” ( -Robert Cialdini) explains that our purchases are much more based on how much we like the salesman than on the actual features of the product. So, seeming like a nice authentic guy, is an excellent marketing strategy. I hope it’s not a strategy, though. I hope that’s what he’s really like, even if he is a bit special. # MORE MAJOR KEYS TO MORE SNAPCHAT MARKETING SUCCESS When I look at his snapchat, there are still a whole bunch tactics and strategies that are worth talking about. His “native” product placement, his motivational workout videos and his recurring characters. But those are for another article.

#Thanks for reading this piece I wrote! If you thought it was valuable then vote me up so more people get to see it! BLESS UP

FYI: This was originally posted on my website: https://stapho.com/dj-khaled-snapchat-marketing/
Image credit: goodmusicallday.com