Matt Steffanina breaks down why creators need an online community
From your simple top eight of Myspace to private Facebook Groups, we've all been a member of a group using social media. In the past the social media sites allow creators to create vibrant communities, both in private and in public comments.
However, with a growing array of challenges that social media has been unable to fix, it is losing its place as a community building tool and administrator it used to be. As a result, creators and business owners across the globe are starting to see its shortcomings in this regard.
The 2021 Facebook outage could be the reason behind the shift in mindset that began. A short six-hour period when the platform was down led small businesses and creators alike to lose access to their audience and website traffic, causing widespread revenue loss. There have been reports of losses up to $5,000 dollars.
To better understand the significance in hosting a social community outside of social media, we sat down with the community master online himself--Matt Steffanina, world-renowned choreographer and owner and founder of DNCR Academy.
Since launching his YouTube channel in 2009, Matt has grown a modest following of over 30 million people across different platforms. The popular dancer is known to be a part of artists such as Taylor Swift, Jason Derulo and Meghan Trainer, not to mention the appearances he has made on TV shows such as So You Think You Can Dance.
Through his YouTube dancing tutorials as well as in-person lessons, Matt formed a tight-knit community of enthusiastic dancers but after the outbreak of the flu and classes for #IRL were stopped, YouTube simply wasn't cutting it for a method to reach out to his followers or make a profit. That's when he turned towards online training and an online community to bring lasting value to his followers and to create a sustainable business.
Dive into our Q&A with Matt to learn how he has grown an extremely successful business as well as online community--and why he believes that it is the most important factor to creators taking control of their own destiny.
Note: Responses are lightly edited for clarity.
Give us a quick summary of your identity and the things you do.
I'm Matt Steffanina, and I'm a music producer and choreographer living in L.A. However, the past 12 years of my existence have been primarily dancing and choreography. When I first started out in the business, I was in collaboration with musicians, however, all along the way I started my own YouTube; posting videos about my classes, my personal life and tours. It was basically, watching, vlog style. One of the hard challenges of being a professional dancer, particularly ten years ago, was that you had to rely on your agent as well as the dancers to offer opportunities. There was no method to generate opportunities as a dancer. In my early days I was always waiting by the phone for a chance to audition. In the beginning, [YouTube] was my way to be productive, and continue learning new skills as well as to advertise myself as a dancer. I didn't think I could have imagined it would do what it did. It was a time when I grew about a million users, which in the moment was quite very impressive. From it, I ended having opportunities to work with Ja Rule and Taylor Swift, and Meghan Trainer.
Another thing I was really passionate about was instructing. At the start, I created a second [YouTube] channel known as the Dance Tutorials Live, where viewers could be taught how to dance. I built a following of dancers from all over the globe. What has been the most rewarding part of everything that I've done is hearing the stories of my students' success. The stories are really crazy since, back then, I was just recording tutorials at the local studio using my tripod. I didn't realize that I could make an impact at all It's been quite a crazy journey, to say the least.
Did you foresee the YouTube channel becoming what it is? Do you have plans to bring it to where you are now?
There's no way anybody could have imagined the way it did. When I first posted my film, I was back in Virginia before I moved into L.A., and I was just looking for ways to get inspiration and connect with other dancers. When I first started, which was 14 years ago, I was one of the first dancers who joined the platform. I couldn't have imagined what happened. Today, the channel boasts thirteen million users and 3 billion views. When my first video became viral, I was able to remember people commenting from other countries as well, and the idea of someone watching from another country seemed unimaginable. I was apprehensive however, here we are today performing shows across the globe, thanks to social media and being able to get my dance on the web.
Let us go on a piece of your timeline. What blew you up first? Was it your YouTube channel? Did it become your job?
Many people believe that getting success in the mainstream and Hollywood industry can lead to success online, but the reality is that it doesn't convert as well as you would think. The shows I participated in were the Tonight Show, So You Think You're Good at Dance, The Amazing Race, and more--I was getting a lot of opportunities on television that were traditional, however, they didn't translate to long-term results. They were all short-term, but nevertheless, amazing.
What gave me the longevity in my career to still be doing this for over a decade is establishing a network.
The group really grew out of my dance tutorials, which was not my intention, but it ended up being the smartest choice I made. Being an outstanding teacher and teacher in the field and pushing a community to the next level is more difficult to do as a dancer. It was really my work through tutorials, and by teaching students online that led me to be a part of a community that's still going strong to this day.
Can you take us on the road to launching DNCR Academy? What was the moment it became an actual business for you?
I launched DNCR Academy right at the start of the pandemic. It was something I had wanted to pursue for quite several years due to a couple of reasons. It's a subscription platform, where people can learn dance lessons. It's an elevated experience past my YouTube content. When I upload content on YouTube, I upload [contentsomewhat inconsistently and the quality is not necessarily the best. It's not possible to attract many guests or teachers. There are a lot of dancers who have been enjoying YouTube tutorials, and they're looking for to get more instruction. So I created DNCR Academy for the people who want to be a bit more serious. It allows me to attract top instructors such as Bollywood dancing, shuffling, or instructors in dance fitness; things that I wouldn't necessarily perform on my YouTube channel. But on the platform of [DNCR Academy] It's totally acceptable and amazing to be able to offer a ton of diverse styles to our students. When COVID first started I was aware that I wouldn't be able to perform and that I would have the time to finally dedicate to this, and so we set aside a couple of months and developed the platform . This was in June of 2020. Then it's been 3 amazing years. I was thinking we were a large community on YouTube however, this has taken the best of the solid community and put them in an environment of bubbles. Everyone is supporting each other. In addition to having an online support group sharing knowledge with one another across the globe, but they also have an emotional support network with friends that are pushing one another. This has become an extremely positive aspect of my life and I think for all the dancers in DNCR as well.
Do you have any more details about the community , and what was the motivation for starting DNCR? The community existed before the DNCR Academy, or did it come in conjunction with the Academy? Do you have any idea of it being an integral factor to the Academy's growth?
I really felt it over COVID. I think a lot of people felt the same. It was difficult to be inspired. The process was challenging to establish a routine because you're stuck in the house and you don't have access to anything. Dancing is in particular something that's a communal activity. People do dance on their on their own, however the main thing that I enjoy about dancing is the feeling of being in a dance studio with my fellow dancers and the excitement that comes from that. When all that is taken away, it's difficult to find motivation, even as choreographer. It was difficult for me to find the motivation to keep going, therefore I thought, should I go through this, there's a good chance that an aspiring dancer struggling in the same way and would be helped by a close-knit group. There was already a community as a result of the YouTube tutorials. But as I said, there was no consistency. To become a master at something there is most important thing in dance] is consistency in your training. The community allowed us to have monthly challenges, which I think is the best aspect we could have done in the course of DNCR. It's not just uploading tutorials, but it's a focus on a single thing everyone will work on together. We're all working on this routine and will upload our videos within the deadline. This is where we got our enthusiasm; it was the joy when you see all your fellow members uploading their videos, and the enlightening or even constructive feedback which resulted from it. is about becoming a part of the community and really helping each other grow, which I think was what was challenging to achieve via YouTube, as it felt that all of us were doing this the tutorials independently. The community allowed us to do this together. It made a difference in my own way as a choreographer as well as to the students who were capable of learning consistently.
Have you heard any stories of customers from your neighborhood which stand out? Who in your community have you found memorable?
One of my favorite clients is a man who goes by the name of Ray. He's from Washington D. C. He's a lawyer. He began to dance in his 40's. He would come home every working day with his suit of lawyer and move the kitchen table to the side so that he could practice hip-hop dancing, and eventually, he would dance with his children. They produced a variety of videos, particularly over COVID, learning the routines together. The result was him appearing to a Disney Channel show and winning the competition. Here's this guy who was 40 and had never taken a dancing class before, found his passion in the dance community, and became an inspiration for the members of our community. This kind of success is really important to celebrate because I too began from scratch. I didn't start dancing until the age of 18, however, the majority of people do not see it the way they do today. Most people see me on stage with famous people and in music videos. It's harder to grasp the difficulties I had to face early. If you see anyone who is currently experiencing the journey] with you and see their journey through from the other end and go through this amazing journey-- it's so powerful. This really touched everybody in our group. There are many stories similar to those, but Ray was an exceptional one.
Do you use your network and customers to experiment with new ideas or innovative products you're considering for your business?
One thing that we're always working on is helping to reach more people. What can we do to reach out to the most users? There are a lot of dancers out there who are looking to excel at dancing is a bit small. We want to provide instruction on our platform that will take someone up to the professional standard. We also aim in making it more accessible for the individual that just wants to learn some routines here and there, someone who wants to go to the gym and feel comfortable. Additionally, we're performing a variety of things with dance fitness. I used to be an instructor for personal training and consider dance to be one of the best means to keep healthy both mentally and physically. We're even starting a wedding course because I get lots of requests to choreograph weddings, however, I lack the time to do it, so the course walks you through everything you need to be aware of. We're working to open it up more to all the requests I've had throughout the years. I've always told myself that if only I had time to do this I'd be awestruck as well as help lots of people. The next step is to create time for those courses.
Can you give us a high-level walkthrough of what your strategy on social media is at present? How has it changed since your first appearance on YouTube?
The technology has changed significantly in the last ten years. It's changed with the multiple generations of YouTube as well as social media in general. Early on it was not a competitive platform, so I was only uploading video from my class. It was that simple. It was then that I realized the potential of vlogging as a way to create a the connection with creators. I decided to start vlogging behind the scenes, and that was really popular from 2016 to the year 2019. We then began with more challenging tasks, such as mastering a routine within 10 minutes. Those did really well.
In the year COVID was announced in 2020, we began to see success with TikTok and short-form content. Things changed a lot then. I would say that tons of the dance viewership was shifted to shorter form, TikTok in particular, since dancing was extremely widespread in the area. There was still content on YouTube, but a lot of my content was focused on shorter-form content, like 15-second dances instead of forty-five-second to minute-long dances.
The thing about social media that people don't understand unless you've been around for a few generations of it, is that there's never going to be a solution which will work for the rest of time--because regardless of what industry that you're in, when you find something that works, eventually everyone other people will follow it. And this is what happened to dancing. The popularity of videos from dance classes exploded and the social media was flooded with dance instructors uploading their class videos. Then, I needed decide on my next step, and it was also replicated. It's a constant game just like any other field of having to reinvent as well as develop new and innovative concepts. One method of identifying these ideas that will work is to throw darts at the board. The majority of these are going to fail, but that's how you come up with the concept that people really like. It's difficult to know that's why we adopt the mindset of If I've got the idea to do something, then I simply go for it. We can try the experiment, and if it does not work then good. Then we'll look at something else. It's probably the most effective advice I can give anyone that's trying content creation. Take your time and don't believe that since something did not succeed the first time, that it won't work the second or third time around. Sometimes you have to tweak an idea, mold it and all of a sudden it comes to fruition.
That segues well into something we did not discuss that is social media algorithms. What role have algorithms played into your strategy? Did they affect your ability to reach your target audience?
If you've ever been on Instagram, I think it's the most obvious there. I recall a moment that I had the opportunity to publish a flyer for a tour that might receive 100,000, 200,000 likes, and thousands of comments since it was shown to my entire 3.9 million Instagram followers. But if I posted that flyer today, it will probably get just 10% engagement], because the algorithm has shifted. Therefore, you must be imaginative.
Instead of a flyer now this is a video that shows the dance taking place, city names are popping up and people can go to the caption for more. The trick is come up with different strategies to operate within the algorithms, since it is the case that at the end the day, you can't influence the algorithm. So we watch many things (metrics] on time retention. YouTube is shifting from being more of the search engine and has become an ad-hoc click-through platform. Do your title and thumbnail sufficient to grab the attention of viewers? It's possible to create the greatest video ever made and if the thumbnail and title aren't grabbing people, the video will fail. If viewers watch the first ten seconds or so of an video but then leave it and click elsewhere, YouTube is going to tell you that everybody is loving your thumbnail but your video's not working well, and we won't display it to your fans. This is exactly how the algorithms work nowadays. With that said, strategy has become more about notions. I'm pretty certain that we'll be able to make interesting videos and content but if the video is learning a routine quickly, there are a million options for packaging the title and thumbnail, as well as the length of the video and the design of the video. Each of these factors can impact the success of your content. I was averaging 30 million views on a video for about 2 years. This is absurd. Unfortunately, for people who are aware about the monetization issue due to copyright issues with music, I was not able to monetize most of these videos. But when it came to expanding my channel was concerned was concerned, it was insane. The landscape has definitely changed since then in particular because of TikTok and Instagram dominating so much of the market part.
Because you mentioned the idea of monetization did that in all impact your desire to create DNCR Academy, or was it just strictly to move offline online?
The thing is, whenever the focus changed away from YouTube and then to TikTok and also Instagram and Instagram, the numbers throughout YouTube fell, and that was the main way that I paid for the videos, and that's all by monetization...
At the time of COVID people were looking for to see more content However, there wasn't any monetization occurring within the channel. It was feasible to scale it which is one of the things that was amazing about DNCR. We now have members that pay an annual fee for membership so that we are able to collect these money and invest them to produce new content and courses. Basically, into all of the things that I wanted to do and for which YouTube was not able to provide sufficient income to be able to accomplish. So it was a powerful option financially to grow the tutorials and the platform, and also to provide students the content they asked for.
How do you deal the burnout that comes with every aspect of social media's creation of content?
It's not like I'm old enough, however in social media, I've been around since the stone age. It's amazing how many generations have gone and gone. The reason I think people get burned out is due to several things. I believe they set their goals and set their schedules a little too high and heavy early on. For instance I can recall a period around 2016 to 2017 when all of my friends decided to do every day video blogs. If you've attempted vlogging every day is a slog. The amount of work required to keep up with editing, filming and coming up with ideas daily is impossible. The channel I've had always kept to a minimum of two uploads a week. It was something I could keep. I was sure I traveled. I made sure I was taking time off. If there wasn't an amazing tune that was released one week or I didn't feel inspired to choreograph, I canceled my class. I was certain that the content creation was something that I could accomplish regularly, which has enabled me to keep going for a long time.
One thing I've tried to do to prevent burnout is to set realistic expectations for myself. I think that at the beginning, when you're beginning out, it's better to focus on one of two or three platforms. Keep it simple. With YouTube you can upload two times a week. Then, you can edit that content it down to short form to put the content on Instagram and TikTok. Be able to handle it. It's better to work slow however, if you still feel that spark of passion and the determination to keep creating content five to 10 years down the road, then go really hard for a few months, you'll burn out and eventually, you'll fall off. The key is consistency. This is a long-term game, even though it feels that things are going so fast.
Have any suggestions for designers who are trying to use social media to drive traffic to their website or products, or maybe creating their own?
The biggest thing is figuring what you would do if you were your viewers, or your client's position, what could make you want to quit an online platform and sign up for a subscription model or a course. It's true that a lot of instances we think "I'll just do this or this', and are thinking of things from our point of view. So I do a lot of polls--I ask my readers very often what course do you hope to take next or what would you find the most exciting about. There are times when I'm thinking that they'd love to choreograph this awesome dance which is extremely difficult and complex, and they're like "Look my bro, all I want is a couple of moves I could show off at a gathering. Then I'm like 'Okay, cool this week we're going to discover moves that you could try out in a dance party. It's great to put yourself in their shoes.
It's also about providing worth. It is my opinion that if you are able to provide value and without asking for anything back, without asking for any kind of compensation, and build that trust, rapport, and community, then when you do offer something that's a paid deal or course you already have this trust. You've already offered value, and you've already made their lives so much better through your offerings which they're happy to be involved in the process. It's true that sometimes we make the mistake of making the decision before we have established the customer relationship. And that's one of the great things about social media, it allows you to be present with your followers throughout the day, whether it's dance tutorials or vlogging your daily life to them and through it building rapport as well as establishing a community. then being like 'Oh, by the way, if you've loved your work then here's the next step where you can go on a further level. It's an effortless transition that people can do instead of meeting with your new followers at the beginning and trying to put your name into a crowd right away.
The majority of creators within this field believe that the only option to make cash is to make affiliate-type deals on social networks and you've proven them to be incorrect. What advice would you give young creators about expanding their revenue streams?
Brands and affiliate marketing is a piece of the puzzle. It is a different piece of the puzzle. However, it is best to want to have an element out of the social networks which also generate income, because, at the time it is impossible to know when the algorithm or the rules be changed. And that's something that I've learned over the years because there have been periods where I made the bulk of my earnings via YouTube, when I was earning the majority of my money from live events and touring in other times, when I earned the majority of my earnings through TikTok as well as Instagram, and now, it's . At different stages in my career, that factor has changed so many times, and If I'd put all my eggs in one pot and was in the waiting room for brand deals or YouTube to change their algorithms to allow me to increase my monetization then I'd have ended up trapped. had to stay.
Build a community and start to move your fans off social platforms to a subscription service, like , where you control your content and the your community. It's no longer necessary depend on an algorithm to provide your audience with your content. It's just, boom, in DNCR and the users are able to access anytime they'd like. The power is returned to the creators--things are shifting quickly and it's becoming more difficult than ever to rely on brand deals and monetization in the absence of knowing where the social media platforms will take you next.
Can you tell us the role has helped you be in control of and take ownership of your own destiny as a creator?
The platform gave us to place videos where the rules not change. This is my opinion as the top feature. In the same way I said in the past that there was a period when I was getting 30 million views per clip on YouTube. But now, with perhaps MrBeast as well as a few other instances, it's virtually impossible with just 13 million subscribers. Only a small percentage of those subscribers are served my content. It is really important that you, when building your community, transfer them to somewhere you can access them and they can connect to you regularly. In a simple sense such as an email list and a text list are great to have, but having them within a community apart from social media platforms is the most powerful means to remain in touch, and also build the passive income of you create, particularly when you're doing something like the subscription. This is a fantastic method to ensure that your friends are within one spot where you can speak to themand for them to contact youas well, but also provide the steady stream of income.
What's one suggestion you'd give to an entrepreneur that is only beginning in the space?
I'd suggest you do a lot of research on your subject. Before you ever upload a single piece of content on TikTok you should watch a month's worth of content on Tiktok. You can tread your wheels and begin creating content, but I see a lot of time wasted because people aren't doing the research first. You love fitness and want to establish an online fitness business, go find the top ten individuals working in this field on social media, watch ten hours of their videos, learn the reasons why they work and then develop your content strategy from there.
The thing is right now there's more information than you've ever had, especially through YouTube and TikTok, so the answers can be found right now. It's not necessary to create a new wheel from scratch and do a fitness workout nobody's ever seen before, right? You just need to come up with a method to accomplish it that's unique, in your style and with your unique voice. You can accomplish that by researching people whom you like, pulling what they've done well and incorporating some of your own stuff as well as forming a content strategy around that. But I think understanding that you have to accept the fact what you're not aware of. That's what I'm doing right now. Each year at least I have a couple of weeks where I pretend like I don't know anything, and I watch. What is it that the youngsters on TikTok who are just 14 years old who are doing something different which we older people in the field don't understand? It's easy to think that a dances are silly, or whatnot however there is a rationale that people can identify with it, and I must understand the reason this is so that I can continue to improve myself not just in terms of creativity, but also to improve my own business. The time you invest in the study is essential as you develop your content strategy, and then once you have that strategy, you just have to work hard.
Take control of your future with digital products
The creator economy is poised to witness a surge within online communities as of 2023. Social media platforms are aware of this and are responding with developing their own community features.
However, as Matt said, in order for creators to be able to reach their audience in a powerful method and generate an income that is passive, they must to move their audience off social media.
"Brands as well as affiliate marketing comprise one piece of the piece. Monetization is another piece. However, it is best to be able to take advantage of platforms on social networks that are offering a source of income since, at the end of your day, it's impossible to have any idea when the algorithms or rules may be changed. That's something I've learned through the years, as there were times where I earned the majority of my earnings from YouTube or TikTok, and now, it's ."
Already, the foundation has helped more than 60, 000 creative entrepreneurs and earned a collective $4.9 billion. The number of entrepreneurs supported is increasing each second.
We're cutting out the middleman, so you can keep all of your profit in addition to owning your business model, audience and even your brand.
If you're looking to begin diversifying your income with digital products, test for yourself the possibilities with no-cost 14-day trial.