Being on social media, as an actor, is simply not a choice anymore. You have to be on social if you want to grow a community that supports your work, and industry decision makers are looking to social media to influence their casting decisions.
Unfortunately, nearly all actors are doing social media the wrong way!
They are making mistakes that are actually repelling industry decision makers.
See, there are a few specific things you must be doing on social media, if you want to use it as a tool to grow your career and generate opportunities.
When used correctly, social media can skyrocket your industry status quickly, and put you in front of CDs, directors, and tons of industry decision makers.
Here’s how...
You can’t simply take a random approach to what you post.
That’s ok to do if you are using social to communicate with friends or stay in touch with family, but when you are using it to build your career you have to be more methodical in your approach.
Have you ever wondered why some accounts take off like wildfire, while others putter along struggling to get any kind of meaningful following?
Have you ever looked at the big influencers, and tried to post similar content only to have it fall flat?
You first have to decide what mode you are going be in, because not everyone you are trying to reach is on the same wavelength.
Are you in growth mode or engagement mode.
The big influencers are in engagement mode. They have already built a sizeable following and are now maintaining their community and keeping everybody engaged.
Of course they still make an effort to continue growing their follower count, but the content is focused on engaging the community they already have.
This is why you can post the exact same kind of content as one of the big influencers and not see any results.
Unless your follower count is well into the multiple six figures, you are going to be in “growth” mode.
This means your content has to be geared towards people that have no idea who you are and it should communicate what you are about.
In this case, selfies at brunch won’t cut it. Save that for the engagement mode. Instead, be genuine and document your journey as an actor.
If you had a bad audition, post about it. If you had a great audition, post about it.
Ask questions, ask for recommendations and take charge of your community. You might find that doing something like “motivation Mondays” will be a big help to both you and your following.
That’s really what CDs and Directors want to see from you online.
They want to see your personality shining through and a growing fan base that adores that personality.
It translates to you being a big help when it comes to promoting the project. It also gives them an idea of whether or not you will be easy to work with.
Have you ever been on a set where people were at each other’s throats.
Behind the scenes drama, ultimately lands on the CD’s shoulders. They are charged with, not only building a talented cast, but also building a cast that will work well together.
So, if you are constantly posting photos about your diva-like behavior, you are repelling the very people you are trying to attract.
Switch gears and post about your desire to be a working actor and most importantly, post about what you are doing to accomplish that.
CDs want to see that you are a professional and not a hobbyist. Professional actors will constantly work on their craft and refine their talent, so post about it!
When you are in growth mode, you want make sure to add text on your photos and put some thought into your captions.
When someone is scrolling through content, looking for something or someone interesting, words on the photo is an immediate attention grabber.
Use it as a way to grab attention rather than as a narration tool.
Your captions should also be thoughtful and include hashtags that will put your content in front of interested people. Don’t just go for the big, trending tags. Also use smaller ones because your posts will have a longer lifespan there.
Nearly everyone in growth mode misses those 2 elements in their posts and it severely limits the reach of their content.
There is a specific content theme you should be highly focused on, because it can skyrocket your industry status and have CDs, directors and other industry decision makers see you as an in demand actor.
If you want to be seen as an industry force, you have to weave yourself into the fabric of the industry.
Take a journalistic approach to posting about industry events, news, releases, other actors, etc.
Start conversations about those topics. Add your own commentary and you will start to pick up followers who also think like you.
That’s how bonds are formed in the real world and it’s the same way online.
Not only does this strategy serve to build your following and community, it also has the power to skyrocket your industry status if you approach it correctly.
The reason is that, if you are constantly covering industry events, you will be seen as an industry insider, even if no one has ever heard of you.
If you are posting your commentary about other actors, you will be seen as someone who knows a lot about acting.
In turn, as you prepare to give your commentary on different subjects, you will also become better versed in those subjects. It’s a great way to spend your time, because you accomplish multiple things.
Over time, as your influence grows, you may even be asked to attend and cover events or premieres.
Now that you have an effective strategy for how to use social media to build your acting career, you need the other half of the equation.
Being an actor comes with an unfair connotation, so you need to make sure your professional reputation is in good standing.
This will separate you from those that have chosen acting as a hobby and professional actors like you.
That’s why I created a tool to ensure that your professional reputation matches your goals.
So, when CDs look into your background (whether it’s after an audition or if they stumble on your profile), they will find that you are a professional actor with a reputation to prove it.
Having a stellar reputation also opens you up to opportunities you wouldn’t otherwise have.
Many agents won’t even see actors below a certain threshold and many productions are choosing only to see actors within an acceptable reputation range.
In the industry, you need to give yourself every possible advantage. That’s one major reason to pursue building a community on social media. It’s something you can leverage to your advantage for casting decisions.
Before a casting decision can be made in your favor, 3 things must happen. The CD has to know you. Social media has the power to take care of this.
They also have to like you. Social media and your audition will handle that part.
Lastly, they have to trust you. Here’s how I can help with that.
Combine everything in this report and the sky doesn’t even begin to describe the limit. The destiny of your career will be fully in your hands and there will be no stopping you.
If you have questions about any of this, shoot me an email or let me know in the comments below. I’m always happy to help, because my goal is to...
See you at the top,
Scott