Your Virtual Marquee

We have to talk about it because it’s a part of our culture that is not going away any time soon: social media. If you’re an aspiring artist looking for exposure in any field, social media is one of your most valuable tools. Now that you know exactly what you want to achieve, what makes you special, who can help you achieve your dreams, what you should look and act like to get the part, and you’ve been working toward excellence as an artist and a human . . . it’s time to share all of that with the world. This week, you’ll cultivate your social media plan to show yourself and your artistry to the (virtual) world.

What’s the best online platform for your art? What is your social media aesthetic? Are you sweet or sarcastic? Edgy? Gritty? Conscientiously buttoned up? Grounded? While you’re thinking about this kind of thing, don’t forget to refer back to chapter 9 to make sure that your social media aesthetic matches your style. What established artist’s social media do you admire, and what do you enjoy about it? How often will you post to your social media? These are all important questions that you probably have not considered in the past. You probably already use social media, but if you’re like most of the world, you don’t really think too much about the image you are putting out there. Most folks see something, take a picture of it, and post it without thinking. If you are purposeful about what you post to your platforms and how you present yourself, you might be able to nab more auditions, gain some recognition, or even get a great job.

This book is not intended to help you get to one hundred thousand followers in a month. That’s a valiant goal, but that is a whole other book. Or ten books. Gaining followers in today’s congested landscape is harder than it seems, but there is some great advice out there on how to cultivate your audience. Pick up a book or read articles or blogs on social media marketing if you feel that cultivating a large social media following is important to your success in your field. Right now, though, the most important thing to do in relation to your social media is to become aware of how it is reflecting you, your personality, and your work.

Think of this chapter as similar to creating your VIP list in chapter 10. It’s important to keep in touch with the people on your VIP list, and it’s also important to keep current on your social media. Why? So that the folks you don’t even know who are on your VIP list can keep up with your artistic pursuits. You know your friends follow what you’re up to, but you don’t necessarily know if your mom’s sister Karen’s hairdresser is totally into everything you create and will be an undercover fan of yours for the rest of her life. You also never know if your mom’s sister Karen’s hairdresser knows anyone else in the business and could five years in the future mention you to the casting director who will book you on your dream job. Is that likely? No. There’s definitely a very slim chance of this happening. But hey, if you buy enough lottery tickets for long enough, you will eventually win some dough. And social media is free marketing for you and your art. It’s a win/win.

Now this may go without saying, but you should know that what you put out there on social media can be seen by everyone (unless you have your settings set to private). Even if your brand is the edgy bad boy, it’s probably not a good idea to post photos of inebriated you partying until dawn for the whole world to see. You may be the most responsible person in the universe, but if producers, casting directors, or choreographers check out your Instagram feed and see these pictures, they may reconsider hiring you for their project based on their erroneous assumption that you are irresponsible. The long and short of it is that you should never give anybody any excuse not to hire you based on what you post on social media.

LET ME TELL YOU A STORY. . . .

I have seen a few auditions in Los Angeles lately that have the following written in the character breakdown: “100,000 or more followers preferred.” Like any rational human being, my first reaction to that addendum to a breakdown is an exasperated eye roll. But if you think about it from a producer’s standpoint, it makes sense. Let’s say you are a producer who is making a low-budget indie feature film on a $50,000 budget. You will spend every dime on the creation and editing of the film, leaving you with no leftover money to spend on advertisement. So what do you do? Well, you have your cast advertise for you. If you cast a secondary role with a good actress who has hundreds of thousands of fans on social media and then you add a clause into her contract that she has to post at least five times about the film to all of her social media channels, you just got yourself some free advertising. What if there are two actresses you want for the same part, and one has 4,000 followers and the other has 1.4 million? Guess who is most likely to be cast if all other things are equal? You guessed it.

This is not the way that every film, show, commercial, and other project works by any stretch of the imagination. I highly doubt that CBS takes the time to look to see if someone has a huge social media following when they’re casting a costar on Young Sheldon. Smaller projects, though, are a different story. “But the best actor/dancer/singer should always get the part, not the one who has the most followers! It’s not fair!” you might say. I hear you. And to some extent, I agree. But we all learned in grade school that life often isn’t fair. Sometimes the best person for the part gets the part. Most often, though, there are many other factors besides talent that go into casting. If you can create a large and distinct enough virtual presence for yourself, you can increase your chances of being cast, your likelihood of receiving funding for projects, and your ability to rustle up other opportunities for your career. Again, the more people who know about you and what you do, the better.

Incidentally, we all instinctually know that there is a fine line we all need to walk on social media between self-promotion and humanness. The “humble brag” reigns supreme these days, and it can leave folks with a taste in their mouth worse than orange juice after toothpaste. “My phone was hacked and I just texted something in Japanese to Taylor Swift and Zendaya. I’m so embarrassed!” (insert eye roll here). Whatever your platform, you should decide how you are going to approach your viewers, and it definitely shouldn’t be like the previous statement. Once you decide what your approach is, as long as you stay true to it and completely transparent, you’re golden. Take, for instance, Nordstrom. I know that a Nordstrom ad is going to come up on my Instagram on a regular basis (usually showing me a deal on a new pair of pumps—they know me well). I’m not annoyed by this, because I have already assumed that Nordstrom is going to try to sell me things. That’s what they do. And they usually have figured out what I want to buy from my search history, so they’re essentially adding value to my life by decreasing the amount of time I need to spend looking for leopard-print, four-inch-stiletto, thigh-high suede boots. If, however, someone who has not been in touch in a while suddenly reaches out to try to sell me some new pyramid-scheme item without first asking how I am, I get a little grumpy. Why? Because my acquaintance has crossed the unwritten rules of engagement and has stepped outside my expectations of an appropriate contact. So, if your Instagram is promotional for, say, your choreography, stay true to that. Don’t suddenly start posting a lot of random family photos because those who are interested in choreography (and not your grandma Joanie) will probably choose to stop following you. If you give people what they know they will be getting from you, they will continue to engage.

DAY 1

It’s time for some research—social media style. Today, you’ll spend some time perusing social media (like you don’t do that every day) to find artists who are pursuing careers in your field. Look at what they’re putting out there and how they’re presenting it. Take notes on what you would like to incorporate into your online presence and what you don’t think will work for you. Check out multiple platforms to see which has the most engagement in your field. Do screenwriters tend to gather around the Twitter water cooler? Do most dancers post videos on Instagram rather than Pinterest or Facebook? What seems to be the demographic of each platform, and how does it match up to your target audience for your artistic pursuits? The goal of all of this information gathering is to find how you want to represent yourself. But first, we just want to gather information on what you like and don’t like and whether you think specific tactics or aesthetics work or not. Here is an example of some research from an aspiring comedic actor:

Person or group: Tituss Burgess

Social Platform: Instagram

What I like/don’t like: I like that he posts hilarious videos but that they’re always in his character’s voice.

How I can apply that to my social presence: I have a lot of characters I embody in my work, but I can create a series of videos featuring all of my favorite characters.

Set a timer for fifteen to twenty minutes, seek out similar artists’ social media, record what you like and don’t like, and decide how you can incorporate what you like (or keep out what you don’t like) into your own digital materials.

Person or group: ______________________________________________________