This post may contain affiliate links, so I may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Check out the disclosure for more info. And thank you for supporting free content!
Social Media: Say Good-bye to Self-Promotion, How and What to Share
If you’re like most actors, you absolutely hate the term “self promotion”. Acting, sounds great! Telling people about your wins and successes – awesome! Doing a song and dance to “promote yourself” so you can book work or even just get an audition…. so gross. It doesn’t help that we are often told that as actors we are “the product we have to sell”. It’s dehumanizing and completely removes art, talent and hard work from the equation.
The truth is you are not a product, you are a flesh and blood human being; an artist and a creative spirit who simply wants to create cool stuff with other artists. But you do have to get the word out there and social media is one of the best tools at an actor’s disposal, so how do you promote yourself without self-promoting?
Social media is really a goldmine for an actor, but when you have to use it for work, it can feel like a duty and an obligation and really suck all of the fun and joy out of platforms that are supposed to be for fun, connecting and creativity. So how can you utilize social media as an actor and do it in a way that feels good…. without the gross and icky part?
This is where we go back to grade school – it’s time for Show and Tell.
Remember when you were a kid and you would take something into school and tell a story about it? That’s exactly how an actor should approach social media. First, show people something, and then tell a story about it.
Actors are natural story tellers so this should come easily, but we get hung up when it comes to our own work. There’s the added pressure on social of trying to get the numbers up, worrying about hashtags, timing, frequency, consistency and tagging. And that’s where the joy goes down the drain. Are numbers important? …. to a point. But really, unless you can monetize the audience or book work from your posts, they’re just vanity metrics.
Instead, focus on this…
Show people something about your life… and tell a story about it.
Show people something about your work…. and tell a story about it.
Show people something about your training and classes….. and tell a story about that.
Show people what you are creating, what you are proud of, a candid moment, a favorite cause or a glimpse behind the curtain or behind the scenes… and then tell them a story about that.
It’s really that simple.
Focus on your audience, on your fans or soon-to-be-fans and on the people who would really love your content instead of trying to win over casting directors and agents. If you are passionate about what you’re doing and authentic, they will follow.
Create content and entertain, because ultimately whether you’re doing it on Instagram or at Paramount Studios, you are still a content creator and an entertainer… so be entertaining!
Every once in a while throw in a ‘why’…why are you passionate about sushi and sunsets, your rescue dog, the play you were in or the short you just shot? Why do you do what you do?
People want to know you… you’re an actor! And the whole world is fascinated by actors.
Pick your platform. Really one at a time is enough to manage, and maybe use a tool like IFTTT.com or Zapier to push your content out to other platforms so you have some sort of presence without making yourself crazy.
Most importantly, create content that feels good to you and trust that the right people will find you; there is seldom artistry to be found in pressure.
Social media is really just a giant, worldwide game of Show & Tell. And hopefully thinking about it this way will make it easier for you to share. Here, the whole world is the classroom, and we really are all in this together. 🙂
Head to the comments section below and let me know if this changed something for you. What are your take aways? Are you going to do anything differently? As always, I love to read what you write.
If this was useful …. Post it, pin it, tweet it, share it! As actors it’s important that we come together and support each other in this giant creative community. xo Hunter
* Please Note: I am not an agent, manager, or casting director. I do not procure work for actors. All information, workshops and coaching are for educational purposes only and are not a guarantee or promise of employment. Thank you for being here!
