Actors: what are your goals for 2016?

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing are some penguins with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com 

 Facebook.com/penguinintheroom 

twitter.com/prartsmarketing

or waddle over to the website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Advertisement

Freelancers: what are your goals for 2016?

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing are some penguins with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com 

 Facebook.com/penguinintheroom 

twitter.com/prartsmarketing

or waddle over to the website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Social Media for Actors

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753587@N00/13919893625″>Important call</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;

So you are an actor/actress and you are interested in social media, you might even have a Facebook or twitter profile but what social media channels should you be using?

You should be present on the 4 biggies: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn

1. Twitter – over 200 million members sending over 500 million tweets a day and the one every one is obsessed with. Great for people on the go – you can tweet anywhere if you have a smart phone. Perfect for starting conversations and finding opportunities.

2. Facebook – over a billion members! The Facebook membership is getting older so you will find more and more industry folk on there. Great for connecting, keeping tabs on your connections and finding opportunities. Remember to keep them separate from your friends and family by setting up a page or organising your friends into groups.

3. YouTube – the second biggest search engine after google (now owned by google)! In a visual industry like acting you should be represented on YouTube. If there is one thing you do today upload your showreel.

4. LinkedIn – widely known as the biggest lead generating social media network, which means that people make the most direct sales/money?work from this one. Great for keeping tabs on your connections. Take a look at What is LinkedIn? A Straightforward Guide for more info.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing are some penguins with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com 

 Facebook.com/penguinintheroom 

twitter.com/prartsmarketing

or waddle over to the website: www.penguinintheroom.com

One for the actors…

We thought this might make you laugh…

photo credit: Actor’s Lab Kim Kardashian sign, sign, pizzeria, Portland, Oregon, USA via photopin (license)

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is some penguins with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to the website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Penguin chats with … Casting Director Shakyra Dowling

Casting Director and Penguin in the Room client Shakyra Dowling visited the penguin pool this week to answer some casting and online marketing related questions.

Follow Shakyra on twitter @ShakyraDowling

Whats the biggest misconception about casting directors?

Probably that we are scary people! We want actors to do well, we only bring you in because we think you are PERFECT for the job.

What are you up to at the moment?

Casting 2 feature films – one British Independent and the other a Danish/US co-production

Top casting tips for actors?

– Always learn the sides sent to you.

– Find out who is going to be at the meeting and check them out on IMDB.

– If you can watch some of their previous work on VOD then do so.

You are on twitter and Facebook, do you post castings?

Twitter – especially for those hard to find role!

Do you think it’s important for actors to be aware of their online presence?

Yes, producers always want to know how much publicity they can get out via their cast. So if you have a large following, they are impressed.

Do you chat to actors on twitter?

Sometimes, usually ones I know personally or have cast in the past.

Do you think actors should be on youtube?

If they have a body of work online (trailers for films, online ads, shorts) then its good to have it all in one place on a youtube channel. Showreels should be on spotlight or vimeo as they are more industry tools.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is one penguin with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping my way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact me any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to my website:www.penguinintheroom.com

Top 5 Facebook No No’s for Actors

So most of us are on Facebook but a lot of people ask me if they should be on there as an actor? Yes! Facebook is another great way to promote yourselves and network and there will be people on Facebook that aren’t on twitter, LinkedIn etc so don’t miss out on connecting with them. So the next question I get asked is what are the commons mistakes you should avoid? Well, I am glad you ask because here are my top 5 No No’s for Actors on Facebook…

1. Personal profiles – make sure your personal profile (profile through which you add and accept friends) is not visible in google search and update your privacy settings, you don’t want Directors seeing photos of the last hen night you went on do you! Create a page (which people can like) to be the public face of your acting brand. (You can create a personal acting profile but you are only allowed one profile on Facebook so Facebook could shut this profile down at any time)

2. Fan page – Facebook pages are often called fan pages and this makes actors feel insecure about having a page as they assume they have no fans and get caught up in the amount of likes they have. However, it is not about securing fans it’s about making connections and promoting your news – think quality not quantity – if 10 people are engaging with your page regularly that’s much better than 1000 people who never read or like anything you post.

3. Headers – Facebook’s new look timeline has header images (the long thin image across the top) and this is a great opportunity to promote yourselves. Please resist the urge to have a picture of a nice view or a stock theatre image and use this space to display a screen/theatre shot of yourself. Let prospective employers see you in action! You can even put a current production poster there to promote where your followers can see you next.

4. Twitter messages on Facebook – we all like to feel special and if I see that you have clearly posted a tweet on Facebook eg. the post contains hashtags and @tags, I don’t feel special. Your Facebook followers want to feel like you are posting interesting news for them on Facebook and not just posting any old thing because its easier. So, do not link your Facebook account to Twitter and remove twitter language before posting on Facebook. Also, it’s a good idea to post some messages on Facebook that don’t go on twitter and vice versa – make it interesting for people who follow you on both social media channels.

5. News – by all means promote yourself but don’t be a broken record. We do want to hear your news but not just a stream of you related information. Break things up with interesting articles, links etc that are useful for your followers.

So enjoy yourselves on Facebook and I hope you make some wonderful connections out of it! If you are on twitter you can also check out my Top 5 No No’s for Actors on Twitter too.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is one penguin with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping my way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact me any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to my website:www.penguinintheroom.com

FAQ’s from Surviving Actors: Common Actor’s Marketing Questions Answered!

Well I had a jam-packed two days at Surviving Actors this month leading a seminar with The Page UK, being on Fuse Creative Network’s stand and doing one on ones and met lots of lovely creative people! I had a lot of chats and answered a lot of burning questions so I thought I would look at the most common in the hope that it might help you!

Why should I be on twitter?

• Networking – there are half a billion people on twitter so its like going to a networking event with half a billion people and you don’t have to do the face to face stuff you can plan what you are going to say!
• News – If you follow industry professionals, companies, venues, twitter can keep you in the loop with what is going on in the industry.
• Jobs – Castings are posted on twitter.
• Profile – being present and engaging on twitter can raise your profile in the industry as more people will be aware of you
• Promotion – you can promote your shows, films, showreels and just generally your amazing self!

If I’m not working what can I post and tweet about?

Anything that is related to the industry and on point to your objective for being on social media! Post interesting things for your followers. Tell us about an amazing play you went to see, post an interesting article, promote a film company you used to work for, tell us who won the BAFTA’s in case we haven’t seen it yet.

What is LinkedIn?

I have written a blog purely on that subject! Here you go What is LinkedIn?

I have another business should I have two LinkedIn pages, twitter profiles etc?

This is a very personal thing. If you feel your businesses work well together eg. Director/Writer then keep it the same. If you feel that clients from one business might feel uncomfortable initially finding out that you are an actor keep them separate. In addition, you might be working in two very different fields eg. acting and architecture so it might be best to separate your contacts in each area and promote your jobs separately in their relevant industries.

How should I go about contacting Casting Directors on twitter?

Just connect with them. Sending a blanket message with your spotlight link isn’t going to do you any favours. Just think, if someone sent this to me would I click on the link (especially if I get bombarded by a similar thing via email every day)?

What are hashtags on twitter?

Aha I have written a blog on this too. Here you go Making the most of Hashtags on Twitter

How many tweets should I do a day?

6 tweets a day generally gives you the best engagement and outreach. But do not fear, that includes retweets and replies.

Should I have a fan page on Facebook because I haven’t really done much?

I would say yes and don’t think of it as a fan page. I would just think of it as a professional page on Facebook. It keeps people engaged with what is going on with you professionally as your personal profile keeps your friends engaged with whats going on with you personally. Don’t get caught up in the amount of likes either, just try to engage with people.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is one penguin with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping my way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact me any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to my website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Top 4 tips on how to make the most of #hashtags on twitter!

A hashtag is this lovely symbol # which you have probably seen banded about across twitter, the internet and even on tv and printed advertising now-a-days. But what is it for?! Well it has a number of fun functions (alliteration makes me happy).

1. Helping more people see your tweets – a great way to find news/info tailored to you on twitter, is to use the search function. If you are a director you might search “actors” to find some new talent. So if you are an actor and you are tweeting about your latest project you might want to hashtag it with “actors” eg #actors so that directors can find you. Similarly if you are an artist and you are tweeting about your latest artwork you might want to hashtag it with words that will help art lovers find you eg. #art #painting #sculpture
2. Promoting an event or campaign – if you are planning an event or marketing campaign its a terrific idea to create a hashtag for it. The hashtag can be used to encourage people to tweet about the event and to monitor feedback: raising awareness and giving you a list of testimonials for the product or event.
3. Linking conversations – every Sunday when the new episode of Downton Abbey is on you will probably notice that lots of people are using the hashtag #downton or #downtonabbey when commenting on the newest instalment If you click on this hashtag it will take you to all the tweets featuring this hashtag. You can read through whole conversations about Downton and join in yourself. This can be a useful tool if you are off to an event and the clever event hosts have read “tip 3” and created a hashtag for the event, such as #penguinworkshop The day before most people will probably tweet that they are excited about or off to this fabulous event eg. “So excited about #penguinworkshop tomorrow afternoon”. If you are going too you can click on this hashtag and see who is going to be at the event the next day and maybe even do some pre-event networking – perhaps arrange to all go to lunch together or meet for coffee before!
4. For Funnies – hashtags are also useful for making jokes and don’t forget you can hashtag a few words together. Popular ones are #shamlessselfpromotion #badhairday my personal favourites are #pickupapenguin and #lastnightapenguinsavedmylife

So there you are! Go forth and hashtag!

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is one penguin with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping my way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact me any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com orFacebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to my website:www.penguinintheroom.com