Keeping Your Social Media Alive During Edinburgh Fringe

We know you’re busy – August is nuts for anyone performing. If you’re not touting your show on the Royal Mile, performing or having a well earnt post-performance beer, the last thing on your mind is probably tweeting, updating your Facebook or even (heaven forbid) posting a blog.

Who has time for any of that?

Well…

You do.

Why it’s important to stay active

Edinburgh Fringe creates a lot of its own buzz – people are excited to be there, they’re excited to see new shows and they’re wandering around looking for something new. Even those not at the Fringe will be following what’s going on, whether that’s through something like the BBC or through the Instagram and Facebook posts of their mates who are there.

So this is no time for a social media blackout!

You don’t want to be the person that misses a great reviewer because they’ve tweeted something about having a free slot and you’ve missed it, do you?

No.

So listen up.

What you should be doing

If anything,  you need to be more active than usual. Remember, social media is a key tool in your arsenal for promotion. And that means:

• Tweeting stuff about your show (back stage pictures, images of the queue, boomerang videos of the cast/yourself making silly faces – LITERALLY ANYTHING that’s not “hey, come see my show, promise it’s awesome.” – People will see how much fun it is from all the other content you’re posting, you don’t have to labour the point.
• Retweeting literally anything that mentions you/your show/your venue. You want people to know who you are, where you’re performing and when. So if someone gives you a shoutout with a tweet – give them a shoutout right back! Retweeting shows your follower list (and a wider pool of people) just how awesome you are, straight from the audience’s mouth
• Replying to people who are at/coming to the Fringe. Set up some searches on Twitter (here’s one I made earlier, with the location for Pleasance Courtyard) and here’s how where set up an advanced search and get down to replying to people. “Hey, if you’re hanging around [VENUE] come and see [SHOW]! We’re on at 8pm!” is a very basic example of the stuff you can send back.
• Asking one of your mates to take a few shots during your show and live-tweet it (if you’re allowing phones/images, otherwise it’ll encourage other people to succumb to the blue screen of death)
• Chasing reviews. Now if you’ve already had a tonne of reviewers in, then bully for you – but if you haven’t you need to chase. them. down. Tweet them, FB message them, email them, send a darn pidgeon if you have to – but be active in trying to get your reviews coming in. Not only will it help this year, but it’ll stand you in good stead next year when people see your awesome review and think “oh no, I missed [your awesome show], I’ll have to make sure I catch them next year.”

Getting a little help 

Now we’re not saying every second of your spare time needs to be spent on Twitter or Facebook. Here are some things you can do:

1. Set up some rules on IFTTT – such as “whenever someone mentions you in a Tweet, send them a thank you as a reply”

2. Schedule some Tweets/Facebook posts using Buffer so that you’re never silent (more on how to do this here)

3. Schedule a blog post to drop in the middle of the Fringe, and then go in and add some news images just before it posts. You might want to write something like “Having an awesome time” or “best night ever so far at the Fringe,” or even “Funniest moments of my Fringe so far” – you’re scheduling it, so you’re going to need to get *cough* creative *cough* with the content, but reason images will add authenticity. You can change this where it says ‘Publish Immediately’ on WordPress, click the arrow and select ‘Schedule’.

All of these things will help you be active on Twitter, Facebook or your blog during what’s going to be a very, very busy month!

 

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Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other 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 our website: www.penguinintheroom.com

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5 Social Media Tools That Will Save Your Life

Social media is a black hole for time.

You can spend hours pouring over the same 10 videos and you barely even notice the clock ticking.

When it comes to running your own social media, however, time is a huge factor. Because the more time you spend on social media, the less time you’re spending actually doing what you do (unless you’re a social media maven. You do you.)

Given that most creatives are time poor, so we’ve pulled together a list of 10 social media tools that will save you time and effort. Meaning you don’t have to spend your life flicking between apps. Yippee!

The best bit is… they’re all free!

Buffer

Buffer is an awesome scheduling tool that allows you to post Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts at a later date.

With the free version you can link up to 3 accounts and schedule up to 10 pieces of content.

There’s also a handy content inbox where you can follow your favourite blogs (*cough*) and schedule to share their content online with a simple click. You can also link your own blog and re-share old content as well as broadcasting new content.

Audiense

Audiense figures out when the best time for you to Tweet is. What’s even cooler is that it then links up to Buffer, and gives you a handy schedule.

This means you know all of your planned tweets are getting sent at exactly the best time for people to like, comments and share them.

Not only this, but it lets you search for people to follow (to grow your community) and also tells you who isn’t following you back (meanies.)

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is great if you’ve got loads of different accounts and you want to keep them all in one handy place.

It offers the same service as Buffer but also includes a handy reply function – meaning you can keep track of all your conversations, all in one place!

Hootsuite also allows you to target subsets for channels like your Facebook page.

Social Mention

Ever wondered what people say about you online? Googling is so 2014 – you need Social Mention. It’s a eal-time platform that searches across the whole of the social interweb and organising it into a handy list for you. Influence is measured by Strength, Sentiment, Passion and Reach.

Not only this, it gives you a score for positive vs negative sentiment and your overall influence.

Pretty great if you’re trying to manage your brand or someone else’s.

Iconosquare

You know that 31 people liked the picture of your breakfast. But do you know how many more likes you when you use Mayfair, instead of Nashville?

Iconosquare delves deeper than your ex into your instagram and analyses your posts, measuring the type of post vs the level of engagement.

If you’re monetising Instagram or even just using it to help build brand/personal awareness, this is one for you.

Now you’re fully armed – fly, my social media mavens, fly! (And let us know if you think we’ve missed anything.)

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other 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 our website: www.penguinintheroom.com

5 Mistakes You’re Probably Making on Social Media

Social media. We know the deal here, right? Some tweets. Some likes. A few dozen comments and a gif for good measure.

It’s not a top secret recipe.

And yet – nearly everyone is guilty of the following social media fails. How many do you clock up?

1. Selling on purpose

We all have something we want to sell. Whether it’s tickets to our next show or even just that jumper you bought off Ebay months ago and have never worn, we’re used to seeing sales messages on social media.

If you’re using social to build awareness of yourself and your brand however, you need to try and avoid the hard sell.

Why?

Because people don’t like following accounts where they think they will get sold to all the time. It’s not fun for them (I mean, how passionate can someone be about a 20% discount on lawnmowers? Hmm?

2. Not secret selling

So here’s the secret. You sell. But you do it in a more roundabout way with some personality, fun and intrigue thrown in for good measure. Have a look at these two tweets:

Guys! Please buy tickets and come and support me on stage, www.ticketlink.com, it would be great to see you all.

Vs.

First dress rehearsal today! How’s my makeup looking for [insert production name]? http://www.ticketlink.com *With relevant image attached*

Which of those two tweets would you be more likely to click on?

The second one, right?!

Show us why we should come and see your show rather than ordering us to buy tickets!

3. Information broadcasting

This is a fancy way of saying ‘talking at people all the time on social media and never actually having a conversation with them.’

This happens when you view social media as a checkbox exercise. You log on, post your tweet, log back off and continue with your day/week/year. Wrong! You’ve just put something out into the world. If Sally from Rochester has decided to reply to you with a salsa dance emoji, then you need to engage with Sally (not salsa-ing, well maybe if that’s what you enjoy) and at least say thanks for the interaction.

Remember, you’re here to be social with people, not just yell at them from the safe confines of your laptop.

4. Ignoring the wider conversation

So back to Sally from Rochester, you need to engage in other conversations as well, not just the ones about you.

Get involved in topics you’re interested in (and that are on brand), but also show interest in other people and events in your industry. Being an active member of the wider social community will mean you get exposed (not like that) to new people, who in turn will get to find out about you. Win!

5. Posting natively (ohhh some social media jargon)

This is a mistake people make especially with Twitter.

‘Posting natively’ means logging onto twitter, clicking ‘write tweet’ and then typing it out there and then and clicking ‘tweet’.

“But how else would I post?” I hear you ask! There are a bunch of social media schedulers (watch out for the post on this) and tools that make it a lot faster for you to post online with the added bonus of being able to track all the good clicks and comments you get. Plus you can post on more than one site at the same time and view it all in the same window.

Magical huh?

So those are our top 5 social fails. How many did you get?

 

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other 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 our 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 5 Twitter No No’s for Actors!

So you thought you better join this twitter thing because you heard that people were getting castings from it and because directors and casting directors are on there. It was difficult at first because you weren’t too sure what you’re meant to actually say in your tweets… but now you feel like you are starting to get the hang of things. That sound about right? Well first things first: well done for taking the bull by the horns and being pro-active! Now it’s time to make sure that you aren’t making those common mistakes…..

No No’s

1. No holiday snaps as your profile picture! That should be your headshot. Show that you are a professional and make it easy for casters to match you to your spotlight page.

2. No confusing twitter blurbs (the bit of writing that explains who you are). Do show your personality but don’t forget to tell us your an actor first and foremost!

3. No random twitter names. Who will find you if your username is @dg4321 or @doglover …? Well maybe dog lovers! But if you are going on twitter as an actor or actress use your full name and maybe use the word actor as well for good measure. eg. @samanthabaines  or @jamesgroomactor 

4. No spamming industry people. Sending a tweet to all the casting directors, producers, agents and directors you can find on twitter and saying “Hey I am an actress please look at my spotlight page/website: http://www.actor.com” won’t glean the best results. Ask yourself the question, would that message make me click on the link? Start up conversations in more interesting ways by replying to something they have tweeted or talking about a common hobby/favourite film – people will always appreciate being talked to like a human being! Only tweet the link to a showreel/website in reply to a casting request.

5. No tweeting your lunch (unless its relevant) I say to all my clients don’t tweet “I just had a cheese sandwich” unless you are tweeting “I just had a cheese sandwich on set for my latest film [insert film name]”. Make your tweets relevant and interesting for your followers and you will find more people want to follow you!

So good luck and get out there and promote yourselves! Tweet me if you liked this post and let me know if you have any requests for future blogs 🙂

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 on-line 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