I’m astounded by how often an actor doesn’t have a website or social media presence… Has no publicity strategy… and no long term career plan. These actors bounce from audition to audition, leaving the fate of their career to chance, like a game of roulette – only the stakes are much higher.
Successful people make their own luck. They stack the odds in their favor. They do everything possible to ensure victory. Now, I’m not talking about cheating… I’m talking about preparation. “The battle is won before it is fought” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.
An actor friend of mine recently contacted me, and told me he was among 3 people that were in consideration for a major recurring role on network television. He had recently been voted one of the 10 best actors in the region on a popular website, and he asked me how he could get this info in front of the casting director and studio execs.
I hated to tell him, but he’s already missed the boat. He can’t just email them the link… that reeks of desperation, and bragging can come off a little needy. Had an effective publicity strategy already been in place, it’s likely the producers and casting directors would have been aware of his accomplishments during their initial research.
Trust me, no matter what the industry, prospective employers are Googling you. You had better put some time and effort into managing your brand and reputation.
The point is that last minute publicity rarely works. It’s an ongoing effort, from which results will take months to manifest.
First and foremost, you must have a branded website, that is SEO optimized, that will serve as a hub for your demo reel, resume, and press articles. It should be a clean and simple way for a potential employer to get all the necessary details to confirm their casting decision.
I’ll let you in on a little secret…. producers like to cast actors that have a following, and that will generate additional press.
Why?
Because that directly equates to sales.
Imagine you are a producer… you have the choice (for the same price) to hire actor A, or actor B. Actor A has 100,000 twitter followers, blogs regularly and has 5000 Facebook friends, a fan page with 100,000 followers and a Klout score of 75. Actor B doesn’t have a twitter, or a website and only has a Facebook page with 200 friends that gets updated once a month, with a Klout score of 20.
Who do you think will sell more DVDs of your movie?
If you said the better actor, you’re wrong. It’s actor A. Even if they suck.
Don’t be complacent about your publicity and marketing strategy. Develop a plan, make adjustments as necessary, and stick with it.
Talent is not enough. Talent must meet opportunity. You must create both!
Yes and no. This article is spot on for the professional actor but 111,000 followers can kill a show if they see bad acting/production value…take a look at the short life span of soo many TV shows. I follow the saying "After your first fifteen minutes of bulls#%t, you better know what you're doing". The marketing concept is nothing new but the tools of getting out there are
Twitter and social media can make or break a show… that's why if you are going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk. But I think now more than ever, actors have to work harder to get through all the BS, and get a a fair shot.