Long gone are the days of mall scouting and holding open casting calls. Casting agents are currently looking to social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Facebook and Twitter to find new talent. According to Mitch Gossett, senior VP of CESD Talent Agency and former talent agent for Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, his agents spend their time scouring social media feeds for the next big star. “The social media stars we scout do not live in LA or New York. They come from everywhere.” Talent is only one part of the equation. Agents also explored the actor’s social media following, engagement, and their other interests while filling the role. According to a recent studycasting directors believe talent only counts for 7% of all casting decisions.
Because of this new form of scouting, it is important for aspiring actors to have a presence on social media. An actor’s social media accounts are a tool to help them get discovered, catapulting them to a certain level in the industry. Because social media is part of casting conversationactors should use this platform as a way to showcase their talent and private brand.
In the following posts, we will discuss how social media has changed the realm of acting and how actors can use this to their advantage.
Create an Authentic Brand
To build a following and attract casting agents, you must create an genuine online brand. To do this, you must show your true personality – do not promote. You can use a combination of videos on YouTube or Vine, images on Instagram or Snapchat, or insights on Twitter and Facebook. People follow others they can relate to or admire. As corny as it sounds, to create authenticity through digital screens you want to be yourself. Show off all the things that make you unique not only as an actor, but as a person as well. Share your interests, style, admiration and daily life.
Find Your Voice
It’s great to have a list of your favourite influencers and you should follow and support them. But you should not focus so much on other people’s success that you forget who you are. Try to focus on finding your own voice, post about what you believe in and you’ll build genuine followers.
Showcase Your Work
One of the more apparent ways to use social media is to showcase your talent. Now, this does not imply you must read from the script because you are an aspiring actor. That means you must create content around your talent. If you enjoy acting and directing, make great short films on your YouTube account that showcase your talents. However you decide to showcase your work, be sure you are unique, creative and stay true to your original brand.
Get Involved
The best way to increase your social media following is to engage with other people. There is tremendous value in having a direct dialogue with your fans and aspiring actors or other creatives in your industry. If someone comments on a picture, responds to your Tweet, or asks a question on your YouTube video, you must be responsive.
Always remember that behind every follow, like, view and share is another human being just like you. As you develop your following, it is important to pay attention to how your actions or words can affect others. Keep asking yourself: how do I want people to feel after they see my post? Another area you should remember of is online bullying or negativity. In this case, you need to be strategic about dealing with online trolls. Don’t let their negativity or intimidation ruin your real brand. Always stay true to your goals.
Customize Your Message
If you use multiple social media platforms, you should change your content and messages per platform in an interesting and inventive way. Every platform is a little different: what works on pinterest might not work on facebook, for example. Also, consider who your audience is. Did you talk to twenty people who love fashion? Then you must provide content that talks about it.
Collaborate
There are many other aspiring actors on social media, each with their own network of followers. If you admire other people’s work, reach out to them and find out how the two of you can use your talents to collaborate on a project. Collaboration is not only an amazing way to increase traffic to your social media accounts, it also stimulates more creativity.
Be Consistent
Nothing was found overnight. With accessibility to social media, anyone can be the next star. This also means that there’s plenty of competition. To get a robust following, you want to be consistent with the content you put out. It also does not imply you need 100K+ followers on every platform. Stick with whichever platform you are most comfy with and focus on producing quality content that’s engaging and genuine.
Actors and actresses become social influencers not only on the big screen, but also on the screens of mobile devices. Casting agents now think of actors not only as talent, but also as brand influencers. They wanted someone who could help promote the feature film in addition to endorse a product, which could all be done between influencers’ social media accounts. To be noticed as an aspiring actor, you need to create an genuine online presence that defines who you are. From creating content that speaks to others like you, collaborating with like-minded influencers and interesting with audiences, you can successfully use social media as a platform to land your next big gig.
Contributed By: Cosette St. Pierre is a French Canadian who moves to Hollywood to live a luxurious life amongst the stars. She is a freelance lifestyle writer and street fashion guru. She nearly at all times craved hummus and prided herself on a strict daily beauty regimen. Cosette is a blogger for WhoRepresents.com.
