We all know the drill. You work hard, pound pavement, go to auditions, go to callbacks… and then you finally book something you’re really excited about. The project releases, and you’re stoked about what it will do for your career. Sometimes you’ll get a huge response after a project’s release, but unfortunately a lot of times you may hear crickets. Do you know the best way to capitalize on the moment? How can you make sure that other people, especially those that could give you more work in the future, know about your successes?
Well, you could hire a—probably expensive—PR team to get the word out. That might make sense, depending on the circumstances. If the project is sure to get massive attention, and you’re in a financial position to do it, this is something to consider.
High-pay, high-profile situations aren’t typically the norm, though, so it is good to know what the do-it-yourself options are. Here are three simple social media tricks that you can do yourself to promote your work:
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Build your following.
Start following accounts which are relevant to you. Casting directors, agents, fellow actors, and production companies are a great place to start. Building the list of accounts you follow will increase your follower numbers, too. Once you have something to promote, you’ll already have an audience to share it with.
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Know where to find your fans.
A friend of mine had a project come out a few months ago that got a huge online response… but the cast wasn’t credited in the project, which made it hard for my friend to capitalize on it. I suggested that she look up what hashtags people were using when talking about the video, and faster than you could write a 140-word Tweet, she suddenly had a bunch of new fans. Know the social channels that the project is doing well on, and pay attention to how people are engaging with it. Hashtags are especially helpful because they are an easy way of finding the “treasure trove” of chatter about any project.
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Get your own interviews.
Being interviewed about a project not only gives you a chance to be featured for your work, but also increases your online profile and gives you an extra piece to promote yourself with. How do you go about getting interviews? Connect with niche outlets that are already interested in your project, and let them know about you. As an example, my husband did a film for a Christian market that came out this spring. Several faith-based websites were already writing about the film. He tweeted them, thanking them for talking about the film and letting them know about his role in it. Several of those sites ended up featuring him in interviews. As intimidating as it might be, connecting with the outlets you think you’d be a good interview subject for is actually fairly simple. The key is to stick to sites that you know will be interested, connect with them in a positive and non-pushy way, and see what happens. Remember, behind every website or social media account is a real person. Being kind, knowledgeable, and ultimately helpful (you’re giving them material, after all) will get you farther than you might imagine!
Do you have any stories about using social media to promote a creative project? What has or has not worked for you in the past?