10 Ways Actors Can Grow their Following!

Whether you’re creating content, planning a crowdfunding campaign or looking to increase your visibility, building your following as an actor is important. To build an engaged audience you must:

1. Create a great first impression on social media.
2. Strategically spread the word about your channels.
3. Join conversations with like-minded people in the industry.

Goal #1: Create a fantastic first impression on social media.

-Optimize your photos. Upload your headshot as your profile photo and use it on all your social networks so you’re instantly recognizable to your fans. Next, design your own header photos. This real estate should tell us who you are and why we should follow you. Include your social icons to cross promote and build your audience on other platforms. If you’re using Snapchat, customize your unique snapcode (like this one) to match your actor website and add that Snapcode to your site and social media.

-Makeover your social media bios! Your bio is a mini advertisement for why someone should like, subscribe or follow you! Tell us what you do, what you love and what you stand for! Make it easy for your followers and fans to find you by using consistent usernames for yourself and your projects across all of your platforms.

-Clean up your accounts. The more influential you appear, the more people will ‘follow’ you on Twitter and Instagram. If you’re following way more people than are following you, flip this ratio by occasionally unfollowing people who have decided not to join your social media party. Getting verified on Twitter increases your credibility and your follow back ratio. It’s easier to get verified as a personal brand than it used to be. Get started here.

Goal #2: Strategically spread the word about your channels.

-Find friends you already know! Connect your email, phone number (on Snapchat) or other social networks to find industry contacts you’ve already made.

-Add social icons to your website and email signature. Including social media icons and follow buttons will convert your website visitors to followers. Take that a step further by including your social icons or snapcode in your email signature. Every email is an opportunity to build your audience!

-Promote your account on your other networks. Find creative ways to tell your audience they should join you on your other networks for exclusive content.  

-Post Strategically! As your visibility increases your followers will too. Instead of tweeting and posting at random times and days, find the prime time your followers are on to maximize your every post.

Goal #3: Join conversations with like-minded people in the industry.

-Use Hashtags on Twitter and Instagram. Using hashtags correctly is fundamental to growing your audience on Twitter and Instagram (I show you how here). Hashtags let you join a conversation about similar topics and allow your content to be discovered by new people who can follow you. If you’re on TV tonight, track the trending hashtags associated with the show and join the live conversation to connect with fans!

-Take over an influencer’s account! If you’re guest starring on TV or you’re in an off-Broadway or Broadway show, see if you can do an Instagram or a Snapchat story takeover for an influential account to gain access to their social media following.

-Engagement is key! Make it a goal to find like-minded people in the business to engage with everyday. Reply, Retweet, Regram and React! You can also actively ‘follow’ interesting like-minded people on Instagram and Twitter and if you’ve created a great first impression, they might just follow you back!

Do these 10 things consistently and you’ll grow an audience for your #actorslife and the things you’re passionate about. To jumpstart your social media even more, grab a copy of my free 30-page guide The Ultimate Social Media Checklist for Actors HERE!

See you social,

Originally Published on Backstage