THE VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR VOICE OVER TALENT

 THE VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR VOICE OVER TALENT
So, you're a voice over artist but you can't seem to figure our how to leverage social media to your advantage. Let's talk about that because social media is squarely where you should be if you want to build an online fan base. Let me outline a persuasive argument for you and maybe answer some questions that I hear people ask. 

Oh, where to start???

Well, let's start with learning the fundamentals. Did you know there are over 300 social media networks around the world and more coming online every day? I know, it's incredible, right?  Especially when you consider only 4 have any popularity at all. In the following sections we'll explore the differences and your options for working on each platform. Did you know that if you refrain from building your online presence you'll be missing out on 62% of your potential buyers? That's right. It's important to understand the absolute value of having an online presence and it's still affordable enough to build a solid business here.

The first thing you want to focus on is Where to show up. Who are the businesses or production companies in your target audience? What do they focus on and how you can help them deliver their message to their clients? You have questions that require answers and these answers aren't always as easy to find as we might like to think they are. Be on the look out for my podcasts where I discuss the Buyer's Journey and Buyer Personas, for now, let's talk about the social media networks that offer the most reach and you can figure out which networks will work best for you.

Below is an at-a-glance table that will help you understand how each network works and who they cater to. You may feel differently about the importance of each network, but this is how I view them as a veteran in the world of Social Media Marketing.

Network	Purpose	Format	Importance
Facebook	Connecting Family, Friends, and Brands. Building Communities ​	Text, Image, Video, Live Streaming	​High
Instagram	Influencers, Building Communities, Storytelling	Text, Images, Video, Reels, Stories	High
LinkedIn	Professional HR, Businesses, Recruiting, Jobs, Business Messaging, Connections, Collaboration, Information, Community Building, Influencers	Text, Images, Video, Live Streaming	High
Twitter	​Influencers, Industry Professionals, Politics, News, World Events	Images, Video, Text	High
Reddit	Influencers, Long form content, businesses, obstructers	Text, Images	Medium
Pinterest	Influencers, Businesses, Community Building	​Video, Live Stream, Images, Text	​Medium
YouTube	Influencers, Businesses, Community Building	Video, Live Stream, Images, Text	High
Vimeo	​Small Business, Growing Influencers, Non-Profits	Text, Video, Images	Medium
SoundCloud	Influencers, the Hip Crowd, People who specialize in Audio	Audio Files	​High
TikTok	​Families, Kids, Businesses, Artists	Story Video	​Med-Low

Where should you be for maximum results?

It's not hard to figure out where you need to be. Who's your audience?
Use the above table to help you decide where you want to show up and who you want to help. Remember, this portion of the process is building your community of fanatical fans. It's not about the selling, that comes later. Right now, you're doing what's called Brand Awareness, getting used to the technology and learning about the tools on each platform. When you first start out, only show up on 1 or 2. If you're in the business of doing voice overs for small business, I would show up on Facebook, mostly, as LinkedIn has a larger portion of high level opportunities with corporations. You'll be able to attract people from mom and pop shops on Facebook. 

If you want to use Instagram, that's great. Just know that everyone on Instagram is visual. You're going to focus on Images, Video, Stories, and Reels. If you get an account on Canva, you'll be glad you did, as they have all of the resources you need to create outstanding content for this channel in particular. Be sure you check out their audio files or upload your own. If you choose to use Instagram (IG), be sure to put the link to your body of work on your profile page, in the Link area. That way you can direct people to your profile page and then to your website (that's another issue we'll touch on later). Here, you're doing more showing off than anything, but you can post ads on Facebook and have them run on IG, you can also connect the two networks. Many of us used to connect all of our networks but it just became convoluted so we stopped doing that in 2015. The option to connect Facebook and IG makes sense so consider it.

LinkedIn is for mid size to large corporations. This is a great place to connect with potential clients and deliver some real value to other voice over artists through your business page and groups. I've already made some great connections on the platform and there is an ads platform people use to attract high ticket clients. Do your homework on LinkedIn and figure out who you want to connect with directly. I wouldn't message potential clients on LinkedIn as many people are just tired of this activity, but you can gain enough information from profiles and reaching out to encourage a conversation. Make sure your personal profile is professional and your business page really shines a light on your talent, place in the market, and ability to offer value. 

This method goes for every single network in the marketplace. You analyze who the audience is that frequents these networks and then align your marketing to expand your reach as much as possible. You do have other opportunities while using these spaces. You can buy ads, especially on YouTube, Facebook, and IG. Ads and groups help expand our Brand Awareness activities exponentially. You'll also want to learn how to use hashtags, tags, schedulers, and sites like Canva to really get the most bang for your buck. As a voice over artist, you have the audio down, the video is another story and we'll address that in a later post. 

I hope this blog was helpful and offers some guidance for you to get started. Stay tuned for the podcast on this subject where I'll go deeper into each of the channels and why you could benefit from a couple of them to start. Also, if you want to create an easy to use website experience, check out Weebly. They're wonderful and that's what I use for this website. 

Until next time, keep positive, keep practicing, and keep those messages flowing