Posted on

The Biggest Social Media Mistake You’re Making For You Voice Over Business

On a near daily basis voice actors ask one question over and over again. “How can I use social media to book more voice over work?” Either that or they comment, “I’ve tried to book voice work with social media, and it’s just a waste of time.”

Social media is not a waste of time.

Trust me!

The Biggest Social Media Mistake

social-mediaI’m going to be discussing social media in a couple posts this week, but before I get into how to make social media work for your voice over business, let’s explore why it isn’t.

I could very easily expand this post into a month long series… but I won’t.

Fact of the matter is, I notice one common mistake more than any other amongst voice actors trying to turn social media into leads and booked gigs.

Voice actors build networks of voice actors.

That’s it. That’s the single biggest mistake I see today in social media usage.

Examine Your Network

Who are you following on Twitter?

Who are your friends on Facebook? What pages do you like? What groups do you belong to?

Who are you connected with on LinkedIn?

Who is in your circles on Google+?

I’m guessing it’s mostly voice actors. That’s one thing I’ve noticed in my years in the voice over industry. We love to network with each other. Now, keep in mind, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But if your network is only filled with voice actors it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you’re not booking voice over work via social media.

You’re not networking with all the right people.

Expand Your Network

network-300x225Before I dive any deeper into the subject of social media for voice over this week, here’s your homework assignment. Explore your network and start thinking about how you can expand it beyond the confines of other VO’s.

Follow some new people. Circle some new people. Link with some new people. Like some new people!

Start building a network of potential clients. People who could benefit from the services you offer.

On Wednesday, I’ll give you one really great tip for networking on social media.

share

 

Posted on

Never Miss A Facebook Post Again

If you’ve been on Facebook for more than 5 minutes, you’ve heard people complain, or complained yourself, about the algorithms that control Facebook Pages.

I tend to think pretty rationally. If I “Like” a page, it’s because I like whatever the page is about. Therefore, it’s safe to assume I want to see the content that page has to offer. Hence the reason I liked it in the first place!

Facebook doesn’t think this rationally, apparently. They assume less than 10% of the audience of any given page wants to see the content that page has to offer. So the chances of content from a page you’ve liked actually showing up in your News Feed are slim to none at best!

Clearly, the reason behind this is the Sponsored Post. Facebook wants every page to sponsor every post. In fact, every time I share a post on my Facebook Page that gets a couple likes, Facebook immediately begins trying to get me to spend $200 to promote the post.

Never Miss A Facebook Post Again

If you’ve Liked pages and want to make sure to see all the content that page has to offer, there is a solution.

marc-scott-voice-over-facebook

  1. Go to the page of choice (like my page at Facebook.com/MarcScottVoiceOver)
  2. Put your mouse over the Like Button (yellow arrow)
  3. Click and hold on the Like Button.
  4. When the menu appears select “Get Notifications”.

That’s it! Simple really, and a trick Facebook doesn’t really promote.

From that point forward, anytime there is a new post on that page, you’ll receive a notification.

share

Posted on

The Secret To Booking Voice Over Work Via Social Media

There’s a been a lot of talk lately about the value of social media when it comes to booking voice over work. A lot of people who are much wiser than me have shared their thoughts on the subject.

Is There Value In Social Media

social-media-likeQuestions such as, “Can you book work via social media?”,  “Can you measure the ROI of social media?”, and “Which social networking platforms offer the most value?” have all been explored.

While I don’t consider myself to be an expert on the subject of social media / social networking, I can say that I’ve booked voice over work directly via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.

So for those of you that are tweeting and updating and “plus oneing” away, wondering if it’s all for nothing, or if one day it will lead to work, I’m going to let you in on one of the secrets to my success.

The Secret To Booking Voice Over Work Via Social Media

Five of the most important words you can ask yourself when it comes to social networking are, who is in your network? Are all your Twitter Followers, Facebook Likes, Google+ Circles and LinkedIn Connections other voice over actors? 

“Building a network of voice actors is the social media equivalent of preaching to the choir.” Tweet This

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with having a network of peers. I follow and am followed by tons of voice actors and love engaging with them daily. However, other voice actors aren’t likely to be booking you for voice over work.

The secret to voice over social media success: Build a network of potential clients. Tweet This

Be Intentional About Building Your Network

Networking-Event-ConnectingWhen you’re building your network on whatever your social media platform of choice is, specifically seek out contacts that are working in your genre. If you’re all about voicing audiobooks, follow authors, audiobook producers, publishers. If you voice characters for video games, follow game developers and production houses that work on those projects.

Build a network of potential clients and engage with them consistently. Like or +1 their updates. Share their tweets. Comment on their blog posts.

With the right network, and by sharing the right content at the right times, you’re going to start reaching the right people with your message. And those people are much more likely to take advantage of your services.

For Comment: Have you booked work via social media?

 

Posted on

5 Ways To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile

With all the various social networks that are at our disposal, it can be a challenge to know where to devote or time and energy. Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn are all calling out to us.

Personally, I like LinkedIn. It’s a great way to stay connected to clients and colleagues and it’s also been a source of work for me. I try to spend time on the site daily, and am always updating my profile with the latest information.

If you don’t have a lot of time to devote to the site, there are a few things you can do with minimal effort to make your profile better and more likely to standout in searches.

5 Ways To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile

linkedin-endorsements1) Headline: Voice Over, Voice Actor, Voice Talent, one or some combination of these terms needs to be in your headline. Not Self Employed or Owner or Entrepreneur or worse yet, nothing at all. This is good for your SEO.

2) Contact Info: Don’t leave this blank. If someone wants to reach you, make it easy for them. Include your email, your web site, your Twitter account, etc.

3) Custom URL: If you haven’t set one of these up, do it. It makes it so much easier for you to promote your profile and include it in email signatures, on business cards or marketing materials, etc.

4) Experience: If you check my LinkedIn Profile under Experience, you’ll see all my video demos. It’s just one more place to post your demos for free. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

5) Connections: Talk to any LinkedIn Expert (I am not one) and they’ll all tell you the same thing. The more connections you have the better. For you, for SEO and for visibility. Use the email search tool to build your connection list. Aim for 500+.

If we haven’t “linked” yet, send me a request. I’d be happy to include you in my network.

For Comment: Does LinkedIn work for you?

share

Posted on

Don’t Make This Voice Over Demo Posting Mistake

I have voice over demos posted everywhere. On my web site. On Pay 2 Play sites like Voice123, Voices, bodalgo and The Voice Realm. I have my demos posted on my Facebook page, my Tumblr blog and my LinkedIn Profile. I’ve got them on SoundCloud and Pintrest too.

Basically, if I can find a place to post my demos, I will.

Today I want to take specifically about posting your demos on your personal web site. Continue reading Don’t Make This Voice Over Demo Posting Mistake