Are You Serious About Acting? Really? (Facebook, Websites, & Social Media)

Are you serious about acting? Really? Very often as I network with those in the entertainment field I come across a couple of things that they are lacking. One is, they don't have any of their links posted in the contact section on their "about" page on Facebook. Second, if they do have links, they are out-of-date, or not valid. This looks unprofessional and will likely tell others you are not serious about your acting career. As your own product you have to sell your image. One of the first things that's going to happen after you audition is that someone is going to look you up on Facebook.  If you are serious about getting the part then you need to look professional. That means if you have a website, a blog, a resume, reel of yourself online, or a IMDB page, you should have those links posted under contact. Make it easy for people to find out about you.  We all lead very busy lives. When a perspective employer wants to know more about you, everything they need should be at their fingertips. Don't make them go searching...because they won't. If they can't easily find what they need, they will move on to the next actor. It's in your best interest to take a few moments and get your Facebook page in order. May I suggest your IMDB page go first. That's the first thing I'm going to look at, because it tells me what you have done and who you have worked with. Next, I'm going to check out your reel if you have one, then your website. All of these should be linked together so that the person looking to hire you can move from one to the other with ease (Again, I should be able to find all of these links on your Facebook page).  Have a Twitter account?  List it too. In fact Twitter...is great for extremely busy people.  Link your Twitter account with your Facebook page then you can manage both at the same time. Not sure how? Google it...or ask a friend, your child, or a niece, or nephew. Kids are pretty tech savvy even if adults aren't.  Don't have a website? Well maybe you should. Wix and Vistaprint both have dashboards that are fairly easily to use, and Wix' basic package is free. For this reason many actors use them (I do as well).  Not sure what to include on a website? Look up other actors and see what they include on their websites. Another suggestion is to create an actor page for yourself on Facebook. Once you have it established, list all of your links on it as well. Make sure to ask all your friends to stop by and "like" it. Do the same with your IMDB page. Ask your friends and other actors to "like" your IMDB profile. Be sure to provide the link for them. Karmalicity is another place you can go to up your rating and support for your IMDB page. Basically it works by trading off with others...you like their pages, they like yours. It only takes a short while to get your cyber life organized, so set a couple hours aside and get that done. You will not regret it. After all it's to your advantage. Check back again soon for more ideas on being the consummate "acting" professional.

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