In the competitive world of performance arts, personal branding can be the key to standing out. We've gathered insights from talent managers and CEOs, among others, to bring you five essential strategies for performers to enhance their personal brands. From cultivating a strong online presence to consistently sharing behind-the-scenes content, learn why establishing a personal brand is crucial for your career.
Cultivate a Strong Online Presence
Differentiate with Unique Branding
Craft a Clear Personal Brand Message
Engage Actively with Your Audience
Share Behind-the-Scenes Content Consistently
Add IPTC Metadata to Photos
Share Authentic Stories Consistently
Invest in the Authentic You
Share and Own Your Unique Story
Advertising and Reputation Management
Cultivate a Strong Online Presence
One effective strategy for performers to enhance their personal brand is to cultivate a strong online presence through social media platforms.
By consistently sharing project updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and engaging with their audience, artists can showcase their authenticity and talent to a broader audience. Personal branding is essential as it helps them stand out in a competitive field, build connections with industry peers, and create a strong image.
Insha Shaikh, Talent Manager, Monk Entertainment
Differentiate with Unique Branding
Take a look at what others in your niche are doing, and then do a big brainstorm on how you can differentiate from everyone else. Why is your brand special? What would make someone want to hire you over some other performer? Tap into your core values, your unique story, and the energy you bring to your work.
Focusing on this will help you to market yourself more effectively and stand out from the crowd in a bold way. This positioning strategy within personal branding is of utmost importance when navigating the crowded entertainment industry.
Megan Gersch, Owner + CEO, Megan Gersch
Craft a Clear Personal Brand Message
A personal brand is most effective when you have intentionally crafted the crystal-clear message you want the world to remember about you. It can start with a single word that describes what people will experience when they work with you. Your best word aligns with your top personal value and matches the gifts and talents that make you unique.
Once you are 100% certain of your 'one-word personal brand essence,' learn to infuse it everywhere you show up: your polished and expressive appearance, professional behaviour at auditions and networking, communication styles, online presence, and self-esteem wellness. Done well, the impression you leave of this essence will help others remember, helping you stand out among the masses!
Michele Charles Gustafson, Certified Image Consultant & Confidence Coach, Hue And Style Image Consulting
Engage Actively with Your Audience
My tip to performers to grow their personal brands is active engagement. The concept is very simple. When you connect with your fans and followers, you increase their loyalty to you. It also increases your visibility and makes your brand stronger. It also lets you control your narrative by curating your online presence. This factor is especially important at a time when misinformation is very common, and your reputation can change in an instant.
Your personal brand can also create new opportunities through networking and collaborations. To use social media effectively, focus on authenticity first. Audiences love an unfiltered perspective today, and the times of creating a glossed-up image distant from reality are gone. Try to remain consistent while creating quality content. This ensures your personal brand connects with your audience and helps your public image (and, consequently, your career).
Faizan Khan, Public Relations and Content Marketing Specialist, Ubuy UK
Share Behind-the-Scenes Content Consistently
For performers, consistently sharing behind-the-scenes content and personal stories on social media is a powerful strategy for growing their personal brands. This approach helps build a genuine connection with the audience, showcasing their personality, work ethic, and passion for their craft.
Personal branding is crucial for performers as it sets them apart in a competitive industry, increases their visibility to casting directors and producers, and can open up additional opportunities outside of traditional roles, such as endorsements or personal projects. A strong personal brand elevates a performer's marketability and career longevity.
Nicolas Krauss, Founder and CEO, dasFlow Custom Sublimation Apparel
Add IPTC Metadata to Photos
One tip I love giving my readers (who are generally music performers) is to spend some effort filling in IPTC information inside any photos you're passing around online. Your headshots, live performance photos, and any likeness of you online can be tagged with your website, location, artist name, and any company, label or agency you're associated with. It can even link to a copyright webpage that explains how you allow the use of that photo.
IPTC information fields are embedded code information that helps big search engines like Google understand who or what is in the photo. This helps connect the dots between your likeness and your artist's name. There is also an opportunity to connect your website to that picture, so if someone downloads an image of you and right-clicks, they're going to see your name, website address, who took the photo, and any other information you want there. Learn IPTC and use it. It's a great online reputation builder for artists and brands that so many people don't generally think about.
Christine Holman, Elevar Magazine
Share Authentic Stories Consistently
One strategy I highly recommend for performers aiming to grow their personal brands is consistent and authentic storytelling across their platforms. By sharing their journey, values, and unique perspectives, performers can engage with their audience on a deeper level, fostering stronger connections and loyalty. Personal branding is crucial for performers because it allows them to differentiate themselves in a competitive industry, build a loyal fan base, and attract opportunities that align with their goals and values. It's not just about talent anymore; it's about creating a memorable and authentic identity that resonates with audiences and industry professionals alike.
Invest in the Authentic You
For performers, personal brands can be a powerful way to not only stand out in the crowded marketplace of talent but also be memorable. The personal brand is a natural byproduct of performance and talent. This is why I encourage clients to lean into the branding of such. Whether a human or a business (sometimes one and the same), there will be a natural strength. This strength is typically what you leverage when you sell your talent or expertise, this in turn is what makes you distinct. This distinctness is what can lay the foundation for your brand. This distinct attribute will help you stand out and become known by increasing your "top of mind" state in the mind of your desired audience.
By investing in your personal brand, you give your audience a distinct trait to remember you. Your brand helps encapsulate this, so when the moment comes for a specific need that aligns with your attribute, you come to mind or are the desired performer because you are "known" for that exact thing. Notice I said "specific" as a brand means you must focus. You can't be general or bland. This will only lead to you blending in with the rest of the talent and never actually being recalled when a need or desire arises. All great artists, musicians, and performers have been "brands" from KISS to Michael Jordan or Madonna to David Blaine; these brands all represented a specific distinctness that allowed the performer to dominate.
Reilly Newman, Brand Strategist and Founder Motif Brands
Share and Own Your Unique Story
As a personal branding expert (I call it Personality Brand), I help all of my clients to tap into what makes them unique. For an actor, it's the WHY. The origin story. Their brand is why they do this, what they love about it, and what it means to them. And not the trite and generic explanation so many actors give. Make it unique to you. Your own story. What excites you about the work? What do you love most, and who are you when you aren't acting?
The more they can showcase who they are and, of course, how they bring that to each character, the more likely they will connect with casting on a personal level. We all want to connect and like the people we work with, and the more we can show up authentically, the more likely that will happen.
Advertising and Reputation Management
Advertising – paid placement of messages – is helpful for any brand. This can take many forms ranging from banner ads on the web, to display ads in print, to old-school postcard mailings. While all these tools can be valuable, the fact is that it is proven that consumers believe and value the information in the news more than what is related in an ad. That should be a big headline for performers to take note of – don’t forget the public relations aspect of your branding.
How often are you in the news? If you are doing something newsworthy, you need to let the press know. Send press releases targeted to the media you are seeking coverage from. If you write them yourself, make sure they are of professional quality and hit all the key points. You may choose to work with an outside publicist for help – it depends on your knowledge, abilities, and finances. And, just like networking is important to build relationships with casting directors, producers, and other decision-makers in the entertainment industry, it is also important to network with the writers, editors, hosts, and producers at the various media sources you hope to get coverage from.
Remember, building relationships and a reputation takes time. It can’t be done in an instant. Put in the work consistently over time, and you’ll see the results.
Rikki Lee Travolta Entertainment Celebrity PR at Truth & Justice Entertainment
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