Moving Past the Dressing Room Selfie: Why Personal Branding Should Matter to Performers
I’ve had the pleasure of building my career in creative spaces. I minored in theatre only after I realized I didn’t want to perform as a carer and thus changed my major to mass communications. I spent a great deal of time early on working in marketing at regional theatres in both the classical and contemporary disciplines. I believe it’s in the halls of those spaces that I learned the power of story, creating loyal audiences, and why content matters so much. I also came to know and love so many performers who could transform into the most iconic characters or bring life to an unknown name under the heat of stage lights.
So, of course, when I started working to help clients develop personal brands I never forgot about the people who helped to forge my thoughts and ideas around communications. I thought about what made the successful ones so memorable and what it was that made me have trouble recalling the names of others. The truth is that it all comes down to personal branding.
It’s easy to think about why an intentional personal brand makes sense for the executive, the author, or the high-powered CEO, but actors, dancers, and performance artists are in need of a great personal brand just as much, and possibly even more. Here’s why:
The Competition is Fierce
No matter what city you’re in, there are more performers than there are roles. It’s absolutely imperative that you stand out, make yourself known, and remain relevant. Of course you can do that in the audition, but that’s such a small window of time to make an impression. Plus, if you think that the casting director isn’t Googling your name, you’re likely wrong. The question is then, what are they finding? Is your social feed filled with pictures of your lunch and your dog?
Your personal brand is your opportunity to own the narrative.
Every interaction a performer has with a potential job, theatre, company, or patron is a chance to make a lasting impression.
Headshots and Resumes Aren’t Enough
It used to be that your headshot told a casting director what you looked like and your resume let them know all you’d done as well as any special talents. However, you should be thinking of your personal brand as an extension of your glossy 8×10 double-sided sheet of paper.
It’s not about creating another manufactured persona. Credibility and trust skyrocket when you show more of your authentic self.
You have a chance to not only tell them that you can juggle, but show them how good you are and how you’re working to get better with more challenging moves.
You have a chance to show them your tap steps when all they got to see on stage was your jazz.
You showed them you can sing, but now you can show them how you teach kids in your home studio.
Patron Loyalty Matters
There are patrons who LOVE certain local performers. They buy tickets to the show just because of the cast. Their ears perk up when they hear that name. They love the behind the scenes content and they wanna know more about the magic that happens in the green room. They follow along and they pay attention.
These people are advocates.
These are the people who drive ticket sales. They are a performers most loyal patrons. You cannot connect with these people or build an audience without a solid and intentional personal brand.
So, where can performance artists go to build their personal brand? The truth is that there are pretty limited resources out there, but if you live in or are willing to travel to the desert, we hope you’ll join us for the first (as far as we know) personal branding workshop for performance artists in Phoenix.
Get all the details and buy tickets here, but hurry because spaces are super limited. I really hope to see you there.
-Sara
