An Actors Guide to Online Marketing

‘Strong technical skills in IT are essential in today’s changing world’ (www.tafensw.edu.au). This was a line I had been accustomed to throughout my time in education. Business, health care, education, any industry will first and fore mostly expect strong IT skills.

However, as a drama student, I had naively assumed that I was somehow exempt from this lesson, that I was to leave the technical world to the experts and to remain focused on perfecting my acting skills. Evidently, I had been quite wrong with this assumption.

Naturally I knew the importance of these skills to navigate our tech heavy society, however, I never entertained the thought that these skills would be appreciated by directors, let alone expected from me, that was until my first week with Big Telly Theatre Company.

I had been thrilled to gain an internship with the company, eager to develop my acting and directing skills, which I expressed passionately in my interview. However, much to my dismay I had been tasked with creating online promotional content, for their upcoming show of Frankenstein’s Monster. I will use Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle to reflect upon this experience.

Description

Zoe Seaton, the company’s director asked if I could edit a promotional video, of the actor’s rehearsing, for their social media accounts. I awkwardly confessed that I didn’t know much about editing software but would give the task a go. Much to my surprise the process was initially quite straightforward, I recorded the actors performing, using my iPhone, I then selected the most entertaining scenes and merged them together. Editing the video involved greater difficulty, I downloaded an editing app that allowed me to cut out any irrelevant scenes, I then altered the speed of the video, added music and adjusted the font to black and white as an homage to the classic black and white films, depicted in the original Frankenstein movie. Once the video was finalised I uploaded it onto the company’s social media with the caption “Take a sneak peek at the what the actors have in store”, along with relevant hashtags and a link for viewers to buy tickets to the show.

Feelings

When given the task I initially felt disappointed, I clearly outlined my passion for acting during the interview process and struggled to see its relevancy in developing my skills for the acting industry. My lack of technical skills and marketing experience also left me feeling overwhelmed and afraid that my video would not be of the professional standard required of me. These emotions mixed with the inevitable anxiety of starting a new job, left me uneasy and unmotivated, which was a far jump from my primary feelings of excitement. However, as the week progressed I realised my cynical attitude and instead worked towards creating a good first impression, maybe then I would gain freedom to venture into the more performative side of the internship in the weeks to come.

Evaluation

Once the first draft was completed, I sent the video to the director, for relevant feedback. Unfortunately, my video needed improvements as it was far too long and not reflective of the shows fast pace style. Though the criticism was constructive I was left disappointed by the experience, I felt that the video was a perfect length, each clip was vital and made the video worth watching. However, after reflecting upon my own social media habits I began to realise how right my colleague had been. With the rise of platforms like TikTok as well as YouTube ‘Shorts’ and Instagram’s ‘Reels’, short form media content is the newest trend. Victor Potrel (2022) Vice President of Platform Partnerships, states that ‘short-form content’s popularity is rapidly rising. Many people, especially younger generations, are watching videos that are less than one-minute-long. Realistically my video had been far too long to maintain audience’s attention, therefore I decided to cut my original video in half keeping the more stylised, movement based scenes. After making this adjustment I sent the video to Zoey who was greatly impressed with my updated video, stating “I thought you didn’t know how to edit videos?”. I then realised my problem all along, my issue wasn’t my lack of skill, but rather my lack of confidence in my ability. This experience though nerve wrecking, helped me to realise that I need to be aware of my strengths and to let my employers know what I can offer them, instead of focusing solely on what the experience can offer me.

Analysis

Initially I was disheartened by the task, as I had expressed interest in developing my acting skills and had never mentioned a passion for marketing. However, after a conversation with director Zoey I realised how clueless I had been, she told me that one of her main methods of finding actors is through their social medias, in which they advertise themselves online through show reels, portfolios and websites. O’Reilly (2014) in The Routledge companion to arts marketing states Today’s successful visual artist requires not only a set of artistic competencies but also skills in marketing and entrepreneurship to deal with the chaotic nature of the external environment, informed by networking, self-branding, reputation, creativity and entrepreneurial competencies. I realised how naïve I had been to dismiss the importance of IT skills when developing an acting career, as actors can’t rely on talent alone to find work, they must be able to advertise themselves effectively, which is predominantly carried out online.

Action plan and Conclusion

I realised I had judged the company’s actions too soon, as this challenge helped express the importance of marketing as an actor, thus developing my acting skills in the progress. Therefore, had the opportunity arose again I would have decided to put more trust in my colleagues, as they are industry professionals and know what is to be expected of me to reach a professional industry standard.

References

“3 reasons why consistently improving your IT skills is important”. TAFE NSW, https://www.tafensw.edu.au/article/-/blogs/3-reasons-why-consistently-improving-your-it-skills-is-important#:~:text=Strong%20technical%20skills%20in%20IT,your%20personal%20and%20professional%20life [Accessed 23 Nov. 2022].

“Big Telly NI”. YouTube (2022) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QXI5kNf9cvE [Accessed 23 Nov. 2022].

Martin, H. (2021). “Gibbs’ Reflective Learning Cycle”. HELEN MARTIN BLOG. https://helendenheld.com/tag/gibbs-reflective-learning-cycle/ . [Accessed 23 Nov. 2022]

O’Reilly, D., Rentschler, R. and Kirchner, T. (eds.) (2014) The Routledge companion to arts marketing London & New York: Routledge. Page 51

‌Potrel, V. “Council Post: Five Insights into The Popularity Of Short-Form Video Content” Forbes, (2022). https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2022/09/06/five-insights-into-the-popularity-of-short-form-video-content/?sh=583fa9da79e5  [Accessed 23 Nov. 2022].

Seaton, Zoey. Big Telly Theatre Company, (2022).