Written by Dallas Travers, CEC
If you’re like me, you’ve realized that Twitter holds a lot of potential for relationship building in the business because of the direct line of communication it offers you.
Everyday, I see more actors, agents, casting directors and filmmakers engage in powerful online communication using Twitter as their tool.
Everyday, I also see a lot of actors waste time tweeting away and wondering why their followers aren’t responding.
Well, there’s a right way and a wrong way to tweet, so let me share two easy tips to help you make the most out of your tweets.
1. Engage the Cool Kids
Twitter has more than 200 million active users. So, chances are, if you’re tweeting about a certain project, person, charity, etc. there’s someone on Twitter associated with it or them.
If you want to grab the attention of your dream director, casting director or agent, you’ve got to do two things. First, be sure to mention them. Secondly, actually engage them in a relevant conversation.
So, rather than tweeting something like:
GIRLS was good this week. I think Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow are a perfect creative team!
Spice up your engagement potential with:
Loved the @GirlsHBO #S2Finale. So glad powerhouses @JuddApatow & @LenaDunham teamed up. Lena: what’s the coolest part of playing #Hannah?
This works because I’m directly mentioning Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow as well as grabbing the attention of HBO. Secondly, I asked Lena a question – a great and direct way to invite engagement.
2. Tweet Outside the Oscars
Live Tweeting: (verb) to engage on Twitter for a continuous period of time, anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours, with a sequence of focused tweets.
Sure, everyone live tweets the big awards shows, the Super Bowl, the finale of The Bachelor… But what about creating your own event to live tweet something you love? A favorite rom-com from the 90s, a documentary about a charity you love, your Bar Mitzvah video… Get creative!
Make a game out of it. Advertise a few days before, and create some buzz with your followers. Engage your audience in Q&A. Ask them about their favorite part of the movie.
On the night of the event, mention cast members in your tweets. Ask them questions about certain scenes; tweet to the writers and the composers of the songs in the movie; see if the director is online and tell him/her how much you enjoy their work.
The goal is to connect with people who have similar interests, and put yourself out there in the Twitter-sphere in new and exciting ways.
You could tweet this:
Looking forward to some groovy girl movies this weekend. Top of my list? Pitch Perfect!
Instead tweet this:
#LiveTweeting @PitchPerfect Saturday @7. @AnnaKendrick47 & @RebelWilson: Any tips on being aca-awesome?
The idea here is to create an appointment or event for your followers in order to create some urgency and purpose for your tweeple.
At the end of the day, Twitter is about connecting and having fun. Isn’t that what acting is all about too? Connecting with people, characters, and stories. Reaching out on Twitter shouldn’t be any different.
Tweeting is simply telling stories in 140 characters or less.
It might take you a little time to figure it out or to find the your people, but with the right plan in place and a little creativity, I have no doubt that you’ll soon be a bonafide Twitter Expert… A Tw-Expert.
The leading expert on business strategy for actors, Dallas Travers teaches the career and life skills often left out of traditional training programs. Her groundbreaking book, The Tao of Show Business, garnered five awards including first prizes at The Hollywood Book Festival and the London Festival and a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award. Through her workshops, Dallas helps thousands of actors increase their auditions, produce their own projects, secure representation and book roles in film, television, and on Broadway. She is a certified life coach and entrepreneur with over a decade of experience implementing marketing and mindset strategies that work.
For more information about working with Dallas, visit http://www.dallastravers.com.
