Over 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee presented the webinar series “The Business of the Buzz." Proposed by Committee member Denise Pence, the series was designed to teach seniors and other under-represented actors to use social media to broaden their network, jump the casting desk and build sustainable business relationships.
Part One: Branding
Facilitated by Denise Pence, Actor/Producer
The inaugural webinar introduced branding as the process of discovering what makes an actor’s work and business practices unique. Knowing what you bring to the industry is essential to promoting yourself on social media, and the webinar provided members with tools to determine their distinctive brand, including the elements of branding, goal setting and reflecting their brand across different social media channels. Pence describes branding as “the process of understanding yourself and what other people say about you... And distilling it into your essence, and what you project as a person.”
The remaining episodes of the “Business of the Buzz” series provided members with step-by-step coaching on how to reflect their personal branding in their social media channels so they can post with power by leading with value.
Part Two: LinkedIn
Facilitated by Alexandria Bellivan, Program Manager, The Career Center at The Actors Fund
Part two of the series introduced LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network on the internet. Building on part one the webinar taught promotion of your brand on LinkedIn, including step-by-step instructions on how to create a profile; best practices on building their professional networks; identify job opportunities; and participate in conversations about critical issues affecting their business.
“Branding is 'the process of understanding yourself and what other people say about you... And distilling it into your essence, and what you project as a person.'”
Part Three: Facebook
Facilitated by Ariel Estrada, Marketing Director of Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists
Part three of the series introduced Facebook, the world's largest social networking site. The webinar offered several Facebook marketing strategies geared toward novice users, including differences between Facebook and LinkedIn, reflecting your brand on Facebook and identifying networking opportunities.
Part Four: Twitter and Instagram
Facilitated by Heidi Dean, Social Media Strategist, Marketing4Actors
The final part of the series offered strategies for promoting your brand on Twitter and Instagram, including key differences between the two major platforms, including the immediacy of Twitter and the visual curation of Instagram, and how you can use both platforms to expand and foster your professional networks and connections.
Actors’ Equity Association members can access the full series in the member portal.
