Which Social Media Platform is Right for You?

As a voice over actor, you’re well aware of the importance of promoting your brand.  While a website is a great foundation for this, you need to expand beyond that too – and social media provides a great way to do it.  In the not-so-distant past, Facebook was the best way to do this, but now there are a number of other platforms available. So which one is best for you?

Start by doing a quick review of some of your options.  Besides Facebook, there’s Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more still.  Determine how each works, how they’re different from each other, and what the possible benefits from using one over another might be.  You need to figure out how using Instagram, for instance, will promote your brand more than, say, Pinterest.

While you’re reviewing the possible social media platforms, think about how using a particular site will impact you directly. Ask yourself these questions:  How will this site benefit me? Who will I reach using this form of social media? How much time will this require of me? How will I measure the impact of using it?

Once you’ve narrowed down the list to a few sites you think would be a good fit for you, ask your stakeholders what they think.  A quick survey – via email blast or text – can give you great feedback on what sites the people you want to connect with are using.   Obviously, these are sites that should make your short-list, because this is where your audience is.

After settling on a social media platform (or two or three), spend some time familiarizing yourself with it before launching it to your audience.  Learn how the site works and observe others to see how they’re using it to reach people. 

Even after you’ve been using a particular site for a while, take the time to review it periodically to make sure it is still working for you. Some sites – like Facebook – will let you know how many people you’ve reached.  You can also gauge your impact by how much interaction you have with others, whether it’s in terms of likes, retweets, favorites, etc.