My name is Damian Bailey and I am NOT a Social Media branding expert nor claim to be one; however I used a few methods that continues to work in my favor that I would like to share with you on your journey of success.
For those who are unaware of who I am and what I do, I am a professional actor, filmmaker, model and personal trainer with my own 2 companies Glory 2 God Productions and DBFit aka DAMIAN BAILEY FITNESS. Yes I wear a lot of hats and with these hats, I was able to use social media in a way that created numerous opportunities for my businesses. Since joining social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkin and Instagram, I've gain the opportunity to meet tons of great people that lead me to opportunities and most of all, exposure.
The following are methods and do's/dont's I used that I feel will help you BRAND yourself to your market. This and the ones to follow, blogs caters to the people in both my industry of Fitness and Film but I believe this can help all across the board.
1.DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND HAVE A PLAN
You just became an Actor. ok. Now what? What makes you different than the next actor, filmmaker, etc? This is the common practice done by most actors:
Lets meet ACTOR 1
Actor 1 is a great Leading man type. He has the looks, over 6 feet tall, and very talented but shy to the core. He wants work as most of us do. Day after day he reads the trade papers, searches online for acting work, ANY acting work. He hardly takes classes, No reel, decent but bland Headshot that doesn't show his real personality but shows a comfortable boy next door type, hardly attends networking events but through mailing his headshot, he lands an Agent. Now with representation, he does nothing. No searching for work or crashing auditions because he feels he got it made-he could tell people his Agent is finding work for him. Joins Facebook and gets in ACTING groups. Weeks go by and he gets auditions from his Agent but something is different: he's only seen as a boy next door. ACTOR 1 knows he's leading man material but his Agent thinks otherwise, submits him to these go-see's and nothing happens. Actor 1 becomes frustrated and starts to blame his agent for not "getting him work" (SOUNDS FAMILIAR?). He becomes depressed and afraid to tell his agent what he really wants, in fact he doesn't contact or speak to his agent at all unless its something to benefit him. Months go by and he hasn't heard from his Agent until he realizes he's back to square one. No representation, no work. So he goes on facebook to bitch about how bad the agency is, how bad the industry is, threatens to quit the business (when its a lie, he just wants sympathy from fb friends) and yada yada yada- the cycle of a struggling actor without a plan.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING HE DID WRONG?
HE HAD NO PLAN because he lacked vision and felt entitled that his agent should get him work. He thought that he was a leading man but didn't BELIEVE that he was a LEADING MAN type so he took bland cheap ass headshots. One of the things that hinders us Actors is lack of confidence. I cringe when actors say "I don't like to look at myself when I perform", if YOU don't like to look at you, then why the world should even bother to look at you?
He had no reel yet didn't think to create scenes showcasing or proving to the industry that he IS a Leading man type.
Lets break down types:
1. LEADING MAN / WOMAN: Hero, Romantic or Villian-Drama, Thriller, Action, Romance. They're the types who carry the film or play. This type is the main reason why they will watch an episode of the show or the film. Good looking, sexy, most are tall, ladies love him, men dream about her. Ex. Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, Scarlet Johannsen
2. BOY/GIRL NEXT DOOR/SUPPORT: Supportive friend to the lead or Villian. Average Joe looking. The Audience loves this person, sometimes comical and sometimes can be the lead based on the story. Ex. Jonah Hill, Melissa McCarthy, John Goodman, Dustin Hoffman
3. COMEDIC ACTOR-Comedy from beginning to end. Nuff said. Ex. Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Cedric the Entertainer, Will Farrell
Do you know which type you are? Of Course many will say number 1 but maybe you're not-no worries. Here's a plan that could help you define your type.
a) Make a survey of these three types and ask 10 people who are not that familiar with you, what can they see you play? Do not ask family members. You may have a few who would say "you remind me of this person" and you might get pissed off but don't. I was told early in my career that I was the next Wesley Snipes. I used to get mad at that because I didn't know my type until I looked beneath the surface. What they're saying is "I can see you be the lead. You can play a drug kingpin, a cop saving a plane full of hostages or a Vampire Slayer"
b) Tally up the votes.
c) The ones with most votes, THAT'S YOUR TYPE whether you feel it or not.
NOW YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN YOUR TYPE AND MARKET IT which will lead to you developing a PLAN for your career.
Whether you like it or not, the minute you decided to become an Actor, Filmmaker, trainer, etc. you have decided to become an INC. which means it is your job, yes YOUR JOB YOUR JOB YOUR JOB to BRAND yourself. YOU have to pick the right photographer that showcase your type in the best way so Agents, Casting Directors etc will not only know your type but your personality.
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| With this headshot (yeah its old, black and white. I've been in the game for a minute) I got freelance representation that all called me in for the same thing: THUG. There's nothing wrong playing a Thug, Mugger, Hooker etc if the role has substance but if its just a gig to say "I ain't do nothing, bee", I knew there was much more I can do. |
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A standard BORING headshot that's typical within the Actor industry. Yes its a nice smile but its forced, which a lot of headshots are-Forced expressions showing NO TYPE nor REAL personality. I hardly got any auditions with this pic because its bland.
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If you have an agent, its YOUR JOB to EXPRESS to your Agent your plan in this business. Do NOT give all your control to your representation, you have a voice and you matter as well. Be professional and tell them, "We need to do this, WE should seek this director" ALONG with "I'm taking classes" or "I'm writing" etc. This is a TEAM effort. My Agent and Manager all go by TEAM DAMIAN where are goal is "how can we obtain THIS gig to get us to the big picture to be seen throughout the world".
Say you have no work to create a reel because its important to have on these days; therefore create your own content. Ask a filmmaker friend of yours (the one you did his film for no pay? a favor for a favor) to film your monologue for you WITH HIGH QUALITY. One scene is good enough if your starting out.
My plan was to show the world through social media that I wasn't just some fit buffed guy who could play thug. I knew I could do the same roles Wesley, Denzel, Laurence and even Idris could do but the work wasn't there for me. I kept getting calls to audition for THIS thug and THAT thug until I changed my headshot and planed it out to either produce or create roles that shows me as a lead. What you see below was part of my 5 year plan that worked which lead me to legit representation and numerous film roles just by branding on social media.
Once this is done, here's where the tools of branding on social media comes into play.
2. FINDING AND ESTABLISHING AN AUDIENCE
.......and THAT will be in the next blog.
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