4 Reasons You Should be Marketing Your VO Business on Instagram

Social Media is not a favorite method of marketing for plenty of voice actors. But even the naysayers will now give a reluctant nod to its staying power.

In the interest of efficiency, earlier this year, I promised myself that I would TRY to stick to just Facebook, LiinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram (and YouTube).  Those are the biggies.  No one knows for sure what will become of Twitter.

Of those “big four”, Facebook is the undisputed 800…no, 900lb Gorilla.  If you ARE going to be on Social Media at all…and you had to choose one platform, this should be it.

But Instagram is the new darling, and growing much faster and stronger than anyone thought.

Too bad it’s owned by Facebook. But most would agree, Instagram is a better Facebook than Facebook…at least to those who remember why they were enamored of FB in the first place.

Instagram (so far) is fairly simple, visual, and absolutely addictive.  Here are a few facts gleaned from THIS article:

1. Six in ten online adults have Instagram accounts.
2. There are 8 million registered businesses using Instagram business profiles.
3. Instagram has 1 million monthly active advertisers—up from just 200,000 in March 2016.
4. 60% of the top brands on Instagram use the same filter for every post.
5. 32% of Instagram users attended college.

Great article:  Why you should pay attention to Instagram for Marketing.

OK, Dave, that’s great but how can Instagram benefit my voiceover business?

Pretty much the way a website, or a FB profile, or a YouTube channel does: by continually creating relationships built around interest in what you do for a living.  People are intriguged by the person behind the mic. Even though it’s a naive misconception, most people are fascinated by the fact that someone can make a living by talking..  WE all know it’s more complicated than that, but use that naive interest and perception to your advantage in promoting your business.

NOW ABOUT THOSE 4 REASONS…

#1  ADVERTISING
Another factoid from the same article mentioned above:
“In March 2017, over 120 million Instagrammers visited a website, got directions, called, emailed, or direct messaged to learn about a business based on an Instagram ad“.  And Instagram ads aren’t that tough to set up…or expensive.  See this article for details.

#2  SEE & BE SEEN

Instagram is nothing if not visual.  It’s all about the pictures…and now it’s about creating stories…a series of pictures or videos under your profile that can be anything you want it to be.  So why not have it be about your voiceover business?  Use pics of your studio or you at the mic (just be mindful of copyrights & NDA’s).  People are fascinated by that.  Besides, you can run Instagram ads IN your stories!  See how in this article.  And this updated article from TrueNorthSocial.

#3  INSTAGRAM LIVE

In case you haven’t noticed, “LIVE” is taking over social media.  The other day, I did a live stream from Periscope, Facebook and Instagram all in one half-hour newscast!  People apparently are just sitting around waiting to see ’em.  Next time you sit down to do some audition… crank up a live Instagram. See “Instagram Live, a Step-by-Step Guide for Businesses“.

#4  RELATIONAL PROSPECTING

A strength of social media has always been the conversation…creating relationships. When you do that, you build trust, and the jobs will follow.  There are several ways to generate leads on Instagram.  Engaging others on their posts is the quickest and easiest, but many have developed involved processes for prospecting.  Here’s the latest and best article I’ve seen on Instagram lead generation.  

Here’s another.

….and another.

While researching this article, I was amazed at the wealth of great information being shared about Instagram between entrepreneurs…which is what we are, right?

As with all Social Media platforms, you can’t rest on your laurels.  Instagram keeps morphing almost daily with new features being introduced all the time.

Good Luck!

CourVO