The Necessity of Social Networking

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It’s never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won’t find anywhere else.
Now for our special guest.
Dave DeAndrea: Hi there. This is Dave DeAndrea and let me just start by saying that I am really honored to be among such amazing incredible talent represented here on Voiceover Experts. I’ve gleaned so much from this podcast and I’m glad to be able to give just a little something back. Now I want to talk with you for a few moments about the necessity of social networking. I’ve eavesdropped on a few conversations between voice actors regarding social networking and something I commonly hear is that’s such a waste of time. Now I had mentioned these people who say this by name but our frame but you know why? Because you’ve never heard of them. They’re not on the grid.
Question, is it possible to be a successful voice actor without utilizing social networking? Absolutely. But let me offer four reasons why I believe that social networking is worth the investment of time. Number one, recognition. Now for crying out loud, it’s free exposure. There are lots of ways to get your name out there and most of them cost money. So why not take advantage of the many ways to connect with other actors and clients and get your name out there that doesn’t cost you anything but a little bit of time between auditions and sessions.
Number two, relationships. When I finally got the Jeep Wrangler that I always wanted, I quickly learned that I had somehow inadvertently become a member of a secret society. Other Jeep people would wave a friendly acknowledgment to me as we drove by each other. It’s sort of an unspoken understanding that we shared a common interest. By the way, this never happens when I drive our minivan. Now as voice actors, we’re not likely to spot others that share our common love of voice acting outside of workshops and conventions. You know, most of us don’t walk around with a microphone. So it’s great to have a place online to go where we can meet people who get it and that leads to number three, resources.
Social networking sites and forums can be wonderful places to learn and find solutions to problems. More often than not, there’s a tech guy lurking in the logged in list who’s more than happy to help you figure out where that annoying high-pitched noises coming from or a VO veteran who would be willing to offer advice on your demo, a fellow actor of the opposite sex who would love to try that two-person conversational audition with you and who knows? You could be a great resource for someone else.
Number four, referrals. This one is huge. I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of this key career component. A client may have already hired one of your VO buddies but it’s a multi-voice project. So the client asks them if they know anyone who might be good for one of the other roles. Now I know I’m oversimplifying this but they can’t recommend you if they don’t know you, right? And what about securing an agent? Maybe you know an actor that the agent already represents. Now in the subject line of your e-mail inquiry to the agent, you can have referred by John Smith or whatever the name of the voice actor is that the agent represents or you can put seeking representation. The former will get you listened to. The latter will get you deleted.
Side note by the way, be sure to talk with the voice actor before you use them as a referral and talk with them about the agency, you know and see if it’s an agency you’d like to be associated with. Okay. I know I said I’d give you four reasons and I’ve done that but here’s a quick bonus, being on social networking sites and forums helps your name show up more on web searches. Go ahead and Google my name, Dave DeAndrea as an example and instead of just one or two listings, you’ll see several pages from a variety of different of different sources, Twitter, Facebook, Blogspot, and when you find me, let me extend a personal invitation to you to join me.
Now here’s a quick list of just a few places where you can get started and get your name out there and meet people. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tangle is a great Christian social networking site, Nextcat, VO Universe, Voice-overs.com, VO-BB.com. If you know of some other good forums and sites, add it to the comments.
Thanks so much for listening. I hope this has been helpful to you. If you want to know more about me, visit my site at DaveDeAndrea.com and one last quick plug, if you’re looking of how the demo produced, I’m launching a new site in the very near future, KillerVoiceDemos.com. God bless.
Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed. If you’re a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.