Last Friday, August 28, as part of the Cycle Escena Artists, Jenna Wolf, Development and Communications consultant of Opera for Peace and manager of Advertising and Digital Media at Lenny’s Studio, spoke about the importance of personal branding for artists.

 

From her talk, we were able to get several interesting tips that we will present below, but let’s start with the first:

 

What is personal branding?

 

In simple words, it could be defined as the way the world sees you as an artist.

 

And why is it important?

 

Because you know your vocal range and abilities perfectly, but it is important that you share it with the world, and one of the best ways to do it is by having an online presence, where the concept of personal branding is basically developed. This can be through a website, social networks, through videos, or all of the above. The important thing is that you can share with your audience and they can interact with you.

 

It is necessary to look for tools that allow your work and talent to be known. According to Jenna herself, the number of stage directors, casting directors, and competition judges who are active on social media and looking for artists through social media is surprising. “At any level in their careers, artists need a website and active social media to amplify their voices, messages and journeys, to connect with new and familiar audiences”.

 

Here are 4 essential tips to enhance an artist’s personal brand:

 

Website, the first step in your online presence

 

Having your own website is of vital importance if you want to promote your personal brand, since it is the first way we have to find someone and find out about their career. But at the same time, it doesn’t have to be very elaborate, nor is it necessary to spend lots of money. A free platform like WordPress or Wix can be more than enough if the following aspects are taken into account. And other options are platforms such as Escena Digital:

• Easy to use: The website should quickly and simply expose what the artist wants others to see, such as the greatest professional achievements. Making the path difficult for users will only motivate them to close the tab.
• Effectively manages to make the artist known: It is not about writing a long biography, but rather mentioning some data that allow to have a general notion of the person, such as country of origin, studies, greater achievements, etc.
• It must be up to date: People want to know what the artist has done lately, not 5 years ago. Also, keeping only past information gives the impression that the page is no longer in use.
• Must contain contact information 

 

Social media, authenticity, focus and Instagram

 

In the world of social media, authenticity is key, there is no use copying. It is not about creating something that does not exist, but about enhancing the talents that you have and reaching as many people as possible.

Another tip to get started in the world of social media is to have a focus. Talk about only one thing, e.g. career, family, or travel. It is best to focus on one topic so that the profile makes clear sense and doesn’t feel like a miscellaneous.

In the case of opera artists, the best social network to use is Instagram, since it is mostly visual and allows the work done to be better displayed. But even so, it is also advisable to have presence on Facebook and Twitter, even if they are not updated regularly.

And don’t forget about the interaction! Always reply to messages and comments. It is your community and you must take care of it.

 

Quality photos and videos

 

As mentioned in the beginning, personal branding is the way the world sees you as an artist. And without a doubt, it is intended to be good.

For this reason, it is important that the content to be uploaded to both social networks and the website is of quality. Nor is it about hiring a professional team, but you have to worry about maintaining, at least, good lighting and high resolution. Make sure the high resolution applies to both the formal content that goes on the website, and for the more informal content that is uploaded to social networks.

 

Make a plan

 

As a last piece of advice, you should reflect on your goals and prepare a personal branding strategy. You have to ask yourself what the final goal is?, what you want to achieve?, and with this in mind, establish the steps to follow.

 

Bonus 

 

Knowing more than one language is always a plus. According to Jenna, it is good to write in English if you want to have more international impact, but that does not mean that you forget your mother tongue. If you know two, three or more languages, take advantage of them! You can write the publications of your social networks in all of them, reaching a greater number of people.

Finally, we want to emphasize that this does not mean that you cannot be successful without having an online presence, at all. It only seeks to highlight that this is a powerful tool to be known by a greater number of people and reach an international audience.

 

 

If you want to know more about the subject, we invite you to watch the talk of the Scene Artists Cycle with Jenna Wolf, go to our YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pblFtWDFp8&t=53s