I’ve decided it’s Christmas in July and to celebrate I’ve hit up some of Santas little twitter helpers to give me their insight into making twitter work for you, the actor.
Did you know that during the peak of the Royal wedding frenzy “Royal Wedding” was mentioned on twitter 67 times a second. That’s a lot of #royalwedding hash tagging. And that’s just one example of how information is spread. I am scared to think how many tweets have taken place about Amy Winehouse this week (R.I.P.). Twitter generates over 350 million tweets a day*. If you aren’t using this tool for your acting and global networking you are seriously missing a piece of armour in that sexy little actor tool kit of yours.
This week I selected two actors who I actively follow and interact with to share their thoughts on using twitter. Over the coming weeks we will also be meeting a few more twitter legends in cyberspace so stay tuned.
Meet Ken Garcia (@asooc):
Ken is an Orange County based actor whose credits include CSI: Miami, Crossing Jordan and Fashion House, to name a few. He now has over 460 followers.
“I use twitter as a social medium first and foremost. I feel like connecting with others and learning about them while having fun is what it is all about.
I also strive to get the knowledge I have gained being an actor and an acting coach out to those who may not know. I will tweet little nuggets from time to time, based on experiences I had that day or experiences my students have had.
Lastly, I do tweet to promote my acting and acting studio however, I keep these to a minimum (perhaps once a week). As I find it annoying to read a constant stream from others just promoting themselves or their products (do unto others as they say).”
Ken interacts with so many people on twitter, and does so in a fun and engaging manner. He is definitely worth the follow.
Meet Ajay Nayyar (@ajaynayyar)
Ajay has starred in TV shows including 24 and NCIS and currently has over 1400 followers. He has a very enthusiastic and active group of followers and engages with his audience daily.
“I started using twitter back in 2009 and didn’t really know how to use it to be honest..It took me about 6-7 months to really get the hang of it after my girlfriend at the time was all over it..Since then, I haven’t really looked back..
Oddly enough, I’ve found it as the best networking tool within the entertainment industry. After moving back to London from LA late last year, it has been twitter that has set me up. I don’t think I’d know many people within the industry here if it wasn’t for twitter and then actually going to networking events organised through twitter. I’ve promoted it a great deal and tried to get as many industry folk on it as possible. In the past, I’ve even been offered jobs through twitter.
It’s good to interact with people from all corners of the industry. At times it can get a little political with people unfollowing and trying to make sure they are followed by more people than they follow, but that’s a little silly in my mind. I’m a firm believer in responding to people’s mentions, and following back because I’m not the pretentious type. I do see twitter growing even further and I will definitely use it for a long time.
I really hope they don’t start changing the layout, format or functionality..I like it how it is.. 🙂 “
So there you have it… our first two twitter legends sharing their experiences.
And what do I think? This year alone personally I have managed to grow by at least 400 followers, and have been able to spread the word about my blog, auditions, @ukactorstweetup group and just generally connect with an incredible bunch of people. By using twitter I met @benwhitehair in person in LA last year. From there I went to his monthly @LAActorsTweetup and met a whole host of other incredible industy peeps. And yes, you guessed it, I then joined forces with both LA and NY and turned my humble London networking group into a three city organised networker fest. Twitter did all that. I also met @RenitaCasting who then came to our UK tweetup to host a Q&A; session with the actors. I’ve even had auditions via twitter. It really is a little piece of actor heaven.
So tweeps, get involved and get tweeting. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…in July.
You’re a B.A.B.E.
* Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
Stay tuned for Part 2 coming out this week!
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