40%

One of the questions I get asked the most (after is Mercedes Rose your real name)  is about how I use social media; specifically to promote my show biz career. This is a great question and one that I love to answer with stories and examples. All depending on how long a conversation everyone has the time for! 

I could talk about social media for hours...but I won't. 

Last week I got a perfect new example of the power of social media. And I could hardly wait to share it with you here.

But first, a little background...

Personally, I use YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for work. (And to be clear, whenever I say 'work' I mean my show biz career) Those are the ones that I have found work for me. They fit my personality and are user friendly. Because, let's face it, I am just not all that computer savvy. I have a few rules - mostly due to my OCD. One is I try to do very little cross promoting. While I will post some links that I think people might find useful on both FB and Twitter, my status is rarely the same. I talk more about day-to-day actor life on Twitter while FB is more philosophical. And I pretty much only talk about work, having a good attitude and Diet Coke on all platforms. And I have separate accounts for "Real Life" and "Reel Life". There are other quirks I suffer from but for the purpose of this blog, that will cover it.

So, last week...

I had a friend of a friend, we'll call him Doug, contact me about hiring me for some voice work. I have never worked for him and in fact had only met him maybe twice (and that was years ago). News to me, we were Facebook friends. Now, before you wonder how I didn't know we were friends, let me explain. I have 1,760 FB friends as of this writing. I probably know 300 personally. I use this page almost more like the old 'fan page' and accept all friend requests. Many of them are fans of Nintendo or my character, Princess Rosalina. There are no personal photos on there, no phone number, nothing but work stuff. And stuff about being positive. And about Diet Coke. 

So anyway...Doug explained that when this particular voiceover need came up, he immediately thought of me. In part because he often likes my FB postings. Now, I don't recall him ever commenting on any. I can't recall having any conversations with him. Nothing that has ever stood out, certainly. But yet, I had made an impression on him through social media. And it has led to a new client. Potentially a very good new client. 

This is just one of many, many examples I could site about the power of social media. According to my record keeping in Performertrack, over 40% of my new business in 2010 came from a social media contact. Not a bad ratio #ifidosaysomyself. 

Now if I could just make my family understand I am not "playing on Facebook" but actually working...

 (the above photo is my Twitter background)

 -- Mercedes Rose

Comments

[Ben (@actingnodrama)]

Great plug for social media. Honestly, I think that every actor serious about their career should be on. Luckily, it's hard to get crowded in cyberspace.

Loved the article, Mercedes!

[Corina Mackay]

Wow, I'm surprised that you got over 40% of new work from social media! I knew it was important, but - wow! I'm glad you included that stat.

[Ann Hu]

Nice. Want to come handle my social media accounts? :0)

[Mercedes Rose]

Thanks guys! Always appreciate the comments. Social media just works for me, ya know? And it has, truly, changed my life. Not to be dramatic or anything...