Ever hear people in the industry say you need to market yourself as an actor? All the time! And, let’s be real…what does that even mean?
Marketing can be overwhelming because right now, it’s a concept, not an actionable plan. Most people don’t know how to accurately break the concept of marketing down into tangible, doable chunks.
In this article, I’m going to talk about the key marketing strategy that you get to learn – Packaging.
A few things about packaging –
- You can’t package a product if you don’t know what it is!
- You can’t package a product that is vague
- You can’t package a product that tries to target all markets
What does Packaging even mean?
Packaging is the art of taking your Product and manifesting it in all your marketing tools. Think of Packaging as an extension of your Brand for instant clarity on who you are and what you do.
There are a lot of materials you use to market yourself:
- Headshots
- Resumes
- Reels
- Clips
- Business Cards
- Thank You Cards
- Postcards
- Social Media
- Pitch emails
- Websites
- Bios
- Newsletters
Every marketing tool must be in alignment with who you are and what you sell.
As you begin your authentic journey into Packaging, keep in mind these two important concepts:
Transparency – Your packaging must be transparent.
You are your Brand. Let me say that one more time: You. Are. Your. Brand.
Transparency is about being true and authentic, and about simply being. It’s subliminally letting your Brand influence and affect everything.
It’s not about forcing your brand on people or shouting it from the rooftops. When you package your product correctly, people will get you without you having to shove it in their faces.
Think of it this way: You know when you work on an acting scene and you work beat to beat on the scene, right? But when you actually perform the scene you aren’t thinking about the beats. You’re simply doing the scene.
You did the work and you let it go. The same is true with your Brand and Packaging.
Seamless – Your packaging must be seamless.
Every marketing tool must be in alignment. Your headshot/résumé, reel, your outfit, your makeup, how you talk, your take and point of view on the material all must reflect who you are.
When everything makes sense and is in alignment, you see head nods in the room and they get you. You go in the callback pile.
If your packaging is not seamless, then they have to work too hard to figure out where you fit. Guess what? No one takes the time to do that. Therefore, they do nothing.
Your job in packaging is to represent the overall feeling of your product. How can you relay an overall feeling?
Here are 4 ways to do so:
- Fonts are used to create a mood and a feel. Every font says something different about the person or the company it represents. What is it that you want to say with your font? What type of font do you feel represents you and your Brand?
- Color adds to the overall mood of your marketing tools. The cool thing about colors is how they elicit a universal experience when people see them. This is what makes color a great subliminal tool to use in all your marketing materials to reflect your brand.
- Design is used in all of your marketing materials to elicit your branding essences and vibe. What represents YOU? Not what you like, but YOU? How are you designing all your materials with consistency?
- Word choice in pitch emails, social media, and industry correspondence evokes a feeling of who you are. Are the words you use in alignment with how you want to be perceived?
Now is the time, when online is how you’re making a first impression and being remembered, to make sure your materials scream of who you are.
All these four components will ultimately create brand recognition for YOU. It creates trust. Trust in who you are and how you show up. When people trust in who you are and what you deliver, they breathe a sigh of relief.
I invite you to be that breath of fresh air in this industry. It all starts with knowing who you are. 🙂
