This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Today's listener question comes with a special guest answer. We've got a listener here who wonders about using Instagram to market to companies that cast voiceover artists. When this question came in, I knew exactly what to do. I was like, I have a friend who does this very successfully. She is a pro voiceover artist based in Los Angeles. She has done campaigns for
Target, lots of other companies, and she uses Instagram very well. In fact, she posts there every day. Her name is Tanya Pasek. She is @topsek, T-O-P-S-I-C-K on Instagram. So here's what you're going to hear. You're going to hear the sponsor message. Thank you, sponsor. Appreciate you.
You're going to hear the listener's question. Thank you, listener. You're awesome. And all the listeners and a response from Tanya that gives specific, actionable advice. I hope you're excited for this. Let's jump right in.
Hey, this is Erin from Park Rapids. I've been listening to the show for a few years now. I listen right away in the morning, so I'm already thinking about business and ideas and stuff. I already have my side hustle rolling and it's voiceover. I've got my brand, website, demos, business cards. I post on LinkedIn and I've gotten some jobs on the pay-to-plays and
I even have an agent. So my question is, what should I do on Instagram to market to companies that cast voiceovers? There are about a billion of them and I've heard from voiceover artists that people do get cast on Instagram. I have a link to my demos and my profile, of course. Just not sure what else to do with it. Do I just look like I'm there or network with them or what?
Thanks, and keep on hustling. Hey, Erin. This is Tanya Pasek, founder of Women in VO. Great question. This is one that I think a lot of people have, especially entrepreneurs like actors and voiceover artists whose entire livelihood really depends on showcasing themselves to the world. Sounds like you're already off to a
great start. You have your LinkedIn page and your website and you already have your demos in your Instagram bio. Instagram is such a great tool to put yourself out there with. So that means making posts of your previous work or maybe even posting your demo with a photo of yourself, having headshots that showcase that you're a voice actor. Anything that really relates to you being a professional voiceover actor. Just imagine what a company might want to see from you on your
Instagram profile. You also want to come across as the type of person that they'd want to work with and maybe fits their brand. So knowing your brand is really important. One really great thing to do is follow hashtags that have to do with your industry. So for example, if it's voiceover, maybe it's just hashtag voiceover, or you can follow companies and see what hashtags they're using and follow those. Along with that, I think it's important to follow the people that you've
worked with, instructors you've taken classes from, and people that you admire in the voiceover industry. These are the type of people that post their classes and classes that they've taken, and then you can then follow those instructors and see what they're up to and who they work for, especially casting director workshops. That's always really great to get into and meet that person and then follow up on Instagram. Send them an email or send them a DM thanking them for how great the class was and reintroduce yourself just in case they've forgotten your name. You can always follow businesses that you want to work with and initiate a DM to introduce yourself and see if you can get an email address of someone who may hire voiceover actors for their company. Or you can just
like their posts and maybe bring some attention to your profile. And since you already have your demos in your bio, that's a great way for them to link up with you. In my experience, a lot of people who do get initiations from Instagram are actual influencers or they have a large following and a huge fan base. So just keep in mind that you can always do some work yourself, but don't compare yourself to other people who have thousands and thousands of followers. My advice is to keep building your brand and your network. Follow casting directors, follow businesses that you
want to work with, and follow your fellow voiceover actors. You'd be surprised the people who reach out who you didn't think have anything to do in the voiceover world, and since they know that you're a voice actor can hire you to do a job. And if you ever need any help, there's a ton of people in the Women in VO network that can offer you some guidance. Ultimately, Instagram is a tool and you can use it how you see fit. Don't do anything that you don't want to do and just have fun with it. I try not to take it too seriously and really try to stay true to who I actually am. I hope that
helped and I really wish you the best on your journey. Thank you, Aaron, for the question. Thank you, Tanya, so much for jumping in with that answer. You gave much better advice than I could give. I'm so glad I went to a pro. Listeners, if you want to check out Tanya's profile, again,
it's @topsyk on Instagram, T-O-P-S-I-C-K, or visit TanyaPasik.com. And that's Tanya spelled T-A-N-I-A. You can also check out Aaron's profile at Aaron in Minnesota with underscores, so E-R-I-N, underscore I-N, underscore M-N, or visit realfriendlyvoiceover.com. It sounds like they'd both be great for your next voiceover campaign, just in case you're looking or you know someone who is. And listeners, if you have a question, just come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. We will continue to feature them throughout the year,
along with updates from listeners as they launch their projects. Thank you so much for being out there. You are amazing. I hope you'll subscribe and come back, listen wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
From the Onward Project.
