Social Media Bios: How Are You Representing Yourself?

Charlotte is a filmmaker. She’s uniquely talented and understands her field in ways most others don’t. With that said, she lacks the ability to structure her work and hasn’t been on a project in close to a year. It’s embarrassing for her because her ego takes a hit every time she’s reminded that she’s not doing the very thing she set out to do. But one day she was invited to collaborate on a short film and ended up meeting some well connected folks.

Everyone exchanged info and because she didn’t have a site, she directed them to her Instagram where her bio read:

Cat mom — KAMALA 2020 — Used to make movies.

Eek, right?

For most creative entrepreneurs, when we think of marketing, we think of our social media platforms. It’s (mostly) free and seems like the perfect way to capture our complex inner brands that represent the depths and possibilities of our art. We tend to assume that our feeds will be the first place interested fans or potential future bosses will flock to see who we are and what we’re about.

If this is the case, why are we so uncomfortable with being explicit about what our business is? Not only do I often see a cutesie / inside joke “bio” that doesn’t even mention what that artist does but every now and again it goes so far as to denigrate their own brand by making fun of their own supposed profession.

And *if* our social media platforms are our primary marketing tools (or so we think), our social media bios are the LAST place we should be mucking things up.

I get it. It’s hard to push a brand or celebrate something when you may not currently believe in yourself. Especially if you think that others don’t see you as someone who is active or successful but by undermining your work and underlining the lack thereof, you are digging a deeper hole.

As always, we justify our actions in order to survive, right? But from a practical standpoint, knowing that your platforms are no longer just “social” (because we surpassed that point in technology a long time ago), your bios on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. very much need to represent the thing you want to do so that your colleagues and total strangers believe in you even if you might not.

And by all means, have fun with your bio! Charlotte’s doesn’t need to be:

FILMMAKER — USC ‘12 — LINKS TO WORK

But it could be:

Filmmaker — Cat mom — Kamala 2020

Link to last project here

At the end of the day, be you. Not the version that could be scared and tired after long stretches of seeming disregard for you and what you have to offer. So…the best version of you. That will sell more than anything and may reap better results.

Also by Artist’s Strategy:

Chronic Lateness is Hurting Your Career

Managing Workload: Is Your “Busyness” Effective

Join TheatreArtLife to access unlimited articles, our global career center, discussion forums, and professional development resource guide. Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals. Learn more about our subscription plans.

Love to write or have something to say? Become a contributor with TheatreArtLife. Join our community of industry leaders working in artistic, creative, and technical roles across the globe. Visit our CONTRIBUTE page to learn more or submit an article.