Podcasts Voice Over Experts The Necessity of Social Networking
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The Necessity of Social Networking

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Stephanie Ciccarelli
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Join Voice Over Expert Dave DeAndrea in his debut podcast, “The Necessity of Social Networking.” Dave gives you a number of tried, tested and true tips that will help you to expand your presence in a professional way online. If you think social networking isn’t for you or is a waste of time, take a few minutes to listen to this podcast!

Links from today’s show:

DaveDeAndrea.com
KillerVoiceDemos.com

Your Instructor this week:

Dave DeAndrea, winner of the 2009 Voicey Award for Best Male Voice, is a multi-faceted Voice Actor and Producer who’s credits range from commercials, presentations and animation to jingles, imaging and trailers. He’s also the driving force behind killervoicedemos.com, a great resource for voice actors to have professional demos made at an affordable price. Dave lives on the beautiful southern Oregon coast with his wife, Kristen, and their 4 children, the youngest of which was recently adopted from Ethiopia.

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It’s never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won’t find anywhere else.
Now for our special guest.
Dave DeAndrea: Hi there. This is Dave DeAndrea and let me just start by saying that I am really honored to be among such amazing incredible talent represented here on Voiceover Experts. I’ve gleaned so much from this podcast and I’m glad to be able to give just a little something back. Now I want to talk with you for a few moments about the necessity of social networking. I’ve eavesdropped on a few conversations between voice actors regarding social networking and something I commonly hear is that’s such a waste of time. Now I had mentioned these people who say this by name but our frame but you know why? Because you’ve never heard of them. They’re not on the grid.
Question, is it possible to be a successful voice actor without utilizing social networking? Absolutely. But let me offer four reasons why I believe that social networking is worth the investment of time. Number one, recognition. Now for crying out loud, it’s free exposure. There are lots of ways to get your name out there and most of them cost money. So why not take advantage of the many ways to connect with other actors and clients and get your name out there that doesn’t cost you anything but a little bit of time between auditions and sessions.
Number two, relationships. When I finally got the Jeep Wrangler that I always wanted, I quickly learned that I had somehow inadvertently become a member of a secret society. Other Jeep people would wave a friendly acknowledgment to me as we drove by each other. It’s sort of an unspoken understanding that we shared a common interest. By the way, this never happens when I drive our minivan. Now as voice actors, we’re not likely to spot others that share our common love of voice acting outside of workshops and conventions. You know, most of us don’t walk around with a microphone. So it’s great to have a place online to go where we can meet people who get it and that leads to number three, resources.
Social networking sites and forums can be wonderful places to learn and find solutions to problems. More often than not, there’s a tech guy lurking in the logged in list who’s more than happy to help you figure out where that annoying high-pitched noises coming from or a VO veteran who would be willing to offer advice on your demo, a fellow actor of the opposite sex who would love to try that two-person conversational audition with you and who knows? You could be a great resource for someone else.
Number four, referrals. This one is huge. I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of this key career component. A client may have already hired one of your VO buddies but it’s a multi-voice project. So the client asks them if they know anyone who might be good for one of the other roles. Now I know I’m oversimplifying this but they can’t recommend you if they don’t know you, right? And what about securing an agent? Maybe you know an actor that the agent already represents. Now in the subject line of your e-mail inquiry to the agent, you can have referred by John Smith or whatever the name of the voice actor is that the agent represents or you can put seeking representation. The former will get you listened to. The latter will get you deleted.
Side note by the way, be sure to talk with the voice actor before you use them as a referral and talk with them about the agency, you know and see if it’s an agency you’d like to be associated with. Okay. I know I said I’d give you four reasons and I’ve done that but here’s a quick bonus, being on social networking sites and forums helps your name show up more on web searches. Go ahead and Google my name, Dave DeAndrea as an example and instead of just one or two listings, you’ll see several pages from a variety of different of different sources, Twitter, Facebook, Blogspot, and when you find me, let me extend a personal invitation to you to join me.
Now here’s a quick list of just a few places where you can get started and get your name out there and meet people. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tangle is a great Christian social networking site, Nextcat, VO Universe, Voice-overs.com, VO-BB.com. If you know of some other good forums and sites, add it to the comments.
Thanks so much for listening. I hope this has been helpful to you. If you want to know more about me, visit my site at DaveDeAndrea.com and one last quick plug, if you’re looking of how the demo produced, I’m launching a new site in the very near future, KillerVoiceDemos.com. God bless.
Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed. If you’re a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

Stephanie Ciccarelli
Stephanie Ciccarelli is a Co-Founder of Voices. Classically trained in voice as well as a respected mentor and industry speaker, Stephanie graduated with a Bachelor of Musical Arts from the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario. For over 25 years, Stephanie has used her voice to communicate what is most important to her through the spoken and written word. Possessing a great love for imparting knowledge and empowering others, Stephanie has been a contributor to The Huffington Post, Backstage magazine, Stage 32 and the Voices.com blog. Stephanie is found on the PROFIT Magazine W100 list three times (2013, 2015 and 2016), a ranking of Canada's top female entrepreneurs, and is the author of Voice Acting for Dummies®.
Connect with Stephanie on:
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Comments

  • Frank James Bailey
    October 14, 2009, 3:08 pm

    Great podcast! I have always thought that networking sites are a great marketing tool. Even thought we only hear about the freaks on the networking sites on the news.

    Reply
  • steve
    October 14, 2009, 4:14 pm

    Probably the most down to earth evaluation of social networking that I’ve heard or read.

    Reply
  • Jodi Krangle
    October 14, 2009, 5:05 pm

    Well done, Dave! Informative and a joy to listen to. 🙂

    Reply
  • Mike Laponis
    October 14, 2009, 8:23 pm

    Succinct and informative. Thanks Dave!

    Reply
  • Herb Merriweather
    October 14, 2009, 4:47 pm

    Great podcast, my friend! I can say that because I was able to establish a precious and important friendship with you through Facebook. I have benefitted from referrals by giving AND receiving them and I’ve also had the pleasure to do some production work for yet another dear brother from another mother. The Bible says that if you want friends, you have to be friendly and this is a great way to establish that truth in business and socially.
    Great work, man!

    Reply
  • Dan Roberts
    October 15, 2009, 12:00 am

    Congratulations on the Podcast, Dave! Good information. As a reminder, we networked socially in the terrestrial world at the Bob Bergen animation voice-over workshop. I was hauled away for panicking the locals (at least my character was). “The aliens are coming!”
    Best,
    Dan

    Reply
  • Steve Spector
    October 15, 2009, 10:08 am

    If one were to name and describe the message of this podcast as a classical music work, it would be called “Variations on a Theme by Nike.”
    In other words, just do it.

    Reply
  • JC Haze
    October 15, 2009, 9:11 pm

    Hi-de-ho neighbor!
    Great podcast, Dave. You’ve hit the nail RIGHT on the head. Networking and social media should be a part of EVERY voice actor’s marketing plan. AND IT’S THE CHEAPEST FORM OF MARKETING OUT THERE: It’s FREE!
    And, oh yeah…it WORKS too. I’ve booked several voice jobs just thru marketing on Facebook. In fact–I just did a gig last week–thanks to social media, and am awaiting payment on another I did a month ago.
    As part of your ‘whole plan,’ social media should be a top priority!
    For our newbies out there—or long-time hold-outs, there is NO downside. Social media works.

    Reply
  • cathi parrish
    October 20, 2009, 1:09 am

    What great info on the necessity of social networking. Hadn’t realized how important it was. Really enjoyed it… Thanks Dave for the insight!

    Reply
  • Paul Hernandez
    August 12, 2010, 9:40 pm

    Thanks Dave for sharing your expertise. As a recipient of your kindness and advice I too have made some great contacts benefited from social networking and your suggestions.
    Thanks for sharing amigo 🙂

    Reply