- Your personal brand is the first thing that casting directors see.  All of your marketing materials and messaging (personal image, social media, photos) are all based on what you have determined is your personal brand. Everything is built off of your brand. It drives the content that you post onto your social media, which generates engagement with your followers that will, in turn, appeal to casting directors. Your marketing materials and your messaging should all be consistent with your brand.

- A successful brand will build a sense of loyalty and trust with your followers. Likewise, it will make you stand out to casting directors. For example, we always emphasize with our actors and models that it is imperative that they respond to audition tickets as soon as they receive it because it shows casting directors that they are involved and dependable. Your messaging in all the materials that you put out, whether it is social media posts or lifestyle photos or your resume, should convey your personal brand; it should show a glimpse of who you are as a person without anyone having to meet you.

- Your personal brand determines how people perceive you. It is equivalent to the first impression for everyone who sees your materials. As actors and models, it is important to establish a strong brand so that you can communicate who you are to casting directors before they even call you in for an audition. Similarly, you want your brand to be cohesive across your resume, your portfolio and your social media platforms because it shows casting directors that you are invested in your career.

- Your personal brand should showcase your personality, your skills, and your experience. It is used as a tool to promote you to casting directors and to the public. You want your brand to be identifiable – if a casting director has asked for Instagram handles, you want them to be able to automatically identify who you are and have an idea of your interests and experiences when you walk into an audition-based off on your photos, portfolio, and social media presence.

- Your portfolio should reflect a visual of your lifestyle. It is based on your personality traits and characteristics. If you build a brand off of your genuine interests, then it will be communicated to your followers in a way that feels natural and authentic.

The best way to start building a brand is to identify what your main personality traits are and decide how you want the public to perceive you. If you want to establish yourself as an actor who loves health and fitness, then you want to make sure that all your marketing materials convey that message. You may want to post a mix of your professional projects and pictures and videos of you out on a hike or bike ride or provide tips and tricks to your followers.  You want your portfolio and lifestyle photos to include images of you in action. Make sure that your resume and submission notes reflect your brand. Let's start by identifying some adjectives about yourself by watching this video from our CEO Kim Loan Duong.