Difference Maker

Tomorrow night I’m speaking to a college class.  I know I will make a point that I always seem to bring out when I’m in such an environment.  I tell students that they should try to do something along the lines of having a certain skill (or two) that will make them stand out to a potential employer upon graduation.  The example I usually use is learning a second language, although in the entertainment business it could be something like being proficient at video editing.

The bottom line is, if two résumés are held side-by-side (yours and someone else’s), you want to hiring manager to choose you because you have one of these ‘extras’ (i.e. speaking English and Spanish), assuming everything else on the two résumés are equal.  You want to stand out.  You want to be remembered, in which case the interview could be the deal breaker too.

In the entertainment business, the follow-up to the interview could be a difference maker too.  It goes without saying that you should be thanking the outlet who interviewed you.  But what about what you’re doing with the interview?

This is where I’m going to – gulp – assume that you have an e-newsletter that you’re sending out on some sort of regular schedule, so of course this is some great content to put in there.

But, moreover, since everyone is so focused on social media these days, how thorough are you being in promoting it there?

“Here’s an interview I did: (link)” just isn’t going to cut it.  Tease your followers with something that will get them to want to click that link.  In other words, provide a hint of something you talked about in the interview.

And be sure to tag the outlet that interviewed you.  It shows them that you appreciated the interview and want your followers to listen to, watch, or read it.  They will be happy to see that you’re promoting it and it’s a nice courtesy.

Remember that it also will hold the attention of your followers if they see that you’re getting regular interviews, which is why you also want to post those links on your website.

A lot of the outlets will watch and remember, including being noticeable by your absence.  Meaning, if you post nothing at all, they will see that you (in their eyes) obviously weren’t grateful for the coverage they gave you.  But, doing something as simple as posting on Facebook and Twitter, including the aforementioned tag of the outlet that interviewed you, could be the difference maker in getting another interview from them down the road.

In particular, when you make these connections and leave them with a good impression of you, it better positions you when you need them at some point for getting a big announcement out (i.e. tour, new album, huge booking, etc.).