If you are an aspiring model and want to gain an edge in the modeling industry, social media is a powerful tool that can push you far. Social platforms play a critical role in building your social networks, showing off your modeling portfolio, and sharing your personality as a model. These are all key factors in being able to book modeling work regularly.
This article shares specific ways in which models can connect with casting directors, give themselves an edge ahead of their competition with social media, and how to build their social media presence to book jobs.
Importance of Social Media Platforms to a Model’s Career
The fashion world is constantly evolving, and now social media plays an important role in a model’s career. It’s important to maintain a social media profile as a model and make it public. Many top models have active social media accounts, including Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, and many more.
Connect with Casting Directors
Many major brands work with casting directors to find talent for their next campaigns. As a model, social networking sites provide a direct connection to casting directors.
It’s common for casting directors to post castings on their Instagram stories for roles they need to fill. It’s a large part of the industry. The good news for unrepresented talent is that this is an avenue through which models can book jobs for themselves.
Connect with Agencies
If you are a model seeking representation, social media is one avenue through which agents scout for the latest talent. Agencies often have scouting hashtags potential talent can use on their posts. These scouting hashtags can be found on their profiles.
Even if you apply through an agency’s website, they will always ask for your social handles. If they are interested in signing you, the first place they will look is to your social media profiles.
A well-curated Instagram is a great way to catch an agent’s eye. This shows that you know how to market yourself, which is a key aspect of being a successful model.
Build Your Personal Brand
Modeling is a business. As such, models need to build their brand. Casting directors want to know the talent they are casting on a more personal level. Keep your social media professional and clean, while showing off your portfolio. Make sure anyone from agents, to casting directors, to potential brands has a sense of who you are and where your fortes lie based on your social media sites.
Feel free to build your social media on your personal accounts. As you build your brand, you will also be able to connect with small businesses to pitch yourself as a potential model for future campaigns.
Collaborate with Photographers
A huge part of being a model is consistently updating your portfolio. If you’re a new model, you will want to find the best photographers who can build you a book that will book you jobs. The easiest way to do so is by searching for the photographers on Instagram.
Investigate which models from which agencies are collaborating with different photographers. You can directly connect with photographers you want to work with on social media. This can be either a paid portfolio shoot or a trade-for-print collaboration.
Show Your Personality Through Your Personal Brand
Casting directors nowadays look for more than physical attractiveness when selecting talent for their campaigns. Casting directors want models who have personalities and have interests and hobbies outside of modeling.
If the casting director needs to cast talent for an athletic shoot, they might want real basketball players or real track athletes. Seeing a video of a model playing basketball on their social media or running on the track can give the athletic model an edge for booking the job.
Casting directors also want to be able to understand who the model is outside of modeling. What are the other interests that make the model who they are?
A Large Social Media Following Increases Chance of Booking Jobs
Some brands want to only hire models who have above a certain number of followers on Instagram. Many models will post recent jobs they have worked on. If a model with a large social media following posts about their recent booking with the brand, it gives the brand more exposure to its target audience at no additional cost.
Some jobs are not available to models who have below a certain threshold of followers. This goes into the territory of influencing. The overlap between modeling and influencing has become more blurry in recent years. It is not uncommon for social media influencers such as Instagram models to be booked for campaigns for a “hero” role, along with traditional models.
That’s not to say you need a large following to book jobs, but it does give you an edge in a competitive market.
UGC Content
With the rise of social media, so too has there been a rise in UGC (user-generated content). Brands often look for natural content to market their new products and create brand awareness among social media users. It is not uncommon for brands to reach out to UGC content creators to create these types of content, and the pool of content creators often overlaps with that of models.
Some exclusive model contracts even stipulate that UGC content jobs fall under the contract terms. The model needs to pay a commission to the agent for UGC work.
How to Leverage Your Social Media to Build a Brand
The more professional content you create online, the more you build your brand to attract potential clients. There are different types of social media, so which one should you prioritize? If you can build social media presences across different platforms, including a YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok. If you had to prioritize one, I would prioritize Instagram.
Make sure you have high-quality images on your social media that show your capabilities as a model. This is the first thing potential agents and casting directors look for. You will also want to post regularly, as casting directors who consider booking you for jobs will be looking for your most recent images. Building a social media presence from zero is intimidating, but take it step by step! The first (and most important) step is to set your profile public.
Building a strong modeling portfolio in combination with a dynamic social media presence will help potential clients picture you in their campaigns. Check out this video on how to build a portfolio that will book you jobs.
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