“It’s not personal Sonny. It’s strictly business.” (Michael Corleone: Godfather I)
…and shortly thereafter, Michael kills a mafia drug distributor and a police precinct Captain (pictured above) in Louis’s Restaurant in the Bronx.
My little “business” is called All Art is Personal™.
My business is personal.
The foundation of my business is to encourage authenticity, for performers and composers to only be themselves, and to make things personal.
But there is such a thing as being too personal, aka TMI, aka too much information.
Are your Facebook or Instagram posts professional or personal, or both?
If you knew that a presenter, booker, manager, or conductor — anyone in a position to advance your career — might come across your name on your Instagram or Facebook page, what would you post, and what content would you stop posting?
Who is your audience, and what content will they find most relevant?
a. Content about the rough patch you’ve currently going through, and how you intend to make a new, smarter start?
b. Content about the rough patch you went through during the past six months, how you struggled, and how you worked your way through it?
c. Your beef with presenters, bookers, conductors, and others for not hiring you. “They should be hiring me.”
It’s important to mention that content a, b, and c are often anywhere from six to ten paragraphs long, single spaced in a tiny, unfriendly-to the-eyes font.
Influencers and non-influencers are likely to move on after two paragraphs, or less.
Unless they’re your longtime, loyal friends. They will read it to the end, and offer compassion and encouragement. Because, that’s what friends are for.
One additional point:
This might be the first impression you make with people getting to know you for the first time.
What do you want them to see and process that first time?
It is absolutely appropriate to post something other than your career activities – good or goofy pictures – something that shows your less serious side, or your life outside of music. Pictures of your family etc.
Storytelling on Social Media – your story or stories – is one powerful way to get personal.
Making sure that your bio is more than just an impressive list of your awards, accomplishments, whom you’ve performed with, and where you’ve performed. It can (should) also include a brief story, or something personal about you.
My social media posts are “strictly business,” but I always try to show my personal side – sometimes subtly, and at other times, clear as a bell.
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As a game and and personal challenge, I always try to sum up my writing here in one or two sentences.
Who is your audience, and what content will they find most relevant?
Discussing the Percussion Concerto by Richard Danielpour with Bertha
Time for Three - after an electric performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Getting a beer and some mozzarella sticks before an Imani Winds concert on Halloween
Familial hands
Yo-Yo Ma and me singing “Invano, Alvaro” from Verdi’s La forza del destino, Act 4