04: Creating a Cohesive Story
with Beth Stewart
Coming up with these core sort of 3 to 5 words - and then you've already talked about how that would translate into what's in the bio and how the bio becomes a compelling place to sort of celebrate that or to showcase that - how does those 3 to 5 words or getting that, that- just the early sentences of a bio, how might that inform other aspects of publicity materials that an artist creates?
So everything should be a cohesive story. I think like any- any good publicist would tell you, a huge part of our job is really storytelling and making sure that that story is not one that we have to be there to tell, right?
So an artist's materials - their website, their photos, their social media - should all be telling that story. So, for example, when you go to a photoshoot, you should walk in knowing what you need to come out with. So, for example, if your brand is kind of edgy, young, contemporary, new music, you don't want to have like an old school headshot portrait that's like in profile in black and white and gazing in the distance, because that doesn't tell us anything about you.
You know, conversely, if- if your specialty is interpreting Spanish repertoire, for example, you might not want to have something that screams punk, right? You want to think about what people are going to think about you when they see these images and also where these images are going to be used.
So for young artists in particular, you're going to use these on your website, you're going to use them on your social media, and presenters are going to use them to represent you in selling your shows.
So if you know that you are going to be performing a certain type of repertoire, make sure that you have images that go along with that. Those 3 to 5 words should be fairly identifiable from your images. So I don't really have for example, if- since- what- my ideas are like, genuine and engaging, I don't really have any photos that are like, you know, straight faced and like crossed arm against the building. Like, that's not me. And that doesn't say anything about my personality or how I might work. I think anyone looking at your social media or your website should have some idea of who you are as a person and as an artist.
Kellogg:
And it should-
Stewart:
Is that helpful at all?
Kellogg:
Yeah, it's very helpful, and it should be uniform and cohesive across all fronts. I mean, even what font you use…
Stewart:
So absolutely should be cohesive.
Kellogg:
...what colors?
Stewart:
Yeah, so I would say don't get too hamstrung by the idea of it all looking "matchy matchy," right? Like you don't have to be some whitewashed lifestyle blogger on Instagram. What you do want is to be recognizable as you. And that's- that's some advice that I give for Instagram a lot, for example. I think people underestimate how polished a photo needs to be to go in the actual feed and what needs to be in that photo.
So most people who follow you on Instagram are there because they like you. So it's pretty important for your post to show you. I think, you know, unless you are really just traveling around the world with just gorgeous new landscapes every day, I think the vast majority of people who follow you want to see what you're up to. So constantly showing them your food or a piece of sheet music might not be as engaging as your face behind the scenes in a rehearsal.