With over 257,000 followers on Instagram and a staggering 1.5 million followers on TikTok, it’s safe to say that this week’s guest — musical stage star and voice coach Emily Kristen Morris — has found a way to make social media work for her. 

And while some of Emily’s social media success can be attributed to her career (she’s played Bea in the Broadway National Tour of “Something’s Rotten”, Elphaba’s standby in the “Wicked” National Tour, and Elsa in Disney’s “Frozen: The Broadway Musical”), it’s worth noting that her TikTok channel started in 2020 when musical theater wasn’t active due to the pandemic. 

So, what does it take to grow such a following and leverage the power of social media? Join us as Emily takes us through her journey and explores the challenges of growing a vocal coaching business online, navigating the ever-changing social media algorithm, and finding a balance between performing and teaching.    

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. (8:43) How Emily built an online presence on Instagram and TikTok — and how she needed to scale up her business as her social media following grew.
2. (13:35) The people Emily turned to for business advice — and the entrepreneurial skills she feels voice teachers must learn.
3. (16:34) How social media has changed the business landscape since the early days of the internet.
4. (17:25) Why there’s no one “right” way to do social media, even for the experts.
5. (18:00) The rewards of occasionally sharing personal stories about your music career — and why setting boundaries is important. 
6. (22:39) How Emily manages the challenges of balancing a performing career with a teaching career.
7. (27:31) The value of running your own teaching business while pursuing a performing career
8. (29:43) Why being a “social media influencer” can make certain producers nervous about hiring you as a performer
9. (32:07) Why producers should be excited about using the power of social media to bring more audiences to live performances.
10. (33:30) How the musical theater industry is currently using social media and influencer marketing to promote itself.
11. (36:12) Tips and tricks for teachers who want to build a strong online presence
12. (41:49) How to handle the “haters” and negative comments that crop up on social media.
13. (44:27) Behind-the-curtain stories about what really happens between scenes in “Wicked” and “Frozen.”
14. (55:04) Why Emily feels she also owes her vocal coaching business to the IVA community, and how its support has changed her life.

Pro tip: Emily might not respond to all her TikTok comments, but you can reach her by contacting her via email at Emily@EmilyKristenMorris.com. 

Follow Emily’s career by checking out her website and join her Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok channels (if you’re not there already!). 

Here at the Vocal Advancement Podcast, we like to show different approaches to finding success. In Season 3 Episode 7, you met Linda Tomkinson who built a successful career via word-of-mouth. In this episode, we cover the other side of the coin by showing how voice teachers like Emily Kristen Morris can build careers from huge social media followings. 

If there’s a teacher, performer, or researcher who you think would offer a new perspective, be sure to email us at hello@vocaladvancement.com so we can feature them on Season 4!

And make sure to follow us on the Vocal Advancement Podcast and subscribe to our YouTube channel! 

About the Institute for Vocal Advancement

The Institute of Vocal Advancement (IVA) was created to provide voice teachers with a support network to provide you with the best teaching tools and strategies to advance your career. Our trainers teach from the empathic mindset, showing you how to improve your own teaching style.

Check out our webinars in our list of upcoming events and learning how our Teacher Training Programs can help advance your career. Use the code “iva20percent” to get 20% off your first year’s course membership fee!