Engaging with Engagement
How are comedians who want a career in comedy meant to reckon with social media?
This will be a long, subjective analysis on the state of the standup comedy world. If you, like me, have social media brain and wish to read the summary of what I’ve learned, you can skip to “um, so what” section at the bottom.
When I talk to my fellow standup comics about being online, we regretfully agree that you need a social media presence. It’s a way to track your audience, reach new people that gel with your style, and prove to shows and clubs that you can sell tickets.
At the same time, who would disagree that being chronically online is gross? Posting selfie reels every day to drive viewership feels cringe and awkward (can’t wait to explain to my mom why I posted a “Jeff Bezos at Chipotle” character video from inside my car). The algorithm is designed towards dopamine hits, trends, and short-form engagement. Most viewers move on after five seconds of watching the video that took you two hours to record.
For my own sanity, I’m trying to find an answer to the question “how do I make it in comedy without using social media”. To do so, I analyzed a comedian who’s heavily invested in social media presence, some comedians with limited presence, and two comedians who have no social media whatsoever.
an investor
Gianmarco Soresei stated his full overhead on the Good One podcast. He has a freelance social media staff and estimates that he spends at least $20,000 a month on social content. Ahhhhh!!!!! If I had $20,000 a month to spend would I even be doing comedy?
From looking at his 1.3 million YouTube subscribers, his 1.1 mil Instagram followers, and his overflowing tour dates for the next six months, he is busy and getting paid. His online content funnels viewers to his YouTube and podcast, where he makes money from ad revenue, product placement, and garners more in-person ticket sales. Ultimately, he’s doing very well, and has tamed the social media beast with a huge investment in online content.
I believe Soresi has capitalized on a particular cultural moment in comedy and optimized his efficiency, to great success. I know how corporate that sounds, but let me explain.
He brings multiple cameras to his shows: one to film himself, another to film audience that he does crowd work with. Whenever he appears anywhere (Mamdani rally, someone else’s podcast, a daily news talk show) he gets the footage and rights to post on his socials.
His clips are professional edited and have a joke within the first five seconds (statistically proven to be the most important part of any comedy video). The content that goes online is quippy, topical, and just spicy enough. Commenting on Israel, Epstein, Trump, etc, is his style but it’s also in the news and cultural conversation. He never goes too far with a take. He shoots for scoffs, not gasps.
Soresi’s crowd work sidesteps the hackiness we expect from all those terrible Matt Rife clips. He asks thoughtful questions of audience members and leads with curiosity, not hostility - the crowd is his improv partner. He’s likeable. There is a parasocial element to this. Today’s culture asks their artists to be up to the highest of moral standards (see Pedro Pascal; an excellent actor with even better politics who is beloved by all). If you’re online, people want to feel like you are their friend.
What have I learned from him?
Film everything, but only post quality. Not all of us have the stage and gear access Soresi has, but we do all have control over what we post. If the reception in the room was stellar, but the clip was only okay, maybe don’t post it. Our online profile is, after all, a resume (please don’t look at mine).
Your in-person performance must deliver on the “promise” your online content makes. Soresi’s online content promises that he’s a likeable, left-leaning guy who has a spicy take on something. If you see him in person, you expect to get this. This may seem obvious but it matters to people who discover you online! I’ll touch on this more later.
Does doing any of these things guarantee a career in comedy? No. But is it easy to copy what he does? Also no. Soresi has access to equipment and stage time that is unattainable for most comedians. However, if you are looking to play the social media game, his model is a good one to follow. I really don’t want to. Let’s talk about a few comics who have taken a different approach.
a comic with limited social media presence
The anti-comedy of Conner O’Malley should absolutely be studied by someone more qualified than me, but I’ll do my best. Just look at his most recent Instagram post - a carousel of stoplight images, weird architecture, and no human faces. The algorithm should hate it, right? And yet… it has some engagement and is a perfect summary of his voice: he’s that weird guy.
His previous post is an AI-adjacent, heavily edited podcast parody clip (stay with me) that satirizes male conspiracy shit-stirrers. Notice the dates of his posts. He posts maybe 2-3 times a month with an occasional Instagram story of his double chins and Oakleys with the caption “I still care for you”.
He markets very little. His website, which is in a fun late 90s/early 2000s style, has links to his short films and comedy special. Standup Solutions, his special, has over a million views on YouTube (it’s great). He posts YouTube videos every 3-6 months.
His 2025 fall tour seemed like a huge success. The Neptune (a great theater in Seattle) added a late show for his November visit due to popular demand after tickets went on sale and sold out in May. Folks online who went say it was amazing. How’d he get here?
O’Mallely does have a great resume. He wrote for Seth Meyers and Joe Pera Talks With You. He frequently guest stars on Tim Robinson projects. He’s married to SNL alum Aidy Bryant, whom he met in the Chicago improv scene. By all accounts, he’s great to work with and hilarious. Factoring this, his limited social media usage, and his recent national theatre headlining tour, here’s what I’m taking away from his current success.
Less is more. When O’Malley does post, his posts are high-quality, in his own voice, and unique (no character-bit car videos here). It creates excitement and value when he does post.
What he has, he built over time. O’Malley wrote for Seth Meyers starting in 2013. Since then, he’s gotten to know a bunch of other comedians in his scene and worked with and for them. Getting funnier, building connections, doing small guest bits - this is how a network is built!
Your online content should subvert the form. Podcast clips and crowd work clips are becoming tired and skippable. What Conner O’Malley excels at is parodying the archetype of a chronically online male podcaster with innovative sketches and short films. I’m not a social media research analyst. I can’t tell you the exact numbers behind what’s trending and what’s not. What I do know is that when Conner O’Malley posts a video, it’s funny, fresh, and a bunch of people watch it.
comics with no social media
I must thank Pedro Martinez Calleja for bringing Emmy Blotnick to my attention. I’ve seen her set on Colbert in 2022 but not much else, and there’s a reason for that - she’s not on social media! Like, at all!
Her instagram account has 9,500 followers and one single post. One. No reels. Her website has no upcoming shows listed. There’s one Facebook post from May stating she filmed a comedy special this year (I believe she’s still editing it). Her IMBD says she’s consistently written for TV for the past twelve years and has done a few late-night TV spots, which, unfortunately, means very little these days.
Yet her Instagram tagged reveals a different story: she’s going up frequently in NYC at Union Hall and The Bellhouse. She’s done spots on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me recently. Blotnick is probably looking for more writing jobs and living her life. I wish her the best and am quietly jealous of her career! I don’t want to make guesses as to how her life is going, but if I were to have some takeaways, they would be the following:
Be an accomplished TV writer for years!!!!!! This is an excellent way to start your career (I’m only half-joking). There’s nothing much we can do about this one right now given industry upheaval, but I will reiterate that careers take time and consistent work.
Don’t just do standup. Unfortunately I think this is a new permanent truth about the industry. We should be doing a few things. Blotnick is a well-established TV writer and script supervisor. I have friends who’ve self-published children’s books, poetry, shot short films, done fundraisers, comedic journalists - do something other than just standup.
Collaborate with your fellow comics. Blotnick’s shows are often co-headlining with other established comics like Alison Leiby and Josh Gondelman. She even hosted a trivia event with Hari Kondabolu. If you want to go far, go together!
A comic who’s even more offline is Daniel Kitson. Unlike Blotnick, he doesn’t even have an Instagram account that he doesn’t use. He only has two pieces of online presence: a website and a New York Times article about him from 2022. The article is less about his social media usage and more about his style, but he’s been around for a while. He’s big in the U.K. and has been performing live in Fringe fests and theatres since 2002.
Kitson’s website is interesting. It’s well designed and contains no available audio or video of him performing whatsoever. All his specials and albums are locked behind one $5 monthly subscription button. He’s is doing a run of shows at Stanley’s Arts in South London in January. How does he make his money? No idea. Does he tour? Not as much these days, I think. Will he respond to my email asking him how he does it? Almost certainly not. But I think there are some learnings to be found.
Long, long time - like some of the previous comics I mentioned, Kitson has developed his career in theatres for over twenty years. He put together an audience from the sheer amount of live performing he’s done.
You can refuse to use social media. Making friends, venue contacts, audience - these are all things that can be done with just an email. Your special can be a $5 link on your website. Before he had his subscription-based content on his website, Kitson used to sell his albums on Bandcamp. He also adds audio-only clips every month or two under his subscription service, catering to the audiophiles who still love comedy albums.
There’s something magnetic about being offline that gives you a reputation. His cult following (he has fan pages) does all the things he refuses to do himself: post clips, posters, dates… they’re his manager!
um, so what: the sad truths
My conclusion? To completely quit social media, you need to be really established or go the Daniel Kitson route of being a completely offline enigmatic mystery. If not, you’ll have to play the game. However, there are steps we can take to limit our time on the apps and still have a career in comedy.
If you do want to post something, don’t post only standup clips. Make a short film, sketch, PowerPoint, animate something, do anything but standup clips. The oversaturation of comedy clips have destroyed the value of a standard “person on stage with microphone” video. Subvert the form! Experiment! Some examples: Matt O’Brien. Patti Harrison. Grace Kuhlenschmidt
Quality over quantity. When you do post, make it count. Data does show that you should post at least once a month, or else some social media apps devalue your posts.
Spend more time with your other comedians. We are a community! We must help each other! I believe a comedy show, at it’s core, is a small community-building exercise. When you meet comedians you vibe with, try and produce something together. Reach out to bookers together. Go to your friend’s shows even if you’re not on it. We are part of a vast network of people working on an art form that emphasizes solo performance. That doesn’t mean we have to do it alone.
This is one of the hardest times to be a standup comedian in the history of comedy. The oversaturation of comedians is a bubble and I do believe it will burst. That being said, careers in this industry are only built with time. This will be hard, but it’s always been hard! Give it time.
TaKe mY CoMedY ClaSs! 50% oFf fOr nEw StUdEnTs!!!!! Can you imagine though if I ended this whole thing by asking you to send me money?
-Max
venmo: @maxkerwien