Why invest in the wintry economic climate when you can turn the fact that you have nothing to spend on advertising. When making films, understand that throwing money at problems won’t end them anyhow. Instead, it may put you under debt till you finish your film, documentary project, or TV show.
Unarguably, the film industry sees an advertisement as one of the biggest expenses as it demands investment at different stages. But why let that happen when you have different approaches to follow and attain success. Promoting your upcoming film should be an event of thrill, so don’t spend it worrying over the advertisement expenses, especially when you have so many exciting and effective ideas around you.
Here’s how to get started and make a major advertisement impact without burning a hole in your pocket.
No. 1 – Begin with a glimpse of your movie
Consider it as your first creative challenge in the journey of promoting your business effectively. You should be familiar with all ins and outs of your film while must have an idea of what can entice your target audience the most. Be selective with the specific scenes to create impactful glimpses of your movie. The goal should be quick storytelling leaving the audience in immense engagement.
One of the biggest examples is the Netflix Original series Stranger Things, released with a 360-degree trailer seeking everyone’s attention. So, why don’t you try something similar?
No. 2 – Social media
Why rely on any other platform when you have social media platforms giving you all the leverages you desire. No wonder social media has expanded the marketing scenario in many ways, but that’s when you know how to make the most out of it. From using hashtags to creating different social media content types, you require to excel in all of them to reap some positive results. If you are clueless, consider seeking the help of a professional marketer to make you familiar with the trending strategies.
No. 3 – Use film-oriented platforms
It may interest you to know that you can sell your films online for real. This is when you have an EPK file or a trailer ready with you. Even if you have no raw data for promotional purposes, all you need is to share some clippings and get a full-fledged promotional page ready. For instance, many filmmakers put their hopes in Indie Film Distribution networks to expand the marketing scope. The basic concept revolves around creating virtual theatres for the target audience, reaching out to customers directly, turning the goal of global reach into reality, and much more. The best part is you can have a line of perks and features in such services in no time. One of the biggest is private screening rooms that limit access to your film by creating groups. Here, you remain to live for the selective groups.
No. 4 – Know and try the concept of viral marketing
The Dark Knight is one of the iconic movies ever made. And we all have to agree with this fact. It may interest you to know that The Dark Knight was promoted using the viral marketing concept. Basically, it’s all about seeking digital perks. For instance, you can commence some contests, look upon transmedia games, reward your target audience with surprise gifts, and much more. The only purpose of viral marketing is to make your movie a buzz among your target audience. Your viral marketing strategy should be designed in alignment with different psychological and geographical measures.
What are some common mistakes made here?
No wonder creating and executing a film marketing strategy is not a big deal for many filmmakers. But what if you commit blunders in the initial stage only? Thinking about what they are? Well, here’s all you need to know –
Spellings – What is the point of posting the promotional posters everywhere when you couldn’t check the spelling blunder you made? This will only end up making you a laughing stock in the vicinity. No doubt it’s one of the common human errors we see but ensure to neglect it, so it does not hamper your promotional activities further. Besides the promotional posters, the advertisers are common to make a mistake with link posting. Make sure to check it as many times as possible before uploading.
Short titles and hashtags – No one really bothers about what you upload or write on your social media accounts. So, how to grab everyone’s attention while keeping them engaged? The secret lies in a short and snappy update. Follow the Twitter role here. For example – Twitter allows only 120 characters to upload and post. Implement it and leave an impact. The less you talk equally proportionate to more people from the target audience looking upon it. Besides titles, make sure you pick the right choice of hashtags to be on the top search results on social media platforms. This may require consulting a professional social media manager.
Vine – Have you tried those highly-addictive vine videos on social media platforms? These are 6-second videos generating a huge profit with millions of views in an hour or so. Such is its impact that many marketers have already started to consider it as a cheap and effective solution to seek everyone’s attention. The only problem is that marketers and businesses aren’t aware of it.
Not making it authoritative – The customers begin to make up their minds when you display your film or any final product as a brand. That’s when you make some authoritative efforts for your promotions. Begin with creating and updating a Wikipedia page. It is one of the ace factors of digital marketing in the current times, so why not make the most out of it?
The bottom line is that
Promoting a film is much more complicated than working on a film-making project. That’s when you should be focusing on everything revolving around your film promotions. Here, one of the biggest challenges is choosing the right platform. Whichever you pick, ensure to evaluate the market trends.