By Meagan Warner We’ve all heard the rumors that Facebook is slowly dwindling down and Twitter and Instagram have taken over, but let’s look at the facts. There are over 1.3 billion monthly Facebook users and 680 million of them are on mobile devices. They are exposed to 1500 pieces of potential content every day. This means two things: 1. Facebook is still in the game. 2. What you post needs to be that much more compelling, especially because people don’t read; they scan. Filling your followers’ news feeds with ONLY links to reviews, upcoming film screenings & links to amazon is not going to sell your movie effectively anymore (did it ever?). This is how you get people to unlike your page. I could write a whole handbook on using Facebook for independent film marketing, but today we’re going to focus on using images as your content strategy. Image-driven content is shared significantly more than text-based. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but you have to pick the right ones. Below are a few affective image-driven techniques we’ve used for marketing our films. 1. Exclusive pictures. Fans want to feel like they have some kind of first-look access. Giving some sneak-peaks of interviews, behind-the-scenes shots & poster art is a great way to build up excitement about your film. Let your audience get to know the actors, director, producers and other crew members. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, people want to speak to humans NOT robots. Be conversational. Below are some great production shots from our new and upcoming releases- Burn, JFK: A President Betrayed, When I Walk and Lust For Love. Four very different films, but each powerful images in their own way. We strongly urge filmmakers to provide these kinds of images when they sign with us for film distribution or marketing, because we know the impact they can have on people. 2. Images with text. Tools like shareasimage.com easily allow you to create image-driven marketing tools. Upload an image & add some compelling text on top. Share quotes, ask questions & make announcements. Encourage people to respond with their own images. Below is an example of an image we shared recently. As independent film distributors, our audience is primarily filmmakers, so we like to share “words of wisdom” from influential people in the business. 3. Infographics; so much more than a pretty picture. They are a great way to present the facts about your film. Let’s say your documentary is about an oil spill that spread hundreds of miles. Wouldn’t this fact be more compelling if it was presented in a visual and comparative way? For example, the amount of oil leaked could fill up nearly 150,000 barrels & 102 gymnasiums floor to ceiling. Don’t say it-illustrate it!
Part of film marketing is informing people of your cause and your message. Infographics present the same information you’ve been saying all along from a fresh point of view. If something evokes emotion in someone, you have his or her attention. There are a ton of websites out there that allow you to build your own infographics such as Piktochart and Infogr.am. There are templates to work off of or you can start from scratch. 4. Pictures as links. Instead of the same old paragraph and bitly style content, use a screen shot to link to your landing page. You will get 94% more views of your articles that have images attached to them. Whether you’re linking to your own blog or someone else’s, you can upload an image of your choice. Sites like Shutterstock are great for royalty-free, QUALITY images. But remember the importance of original content. Take a lot of pictures during your filmmaking experience-during and after the shooting of the film, at your festival screenings, Q&As, casting calls, audiences’ reactions, your crew members traveling to events. These--and images related to your subject matter-- are great for sharing on social media. The more shares, the bigger the reach, the more people know about your film. Independent film marketing can seem like a grueling task, but remember these bullet points. It’s not as simple as telling people where they can buy your movie. “If you build it, they will come.” Yes, this famous line from FIELD OF DREAMS applies to your film marketing campaign. You have to build a loyal audience that values what you have to say in order to sell your film. By testing different images and using Facebook insights, you’ll be able to tell what kinds of posts are getting more clicks. Capture the audiences’ attention and drive the point home. Any questions? Learn more about our film marketing services. Contact our marketing team. |
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