Film Marketing How Independent Film Makers Can Promote a Film Costing $15,000 or less!
Online Film Marketing – and insiders guide!
First of all there are 2 main elements to the marketing of your movie:
1. Offline – major premieres, a film festival, electronic press kits, any real world publicity
2. Online – viral marketing via: email/social networking sites/PR newswires/newsletters/social bookmarking – anything that is an -internet’ based opportunity. Let’s examine how we can use social bookmarking and web2.0 to maximise these opportunities.
Introduction
It goes without saying that different films, types and genres require a different level of approach, however there are some general rules that you can follow to generate high traffic levels on the internet.
Where’s the best place to drive all this traffic? I would suggest perhaps your own movie website is the best place to start, but equally it could be a blog (especially during the early stages of your production and you don’t yet have any imagery) or a Facebook Page, or another website which I’ll talk about later.
Your Movie Website
A domain can be purchased relatively cheaply and it is worth building a site that fits the style of the movie – a horror – clearly must have a different style to a romantic comedy. When building your site you must optimize for search engines and there are some basic rules to remember – and your site must be optimized for what are known as -On-page factors’:
1. Put some written content on the page – Google and other search engines focus heavily on text based content so on your opening page make sure that this is there and available for google to see – it should not be image based, and if you do use images make sure you place your keywords in them! i.e. instead of 1234.jpg call it HorrorMovie.jpg. In this way it is visible to search engines.
2. Keywords – keywords drive traffic to your site and therefore your main keywords should be included in your: title, H1, H2, tags, meta description, (and if you can URL) – use different keywords for each page of your site. Use the keywords early in the description.
3. Do your keyword research – it is no use entering keywords that have a massive amount of competition since it is unlikely that unless you have a huge PR budget and lots of high quality sites linking to you that you will ever really be competitive for these keywords. It is best to use what are known as -long-tail keywords’. Typically this means instead of -Romatic Comedy’ as your keyword, you might choose -Action Flick for Girls’.Targeted and more likely to peak an interest.
4. The order of your keywords matters, make sure you are consistent.
Now these on-page elements, which you are able to control, account for a probably 1/3 of the traffic that will be driven to your site. The rest comes from ‘Off-Page’ elements and these are absolutely crucial to how to drive traffic to your website.
What are off-page factors? Off-page factors are things that are effectively beyond your control. Backlinks – i.e. links from other websites and pages which link directly to your website. Certain websites will have more -authority’ than others and therefore command greater respect from Google and backlinks from these sites will push you up the rankings. However there are ways of doing this yourself and having -influence’ over the search engines.
Here’s what I am going to suggest you do. It will be a pain, and take some time but believe me the benefits are really worth it. We should create accounts on the following websites and then aim to link through to your blog or website:
1. Digg
2. Propeller.com
3. Del.icio.us
4. Mister-wong.com
5. Hubpages – write articles about your film, what is involved in the making of the movie etc.
6. Squidoo – create a -lens’ to talk about your project
7. You Tube – use video to promote your film and drive traffic to your site
8. StumbleUpon
9. Mixx.com
There are of course, some sites which have been left off the list, quite deliberately, and these sites should be used to provide a major source of traffic and promotion to your production:
1. Facebook – the obvious choice since it is easy to invite your friends and get them onboard to follow you, as well as keep them updated with the latest developments on your movie project.
2. Twitter – an awesome way to generate interest in your film to thousands!
(For both of the above see the brilliant Mashable.com for great ways to effectively build a fan base on this platform and it would be impossible for me to add to it – its that good!)
3. One Fat Cigar – a new website for professional and up-and-coming film makers specifically to help them market and promote their productions. It’s good because as soon as you have the idea/script for your project you are able to really promote it from day one, and begin the marketing there and then so that by the time you are finished the production you already have a following. There’s a great networking tool too and it is also possible to cast and crew your project through the site.
So what can you do to build more followers and fans?
1. Content is king – without having a significant amount of high quality content no one will become a fan, and once you have people as fans, they need to be continually updated with new, and more importantly interesting content to keep them engaged.
2. What types of content work?-
a) You’re a film maker – use film content!!! Film the ‘makings of’ as it happens, conduct video blogs of your crew, interview the cast and crew (p.s. release forms!), where are you filming? why? what’s difficult about the next stunt you’re going to pull?
b) Stills photographs – very important! imagery and styling always help promote the movie and give the audience an insight into the production
3. Frequency – Updates 2 or 3 times a week are perfect, it could just be a piece to camera discussing where you are with the production and status updates can be done whenever there is something interesting to say, perhaps 2/3 times per day.
4. Interact – why not get involved with your fan base? ask them questions, talk to them and let them feel like they have direct access to you, the film maker. In this way the tie is an emotional one.
5. Share – recommend other high quality film projects you have been following – your fans will thank you for bringing another exciting production to their attention, which present you as a -cool’ authority and generates trust with your fan base.
6. Be Interesting – do things that are fun, and show the more interesting side of film making – the characters, the challenges, the difficulties in achieving certain shots.
Once you have a fan base you can then drive the fans to do what you want them to – buy your DVD, watch your film in the cinema, check it out at a festival, or even petition a distributor!
(In terms of One Fat Cigar, fans can sign up for free to the site, but you’ll need premium membership to be able to create projects but the membership charge isn’t significant and there are discount opportunities for launch to fans of their Facebook page and 500 free 1 year premium membership available. We think it will certainly be worth a punt!)
What to do once you have set-up your One Fat Cigar Project/Facebook Page/Website
While it is likely that you’re going to pick up a fair few fans by simply having your project up on the site, it is also important to promote your project to the search engines.
1. Use a number of the high authority sites (Digg.com/StumbleUpon etc.) listed above to link to your project on One Fat Cigar, Facebook and Website
2. Use Ping-o-matic.com to ping the address for your particular project
3. Link to your project through Twitter/Facebook and then do status updates every time you post something new on the One Fat Cigar site
4. Use anchor text which focuses on your keywords to link through to your page – i.e. if your keyword is -Psychological Thriller’ use this text to link through to your project page on the One Fat Cigar site, and not the name of your film or the One Fat Cigar site. This makes it easier for your keywords to appear in the search engine listings.
5.Put your One Fat Cigar link, links to your Facebook/Twitter and website out on any press releases you may have – that way the press have access to your material online for viewing.
6. Keep adding content – and don’t forget that your fans will immediately have the opportunity transfer over to your next project and so you’ll begin promotion of your second movie from a running start!
Conclusion
So hopefully that provides a solid basic introduction to film marketing and promoting your film online and will begin to generate interest about your project.So hopefully that provides a solid basic introduction to film marketing and promoting your film online and will begin to generate interest about your project.
Don’t forget you won’t get high in the Google rankings overnight, and you will need to track your progress. You’re not looking for the name of your movie, but you are looking for your competitive keywords. There are various rank tracking tools available to do this.
To search for the best keywords Google provides its own tool to help get you started:
http://www.google.com/sktool/#
Susie Tulllett (former head of DDA’s PR unit in Cannes for over 10 years) guide to Film PR can be found on the One Fat Cigar blog.
Ross Grayle Jones is co-founder of One Fat Cigar.com a movie website for people who love film.
Importance Of Referral Marketing
Any service providers or businesses need to utilize referral marketing in order to grow and succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. Even if your goal is to merely to maintain your current levels of customer satisfaction and business, you should incorporate referral marketing as one of your marketing strategies.
Referral marketing provides a very effective method of maintaining a healthy customer base of individuals who are pre-sold on purchasing your particular products or services. The technique relies heavily on customer service which is essential to the success of absolutely any business. Referral marketing can help you replace any customers who will inevitably begin to lose interest, move away or switch to one of your competitors.
If you create a referral marketing campaign that is personalized and focused on establishing solid customer relationships, you will often see immediate positive results.
More Repeat Business
Individuals who feel they have established a positive rapport with the people in your company will be much more likely to become long-term repeat customers. A greater number of customers tend to return when companies choose to build trust via referral marketing.
Improved Customer Relations
Companies that focus on establishing solid business relationships also experience improvements in customer service. It can be a very wise decision to have your top professionals included in this plan. Customers want to be treated as respected individuals, rather than merely a number. If your company operates on this philosophy, your valuable customer base will continue to grow.
Ability to Up-Sell
Referral marketing also incorporates the ability to effectively up-sell. For example, an insurance salesperson who establishes a solid relationship with a customer interested in purchasing car insurance will be more likely to see that individual return. In fact, that same individual may also decide to purchase additional insurance policies such as homeowner’s insurance, health insurance and life insurance if they have been treated very well by the owner of their auto insurance policy.
Genuinely Interested Referrals
You need to find a way to make your company stand out among your competitors. This is essential in a very competitive and often cut-throat marketplace where many businesses are trying to sell the same products or services. You can start to set yourself apart by increasing your levels of customer service and addressing them on a personal level. This will result in referrals that are genuinely interested, excited and motivated to buy!
Increased Sales
Your revenue charts will reflect any successful marketing efforts. Your company can experience remarkable increases in revenue and customers when your customer base continues to expand. In fact, some businesses have experienced growth of 200 to 300% or higher by utilizing referral marketing effectively. You can retain your current customers and continuously attract new ones. Better yet, referral marketing enables you to achieve these results with minimal money or time.
Enhanced Sense of Ownership
It is a proven fact that solid referral marketing systems that are relationship-based create customers who feel they have a genuine connection or ownership in the business. Clients may begin to refer to their banker as “my banker” or their accountant as “my accountant”. They adopt a different attitude towards the professionals they encounter in your company. An added benefit is the fact that the increased sense of enthusiasm and loyalty expressed by these customers is contagious; it can attract new customers and turn existing clients into long-term, satisfied ones.
Be Business Smart has been created to assist anyone who is setting up a new company and to offer valuable support and advice to individuals who wish to expand their current business.
Did you realise that approximately 80% of new businesses fail each year? You certainly don’t want to become one of those statistics. Fortunately, Be Business Smart can provide you with the help and support you need to ensure your business becomes a success!
Be Business Smart offers two levels of membership to suit your business budget. Here at Be Business Smart, we have a lot to offer any new business, but please don’t take our word for it. We encourage you to browse our website and see for yourself.
[Top]AUTOMATED PHONE MARKETING
AUTOMATED PHONE MARKETING
I have to tell you about this great marketing tool I just discovered. It is an automated phone marketing system, called Phone Broadcast Club. It is exactly what I have been looking for in a marketing tool. I am a small business owner and my marketing budget is quite small. So you can understand that I have conducted a lot of research in this area. When I found Phone Broadcast Club my search ended. I own a clothing consignment shop and I use this tool three separate and very unique ways.
First, every time I make a sale in my shop, I ask for the customer’s phone number. I put that number in my phone number data base. Then at the beginning of each month I record a new phone message of upcoming sales for the month. Then, using the sales phone number data base, I let the automated phone marketing system call prior customers to inform them of the monthly sale events.
Second, I have a data base of phone numbers for the people that have consignment accounts and record a 30 second message that pertains to the consignment aspect of the business. I let my consigners know what clothing types I am looking for, what isn’t selling and not to bring in, etc- The consigners really appreciate this because they know what to bring and not to bring before they even leave their home with an armload of clothes.
Third, I record a 30 second message discussing the store name, location, business hours and phone number. I give a brief summary of what my business is then tell them about a sale that I am having for the month. I use a phone number database that blankets certain geographical areas around my shop. Then I let the Phone Broadcast Club automated phone marketing tool do its thing!
This program spends all the time on the calls and I just sit back and enjoy the benefits of increased sales and less confusion in my shop! Using an automated phone marketing system is the most effective marketing tool I have used so far. I have tried radio, television, newspaper and marketing mailing campaigns and by far this automated phone marketing system has out produced the others combined! If you are looking for a new way to get your business out there, you have to try this!
[Top]Donald Trump Network Marketing
Trump Network Review
When I first heard Donald Trump was starting a multi-level marketing company I thought, here we go again, Donald Trump is going to prey on a bunch of simple, naive people who will buy into all the hype and probably end up getting burned. We all know Mr. Trump likes to make money, money, money, money! So, Im thinking, what is his plan with this Trump Network launch? He must be just promoting this company, or letting them use the rights to his name for a certain period of time for a big pay check, or some type of royalties. Is he really entering the MLM world??
The answer is an astounding YES. Anybody that has read all of Donald Trump’s array of books or been to an event where he was a guest speaker, then you would probably know that he has always been a big admirer of network marketing. He was actually giving a speech 5 years ago and someone in the crowd asked him what he would do if he had to start all over, and he said I would get into network marketing. Of course that brought a few chuckles from the crowd. Then do you know what he said? A few of you might be laughing, but you know what? Thats why youre down there and Im up here! True story.
Donald Trump has never been politically correct, and he has also never been someone who gets to the show late. He has made many risky moves over the years that has had people cringing down at him thinking he was crazy. But in the end most of his moves have ended up making him look like a genius. He has literally helped transcend areas of New York City with some of his risky real estate moves, arguably the most powerful city in the world.
After hearing about Mr. Trump entering the MLM industry I did a little research and found out that the Direct Selling industry is a $32 Billion industry in the U.S., over $100 Billion worldwide, and not ONE company has more than 5% market share!! Not even Amway! What does this mean? This means that there is a serious opportunity for a company to come in and take over a large portion of the market. In almost every industry there is usually a few major players who dominate the market and build barriers to entry for its competition. Theres Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Theres Nike, Adidas. Theres General Mills, theres Proctor and Gamble, theres Microsoft, Dell, Apple. I could go on and on
The one thing there has never been in the network marketing world has been a brand name. Anyone that understands true marketing understands that branding is EVERYTHING. Once you build an influential brand, bringing new products to market is a completely different game than it is for the company that does not have that brand presence. That other company must spend MUCH MORE money and time promoting their new product or service in order to have a successful launch.
I dont think anyone in the world could mobilize the network marketing industry, give it the credibility and the exposure that Donald Trump could. The MLM industry is a very competitive industry and that is the main reason why there is so much bad press out there, but when you look closely at it, all the companies in MLM have different products or services, but they all have ONE thing in common: they are promoting an opportunity to earn an income building an organization of people selling that companys particular product or service. So who better than Donald Trump to be marketing a new business opportunity that anyone can get involved in and have unlimited earning potential? When you really think about it MLM companies are selling the ability to become an entrepreneur and own your own business. And Donald Trump is a worldwide icon of Capitalism and the poster child of an Entrepreneur.
I know that Donald Trump is VERY protective of his brand so I would be willing to bet that he did some serious investigation before taking the leap into the MLM world and putting that brand at risk. According to some executives over at the Trump Network, Mr. Trump and his team looked closely at 26 companies before they chose to partner with Ideal Health and re-launch as the Trump Network. Ideal Health is a twelve year old company that specialized in one main product line for ten years: customized nutracueticals based on metabolic functional testing. They use the premier metabolic functional testing lab in the world, Metametrix Labs, based in Atlanta, GA. Yes, they are another health and wellness company, BUT they have a unique line of products that are actually priced much lower than you would be able to get them through a natural path doctor or nutritional specialist. The master plan is to launch many best of breed products over the next few years that fall into the Trump criteria of quality.
The most compelling reason however, that I believe the Trump Network will end up taking up some significant market share is because of this new Wealth Creation System they are launching in the middle of May, 2010. They have created a system that I believe will transform the network marketing industry forever. This will not be an industry where the only people that can be successful are people with a huge power of influence and/or a huge database of people to tap into. The most difficult part about this business has always been getting enough people exposed to your opportunity, and being able to invite those people to take a proper look at the business so they can make a sound decision.
Donald Trump and the Trump Network have created a system called The Wealth Creation System that will give the average person, who may not have a huge network of people to talk to about the business, the ability to get massive exposure and funnel those exposures into a professional sales funnel that gives professional presentations and plugs new marketers and customers into a training and education platform seamlessly.
The reason I know this system will work and will explode peoples’ businesses is because of one thing and one thing only: The Trump Brand. Because of this new system, getting enrolled in the Trump Network will be more like buying into a franchise, instead of rolling the dice and spending your time and energy in a typical network marketing company with no brand recognition. I own multiple franchise locations with two separate successful franchises myself, and the reason we were able to be profitable right out of the gate was because we had a strong local brand already established, so when we opened our doors people recognized our name and came in. But more importantly, when we send out direct mail pieces and do radio and TV campaigns, our potential customers open the mail, or listen to our ads, because they know who we are. This is why several mom and pops have closed their doors around me over the past 6 years. They cannot compete.
Most people that are involved in the network marketing or direct sales industry do not understand the power of branding and marketing. Even if they have been successful and have huge organizations they have built these organizations with serious dedication, hard work, and a lot of time. The reasons I have outlined above are why this company will dominate the MLM world and become a powerhouse people will build organizations in one to two years that took several years to build in other MLMs. Do you realize how much time and money has been spent on opening up different countries as these other network marketing companies have gone international? MASSIVE AMOUNTS. As the Trump Network expands into other countries, the marketing strategies will be so simple compared to other MLMs it is almost laughable. Trump is heavily branded in 18 countries and he is revered as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. When this company goes international toward the end of this year GAME OVER. I just hope all the people out there who are smart and savvy, but might not quite yet understand the power of branding and marketing, dont miss out.
[Top]Improved Marketing By Using Social Sites
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube changes, with the help of a Tutorial, how small and medium sized companies can gain followings in tens of thousands and get sales to go up and up.
The company realized that even with a skilled team of Internet Marketing consultants, the new marketing media emerging from Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and other sites, made it necessary, that also they themselves learned it all, again.
The company therefore decided to locate the planet’s ten finest specialists in Social Media Marketing.
After hearing many mind-blowing success stories, they decided on establishing a close cooperation with someone who really knew about social media marketing and had a large following.
The person selected was Mr. Reinhard Muller. Born in Scandinavia, with a prestigious career in advertising, Reinhard moved some year ago to the South of France, specialising in Internet Marketing. Then Social Media Marketing started to take off – and Reinhard saw the ‘possibilities’ and became passionate about this new media, making himself and his team into one of the world’s top specialist operating on Twitter, MyFace and Youtube.
Reinhard Muller created a program which brings any person, unsure about Social Media, to understand this new marketing media and be able to use Social Media commercially, promoting their own business. It can be operated in limited geographical areas.
Social Media Marketing is used by start-up and established companies, manufacturing units, artists, local suppliers, restaurants, authors, dentists, printers, publishers, hotels, caterers, delicatessens, supermarkets, sports-clubs, health clubs, estate agents, photographers, retail shops, hairdressers etc.
Companies uses Social Media Marketing primary – a recent poll made clear – to interact in a new way with customers – one to one – to drive the most motivated traffic to their website and stop damaging complaints or disputes with their customers, which nowadays due to the power of Social sites can spread like a wild-fire.
There is no marketing cost when using Social Media Marketing, which is why it has become so popular, but an investment in 2 x 15 minutes daily is vital.
These are many large companies using Social Media Marketing on a daily basis: Amazon, Dell, Motorola, Starbucks, Urban Outfitters, ComCast, Vodafone, Quantas, Virgin, Ford, Samsung, Kodak and so it goes on.
One can learn to administer the time working on Social Media by promoting the right person inside the company. How to improve the company’s reputation and increase brand awareness, building a huge and growing following in thousands and ten thousands on Twitter, Facebook,Youtube and other Social sites.
Here are four examples from well-known organizations.
The wizardly world of Harry Potter. Cindy Gordon, vice president of new media partnership at Universal Orlando Resort together with her counterpart at Warner Bros, realizing that millions of people are passionate about all things Harry Potter, pinpointed seven people at the top of various Harry Potter fan sites and invited them to participate in a top-secret Webcast. And those seven people told tens of thousands. It is estimated that by the power of word-of-mouse, 350 million people round the world heard the news. No expensive marketing.
Dell computers. The goal was to bring back the connection with the consumer in an innovative way and sell more products. The budget was zero. Social Media Marketing was introduced. Contacts with clients were started. Questions were answered right away. It all was suddenly very live and active on a 24-hour basis. Mark Jarvis, Dell Computers CMO, estimate the initiative created half million turnover and loads of good will for the well-known brand.
Zappos shoes. Founded in 1999, selling nothing the first year. Now projecting a billion dollars in turnover for 2009. The company’s impressive reputation for service has been build up by word of mouth and recommendation via Social Marketing. Without Social Media Marketing this would not have been possible. Zappos even train their employees on the effective use of Social Media. Four hundred employees now use Twitter. The company CEP uses Twitter for everyday business. To sell shoes the staff talk with customers and invite them and their friends to ‘happy hours’ organised by the company.
Club Med. The Club decided to send a good blogger on an all expenses paid holiday to Chamonix, to describe the experience exactly as it was on Twitter and place photos via TwitterR. Her messages were taken up by many blogs and then spread between like-minded people. The cost of sending someone on holiday became out of proportion to the enormous buzz created round the Club Med at Chamonix followed by long term bookings.
Barack Obama Presidential Campaign Manager David Meerman Scott used Social Media Marketing and sound principles when running the Presidential Internet Campaign.
The financial crises and now a few Green Shoots appearing, has made Social Media Marketing the marketing tool of the time, which more and more companies turn to. The no cost, being fast – and the enormous audience has made it to, what thousands of start-ups, small and medium sized companies are concidering just now.
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