7 Easy Ways to Promote Your Independent Film
It does matter that your film gets to be seen by people for your work to be acknowledged. As a movie maker you are creating your independent film to gain exposure, thus you must find and upload your film project on independent film platforms. And while it may never be a critically acclaimed favorite at the independent film festivals it still is important to you, your hard work that needs to be seen more widely than on just Vimeo or YouTube.
Over the past decade, people have gravitated to widely viewed short films that are uploaded to YouTube and Vimeo. Those are the top two video streaming services. This form of promotion is free and, in all cases, get your projects viewed by lots of organic visitors that visits these video promotion platforms daily. However, you will still need to create your own movie promotion plan. You want to get lots of movie lovers watching and rating your film, therefore it must be actively promoted to gain some traction.
The film industry transformation is in advent with the use of digital technology that creates an almost level playing field for big movie makers and independent film producers. Social media has also played a huge role in the transformed film industry. The Final Cut and new Premiere movies no longer just belonged to Hollywood. With iMovie films have been churning out left right and center, in fact there more movies made in a single year these days. That high number of movies flooding the market makes the first few decades of cinematic creation pale in comparison.
To make a name for yourself in the film industry your film must stand out from the rest. Your independent film will not get seen unless you’ve created some savvy marketing strategies to successfully promote it.
The major blockbuster studios that are in New York and the Los Angeles area can afford big promotion. They have the business resources and financial assets that can make their feature films quickly know to the masses, and have them flooding to movie cinemas to see it. Meanwhile, independent movie directors and film producers lack the funds to efficiently promote their project, but with today’s technology can still grab the attention of movie lovers.
1. Create an attention-grabbing trailer. With the availability of digital technology, it is wise to create movie trailers for your independent movies. Creating and promoting your movie trailer plays a pivotal role in marketing. A movie that has a good trailer will grab the attention of movie lovers. But be mindful of your promotions strategy if you are promoting a thriller movie then the trailer should be gripping. For comedy, your advertising strategy should incorporate funny scenes from that movie. You want to make sure that your promotion, within a few seconds, should be compelling enough to grab the viewers’ attention. Clearly with your masterful storytelling ability you should be able to identify your target audience.
2. Social Media marketing campaign. Social media followers provide great marketing opportunities. These major advertising platforms have millions of daily followers that can be an asset for your tailored audience. Make a plan what you typical audience should look like, the people you reach should embody a certain age group, their interest should be taken into consideration, as well as income and gender. If you are going to use digital media as an advertisement tool your ad must centered around the traits of the moviegoers on your designated list. In today’s society social media adverts where online marketing to social media followers is the best tool for indie films and even the large scale Hollywood hit franchises. TV marketing still has some essence but the place to be for cost effective advertising is on the popular social media platforms.
3. Create a basic website. You cannot have a serious presence online if you do not have even a basic website. You can create a simple yet elegant website with a free WordPress template, all you have to do is pay for web hosting to keep your site visible on the Internet. With this you can steer potential viewers from your movie trailer and social media marketing campaign to your film’s website. Internet marketing doesn’t mean having the most magnificent website, all you need is an appealing landing page that showcase your films watch indie films online free trailer as well as the links that they can view your film.
4. Search Engine ranked. SEO is king when it comes to Google. Getting your website ranked for high traffic long-tail keywords will also drive traffic to your movies. Most people search on Google for independent movies, or streaming movies, hence if your website is highly ranked on Google you could gain organic views. SEO drives traffic, and with the right keywords, you could get thousands of free traffic to view your film from the major search engines like Yahoo, Bing and Google.
5. Stage public viewing events. This can be costly but if you have the funds to stage a public viewing go for that option. Low budget cinemas in your area can draw audiences that enjoys live film promotion. Everyone loves a good movie, especially one that is memorable. What’s more, low-price tickets will bring out potential audiences that won’t mind buying a few bucks to see a good movie.
6. Word of mouth strategy. You know you have created a masterpiece when others that have watched your film tell their friends and family about it. Filmgoers that know when they have seen quality work will spread the word, they will share their experience with the people close to them. Share your work with bloggers, social media influencers and movie critics with an established based. If people start talking and raving about your film, you will reach a wide scope of movie goers.
7. Share on movie and music streaming platforms. You must become active on all streaming platforms to help promote your film. These movie platforms sometimes offer free streaming services, or a low-cost monthly subscription. If you do a search on Google for video streaming sites, you will find several available independent films websites. Getting your movies on these platforms can help you reach thousands, and even millions of viewers that have subscribed to these online entities.