I just finished 2 days of shooting a short film I co-directed and produced with OneRiver Media and prior to shooting I did some research to decide how best to market my film. Big name production companies have full PR/marketing departments to get the word out and create buzz for their project, but small indie films like mine have to do it all themselves. For a start here are five great ways to begin marketing your film.
1. Logo – Capture the essence of your film with a great logo. Never underestimate the power of a logo to create a visual identity that the audience will connect with. It must be something that immediately strikes a chord in the heart of the moviegoer. Pay close attention to colors that will make an impactful statement. Think of red for horror movies and blue tones for action movies.
Check out American Horror Story and their use of red in their logo. http://www.fxnetworks.com/ahs/ The use of red adds the element of blood and violence to its logo.
On the lighter side of things look at how Ice Age chose to use blue in its logo to define the edges and added a 3D effect to the font. http://www.iceagemovies.com/us/ The color capitalizes on the theme of water, hence the use of blue.
For more in formation about the uses of color, view this link http://www.colormatters.com/color-symbolism/color-symbolism-theories
2. Trailer – Your trailer should be, in a few words, DRAMA, COMEDY, TENSION and MEMORABLE. Creating a trailer for your short film is one of the most crucial elements toward marketing your film. What you include and what you leave on the cutting room floor will determine if your audience will hand over their hard earned cash to see what you have to offer. Know specifically what category your film belongs to and cut the trailer towards that end result. Add key words from the movie that give the audience something to connect with and couple it with high impact scenes and you will have yourself something worth viewing.
3. Print/Marketing materials – Most movies have print and other types of marketing materials to create visuals that coincide with the film. Indie films should be no different in this respect. Create postcards, posters, stickers, standees or whatever to get the word out about your film. Create some promotional giveaways to entice viewers to connect with your social media and follow the films progress. Which brings me to, the use of social media for film.
4. Social Media Vimeo/YouTube – Creating attention online is a great way to gain attention and attract followers to your film. The big three, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are always a good start to get the marketing ball rolling. However there are more social media outlets available to garner attention. Check out the following and see how they might contribute to your marketing potential: Vimeo, Pinterest, Google+, Foursquare, Tumblr and Instagram.
5. Forums/ Groups/ Networks – The marketing fun doesn’t stop at social media. If you belong to any forums, online industry groups or online networks, these places are a great way to share your film. But a word of advice, don’t spam the groups with blatant promotional posts and links. Find a more subtle way to educate and entertain your colleagues by creating posts that share what your learned or challenges you had to get them interested in what’s on screen as well as behind-the-scenes. LinkedIn has a variety of groups available in the filmmaking community, as does Facebook. Choose groups that closely resemble the niche that you are involved with. Be active in the group and support other filmmakers works. Grow your network through engagement rather than solely relying on self promotion.
So there you have it, a quick sure fire way to start promoting your film. I’d love to hear what you are doing to be creative in your endeavors, leave a comment or questions. Contact me for a setting up a private consultation to strategize for your film.
Go forth and be creative!
Image credit: Posterize http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php?id=10053564
Promotional poster of American Horror Story. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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