Monday Prescriptions – Viral Attack

May 21, 2012April 25, 2017 filmdoctor 0 Comment film doctor, Film Doctor's Monday Prescriptions, online presence, the film doctor team, viral attack

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Hi Film Folk!

Right now, you might be sitting at your desk/sofa/coffee table wondering how to boost traffic to your blog, counting new Twitter followers or thinking what new video to upload on Vimeo – all in the name of further promoting your work and yourself, as the Brand. The Film Doctor Team dedicates this Monday Prescription to ‘making-most-of-the-online-media’-guide.

You, most likely, have at least one of the following – Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/YouTube/Vimeo/Pinterest/Digg It (delete as appropriate) account – and you are, very likely, spending at least a couple of hours, every day, updating that account (photos, comments, thoughts, etc.). Film Doctor will be looking at how to properly handle social media marketing and use your social media accounts to their full potential, i.e. maximum outreach.

SOCIAL MEDIA & VIRAL MARKETING – GOLDEN RULES TO REMEMBER

1. Add Value (all online media accounts) – Imagine, you walk into a room full of people. Some of them you know, some don’t, but you’d like to get everyone’s attention. Holding a bright placard with brash slogans might get you a few looks – and maybe spark a couple of questions/conversations – but none of that would be substantial or last for too long. Having a megaphone and shouting loudly at them also wouldn’t do, since no one likes messages that are forced upon. So what do you do? You must offer something to the room – bring value. Make the people in the room feel like they can gain something wonderful by spending their time with you.

This is where a lot of filmmakers fail when tackling social media marketing – whatever social media tools you use, you should bring value to your target audience.

You want people to check out your new video on Vimeo/YouTube? Don’t just post an update ‘Check out my new video [insert link]’. Give a reason why it might be great to watch this video. Don’t just put a progress update on your script – ‘Page 10 of 60 of new draft done’ might get you a pat on the back but would it entice agents or bring collaborators on board? Present what the project is about, if want partners. Intrigue potential audience. In fact, make sure any information you channel through your social media is of genuine novelty or value – there’s an abundance of content online, why would anyone pick up on yours?

2. Engage and Participate – This is especially key, and often overlooked, with Twitter. In a feed where over 1000 Tweets are going up every few minutes, you cannot afford to simply share witty quotes or provide facts – your content needs to be directly aimed. So join (and create) Lists, be active with hash tags and @users.

Effective social media marketing / networking is about making conversations (as it is in the ‘real’ world). If you want to be ‘heard’ in the online space, i.e. you want people to take notice of your work, etc. then you need to engage their attention. Talk to them, not at them.

3. Share and Give, Give, Give Away – People like presents. And freebies. And little surprises. Giving those away through your social media accounts is a great way to… add value (yes, it all comes back to that).

If you’re social media marketing is for your film, why not offer premiere tickets giveaways? Or some goodie bags for new followers/supporters? If it’s for your business/organisation, why not offer a ‘free trial’ (for X amount of time), a one-off service taster for free?

And even if the social media is used by you for you, make sure to still be generous to your audience.