MARKETING MATERIALS FOR A INDEPENDENT FILMBy Daniel Crame

THE INTERNET

The internet is a great place for independent films to gain a reputation and audience before its upcoming release.

Creators can use online advertising for a small cost which helps spread the word about their movie. This could be on any social media site where the film’s target audience situates e.g. Facebook or YouTube…

Blogs are also a creative and innovative way for a film to gain a following because this way, interaction with the audience is available. This helps the reputation develop greater.

Creating a following by using hashtags for the film on social media is also a modern technique used in the industry.

Creating a Wikipedia page about the film also adds to the build up and allows the potential audience to gain knowledge into the plot, characters and mise en scene.

COMPETITIONS, CONTESTS & SWEEPSTAKES

Independent film makers can also use competitions, contests and sweepstakes to entice their audience to their film before its release.

However this MUST be done before the release date in order to encourage the largest volume of viewers to go and see the film.

These can also be carried out using social media which would incorporate two marketing techniques at the same time.

TRAILERS

Film trailers can be an expensive option for an independent film maker however there are ways to create them without the cost being too high.

Using a YouTube channel to share either one long trailer and sharing it over multiple social media channels would be effective but on the other hand, the makers of the film could share short snippets over several YouTube links to encourage people to carry on watching to find out what happens. Either way, the audience is enticed and the cost is kept at a minimum.

STREET MARKETING

Street marketing is also a low-cost alternative for an independent film maker. This would usually consist of handing out flyers or leaflets to pedestrians in a busy location in an attempt to spread the word of the upcoming film.

Chalking on pavements, handing out leaflets, flyposting and dressing up in costumes all work a treat and the costs can be at the maximum £100 depending on the amount of leaflets!

PERSONAL APPEARANCES

Making multiple personal appearances need not make you out to be a desperate minor celebrity.

Appearing on chat shows, radio, podcasts, YouTube vlogs, Q&A Skype calls etc. will make people remember you and even get you a gig with a chat show of a higher status e.g. Graham Norton. Building this up gradually will entice the audience to find out as much information about your film as possible.