The Power of Social Media for Your Film

While sometimes it seems that all that matters is making a good film, as a filmmaker you have to remember that there is more to it than just production if you want to find your audience. It’s the 21st century, and we are surrounded by technology, the internet, and social media. With the internet and social media, marketing today has become a whole new ballgame. 

Now, it is no longer enough to put up a few billboards or a trailer; you need to do more to get people to notice your film. And more than that, you need to start creating campaigns to let your audience connect with your film before they even get to see it. With social media, one minute something means nothing, then the next minute it is a viral moment that everyone must recreate. Social media is transforming the entertainment industry. 

Case Study on the Power of Social Media: Barbie (2023) and Oppenheimer (2023) 

There was no way to avoid Barbie in the summer of 2023. But more than just a calculated marketing campaign, Barbie and another movie, Oppenheimer, were suddenly catapulted into social media stardom, quickly turning viral across platforms. What started with the realization of these two very different, big-budget movies getting released on the same day turned into the Barbenheimer phenomenon. While the movies were initially pitted against each other, creators started a movement uniting the two films deemed as Barbenheimer. 

Art combining the two movie posters and their leads was created. People started planning for a double feature on the release weekend. Outfits were planned for both. The social discourse around the two movies blew up. This, combined with Barbie’s own strong social media campaign with Barbie sounds, filters, and popups, created one of the best film marketing campaigns, paving the way for Barbie to have the biggest opening weekend in 2023 and for a female director. It was also seen that both films tripled their estimates for early tracking. And this all happened through social media virality with creators and everyday people alike joining the conversation. 

Case Study on the Power of the Internet: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Using social media virality and the internet isn’t just for the big-budget studio movies, though. The power of the internet has extended to even microbudget independent projects. One that is known for having one of the best viral marketing campaigns in history was The Blair Witch Project. This team decided to create a website with newfound footage, news entries, and pictures that blurred the lines between reality and fantasy. They posted periodically and created a deep backstory that got audiences invested way before they saw the film itself. 

While many say that this is an instance where the film did not live up to the hype that was produced by the marketing campaign, the website and the way that the filmmakers were able to get the audience’s attention became a cultural phenomenon. This film did not have a lot of money or even a long run in the theaters; however, the film will now be remembered for years to come. Social media and the internet are incredibly powerful for both large and small projects alike. These techniques can even be used with short films to help increase visibility and help raise funding. 

Types of Social Media Content to Help Reach Your Audiences

There are many ways that social media can be used to maximize your reach. Here are a few strategies that may help you find your audience on social media.

1. Influencers: Having celebrities and critics endorse a product is not new; however, today it is not just celebrities that have an audience that could be receptive to your film. Content creators and influencers also have large followings that can be leveraged. Picking an influencer or celebrity with an audience that aligns with your target audience can allow you to reach the right people who will resonate with your film. You can also use this strategy in a more naturalistic way like inviting influencers to pop-up events and premieres, or you can send press packages that they might post about. 

2. User-Generated Content (UGC): User-generated content has been on the rise in the past few years. This means original content that is created by consumers and users of social media about or for a specific brand or product. It differs from using an influencer as these users are not often considered well-known or even have large followings. It is a more naturalistic approach to getting people to interact with your product. This could be having a UGC creator give a review about your movie, talk about their favorite scene from the film, or other organic ways they can talk about your film to their audience. This type of content can be very relatable and help audiences connect with your work.

3. Brand Partnerships: Working with other brands can also help target and promote your film. This can be a collaboration of creating a product line inspired by your show, merchandising, or partnering with brands to have them shown in your film. On larger scales, this can be partnering to create an eyeshadow palette in the theme of your show or a commemorative popcorn bucket. On smaller scales, this could be working with a local restaurant to raise money for your film while simultaneously advertising for both your film and the restaurant. These partnerships can be an opportunity to increase funding or be mutually beneficial for both parties while increasing audience engagement. 

4. Exclusive Content: Audiences have always loved getting extra, exclusive content. This can be things like behind-the-scenes content, interviews, on-set prank videos, or anything that lets audiences get a view into who your actors and crew are. People love authenticity and the more content they see of your actors and crew, that can get them more excited for your film.  

5. Trends and Challenges: As arbitrary as trends and virality may sometimes be, you can create trends and viral content. There may not be a clear-cut formula, but contests, quizzes, filters, and such can all help create a trend that gets people engaging and seeing material about your film. With that, you can also jump on current trends and challenges adding a twist that relates to your film. 

Creating Your Plan

Now, how do you go about implementing these social media techniques to help market your film? Here are some easy steps to follow to help you implement your own film social media marketing campaigns. 

1. Determine Your Target Audience: First, you want to figure out who specifically are you trying to market your film to. Some target audiences might be teenage girls, older audiences, or people who like rock music. It doesn’t necessarily mean that your movie is only for this specific group of people; however, this is going to be how you make sure your marketing has the most targeted and impactful reach. It helps you personalize your marketing to the group, rather than making a general campaign.

2. Perform Market Research: Market research is important to any marketing campaign. On a smaller project, this might just be asking some fellow students where they think the best place for you to advertise your film or fundraising events might be. But on a larger project, you will want to get as much information about your audience and what they react best to. This can include doing test screenings, getting feedback from test audiences and critics, and studying current trends in the entertainment industry and on social media. 

3. Brainstorm Ideas: The next step is the most important and where your creativity gets to shine. Remember that no ideas are bad ideas and sometimes the silliest or simplest ideas are most effective. You want to come up with ideas for what you to showcase about your film and how it can grab your audience’s attention. This can be using any of the above techniques, but also get as creative as you want with the way you use social media; people love to see something fresh and new. 

4. Enact the Plan: After you roll out your campaign, make sure you are continuing to engage with your audience. You do not want to just release something, like a trailer, and hope people will watch it; you want to feed off of audience reactions to your campaign and build on or make changes to it. The more you can engage with your audience and understand what they are reacting to, the more you can build on how you are using social media and create even greater reach. 

5. Get Feedback and Evaluate Your Success: At the end of every marketing campaign, you want to evaluate and get feedback or reports on what worked and what did not. This is key to helping you find future success in marketing your next project. Every project will present its own challenges and situations that you can learn from. 

What to Remember About Social Media:

Finding the best way to use social media can sometimes be difficult and seem ingenuine; however, it is important to remember that, at the end of the day, social media is a way for people to interact with each other. We are social creatures that want to be heard, find people who we resonate with, and find entertainment. That is why authenticity is a key to social media success. Today’s audiences can smell from a mile away when they are being sold something, and that can be a huge turn-off. Finding genuine and authentic things that audiences can relate to can elevate your campaign and make people see what you see in your film. 

Also, remember that a lot of the time these things will happen organically. Sometimes something special happens like Barbenheimer or audiences really liking a specific portion of your campaign that you weren’t expecting them to have a big reaction to. Learn to lean into it and be adaptable. Marketing and social media virality is not a science. This does not mean that you cannot do your research and create a social or cultural phenomenon; it just means that you shouldn’t be afraid when something you didn’t plan for ends up working.

Finally, it is so important to understand your audience. It is through knowing your audience and what they will react to that you can create a viral phenomenon. Ultimately, you create your work to be viewed and connect with audiences, so knowing what will get their attention is so important in getting them to connect with you and your work. 

It might seem hard or daunting at first, but using social media can yield great rewards. If you are struggling, remember to utilize your network. There are so many simple ways that you can be creative and utilize social media to find your audience to make sure your film has the largest impact that it can. 

Learn more about Auteurnet and how we can help you build your creative community.