Since there’s a growing abundance of digital platforms, is it vastly easier to promote a movie today? Well, not really; you also have tons of competitors trying to penetrate the market. So, how will you stand out in this competitive world of movie marketing?
Digital marketing channels like social media serve as a gold mine if you apply the proper, consistent approach. You can’t just randomly post information about your upcoming movie and expect it to be an overnight sensation. You have to do something, whether traditional or digital advertising, that people will talk about for days.
According to Statista, cinema advertising spending increased by 24% (from $1.94 to $2.41 billion) in 2022. With the movie industry returning to its feet following a two-year downtime caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll also see an uptick in competition.
Your movie needs to garner attention, and here are several tips to help you achieve that goal.
Track trends in consumer interests and behavior
If you’re getting in on digital marketing, the process starts way before you put up your first content. It may take you weeks, months, or even a year to analyze your niche audience’s changing interests and behavior. If your movie is seasonal content like a Christmas flick, you should hone in on the seasonal trends and demands in the market.
Observing the trends in your target market is always the first stage of the whole process of film marketing. It allows you to have a customer-centric movie marketing campaign and helps you develop a product best suited for your target audience.
There are many ways to track these consumer trends, including monitoring competitor movements. How are your competitors engaging with their audience? Is their campaign working or not? This information will give you an idea of how to reach, engage, and re-engage your target consumers.
Let your target audience have a piece of the action
Now that you understand your target audience better, it’s time for you to give them a piece of the action. How can you engage them in a hands-on, real-time activity? How will you make them feel that they are part of this journey?
You have the Dark Knight movie that had people participating in a scavenger hunt; there’s also the most recent Barbie film that created a website where fans could customize movie posters the way they want. Both of these brilliant marketing strategies went viral because the fans didn’t just read or watch some content. They were part of the action.
If you’re an independent filmmaker without a very large budget, thinking of ways to actively engage your audience will be worth your time. In a sense, you’re promoting your movie in an organic way, allowing word-of-mouth and the social media chain effect to do the work.
Make use of SEO and campaign monitoring tools
As we mentioned earlier, you can’t just post random stuff on the Internet and expect it to go viral. There’s some science to this process, and you have to be consistent with your efforts.
If you have a website or blog that’s dedicated to your movie, building an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy will increase your visibility. There are free versions of SEO tools like Ahrefs and Moz, where you will find relevant keywords that could help you rank high in search engine results.
Moreover, there are monitoring tools that will help you analyze how your marketing campaigns are performing on social media. Most digital platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have in-house analytics tools that show useful information like post reach and impressions, click-through rates, and user demographics.
Don’t lose sight of traditional marketing
Traditional movie marketing may not have the big impact as it once had back then, but it’s still an integral part of any film promotion. You have the likes of Netflix, which regularly puts up creative, viral billboards for their upcoming shows.
The important thing in any form of movie marketing is to spread positive word-of-mouth and have people talking about your film for days. Traditional marketing still does a good job at that, which is why a blend of traditional and digital marketing is great for your movie.
Conclusion
It may take months for you to develop an effective customer-driven movie marketing approach. The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot to get there, as there are free tools at your disposal. If you stay consistent with engaging your target audience, your movie will eventually take off and stand out.