How I would set up a š„ social media campaign for a new film + a lot of briefs, templates, examples & guides!
How I would set up a š„ social media campaign for a new film + a lot of briefs, templates, examples & guides!
People often forget that marketing budgets for film and tv are equal to or even MORE than the production cost and often, just as difficult as producing the film.
Just like the production of a film, the marketing of a film requires a massive team made up of 100ās of people who all bring their very niche skills to the table to ensure that a film has the best 360 marketing campaign possible.
To name a few of the teams on any studio or streamer film: Strategy, Overall branding and positioning, PR, advertising (traditional, digital, outdoor), digital (social, websites, email), EPK (content like trailers, teasers, bts, interviews), partnerships and promotions, influencer x celeb collabs, merch, fan engagement, analytics x research, graphic design, video editors, and so much more. And oftentimes these studios and streamers outsource certain segments of this work to specific agencies.
For this breakdown, Iām going to be focusing on creating the social campaign and Iām going to come at from the angle of the producer, creator, director AND someone who has an interest in marketing films but doesnāt have a lot of experience. Where thereās likely *NO BUDGET* or an extremely low budget* and show (step by step) how you can supercharge your filmās reach.
This walkthrough is just one piece of the overall marketing, crowdfunding and producing your first short step-by-step guides.
So,
If youāre the person who wants to get into running *social campaigns for films* then follow these first few stepsā¦
if youāre the creator, producer, director - jump down below!
Finding your Potential Project:
Since weāre taking this from the very inception of someone out there wanting to find a film to work onā¦ this is of course step one!
Check out film crowdfunding sites like seed&spark, gofundme, cheddarup OR your local colleges for a short film or student film that resonates with you.
Reach out to the producers and directors and let them know that youād love to be involved.
If this is your first time, Iād offer up your services for free in exchange for the experience. These types of projects arenāt normally setting aside money for promotion/marketing but if you catch them early enough, your cost could be added into the crowdfunding asks.
Once you get the YES, ask for the script and a pitch deck if itās available and review all the materials.
While reading the script and reviewing the pitch deck - pull out the themes and messages that resonate with you and begin to fill out a marketing brief. Thereās an example template of that below!
Set the Discovery Call:
Discuss GOALS & TAKEAWAYS with the director and producers.
Are they hoping to get into a film festival, Sundance? Are they trying to find more producers who would be interested in the project? Do they just want to grow a fan base? Do they have a feature script prepped if itās a short?
There are loads of more important questions to ask in the template below.
Send your proposal
My proposals usually include:
past work, testimonials, results and the package options + next steps.
I also include a āvalid untilā date. This is really only necessary for paid projects as I can only take on so many clients at a time.
If they are good to go, send your contract. This can be as simple as a statement of work or a full blown agreement + invoice is applicable.
The real work starts now:
marketing briefs, research, creating the vibe, calendars, content and so much more.
The following walkthrough is what I use even now for my studio and big indie clients!
PS - I know a few have asked about marketing and social for crowdfunding, that step-by-step walkthrough is coming up next week! Thereās a tiny bit teased into the below though.