Screenings:
The oldest trick in the book to promote any film is to arrange previews, teasers, release trailers. This gives an opportunity to the artist to put his concept/idea in front of the audience, helps generate interest in people or at least some curiosity. If you are able to do this they might try to find out more about the film, if people will like your notion they will surely watch the whole film.
Social media:
The biggest advantage to be born in the 21st century is that you can exploit all this technology, the most impactful mean is the social media, you get to take work directly to the global scale. Promote it on various platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Blogger through different methods such as through releasing video, soundtrack, dialogue-promo, clips and stills from the movie. Create pages, Tweets, Sanpstories and blog.
The perks don’t end here. You can even select your audience, the kind of people you wish to appeal to for instance if you are trying to appeal to younger audience or a lot more mature generation or masses or a specific gender and this will help you get the response you are looking for.
- Website: Another way the technology helps, launch a website, tell all about the short-film, who all are in the cast, when is it releasing, the genre of the film, the duration of your film, where the audience can watch it. Here can also put up the reviews of your film from critics.
The website’s URL or domain name should be easy and bring attention to itself, share it on the social media. The theme of the film should go with the theme/genre of your film. Use color schemes, fonts and styles that say the same. Use clips and stills from the film. Try to keep the website subtle not too much flashy or corny. People generally don’t make a higher view of such website.
- Making-video: While shooting the film artists should also make a video or clips of the ‘making-of-film/ Behind-the-scenes’ this way when you have released your film and its been a couple of weeks you can still create a buzz about your film by releasing this video on the social media and your website. For those who might have missed your previous advertisements and promotions, this will seek their attention.
- Bloopers: While shooting the films there sure will be such moments when you just can’t complete the shot due some silly errors, for example the actor forgot his/her lines again and again, equipment wasn’t all set/ready and its too funny sometimes. Everybody loves a good laugh. Record them and make a video out of them. Post it on social media, your website. This might interest people, and they will check or try to find out more about your film. Release this after film has been released. This might help artist create some buzz about the film.
- Promotion Act: People look for new and interesting every day. For good promotion of the film, it should stand out differently amongst the others, for this it should have some buzz of its own, something unique about his film. Like a challenge or an act that is just exclusive to this film. Like the ‘mannequin challenge’. Now when I said that name the song instantly started playing in your head on which it is done. So try to find that element in your film and create something related to it.
- Offers: Nothing excites and seeks attention like free coupons or movie tickets. Artist can always use these to promote their film. This always creates a popular notion of getting-more-than-paid-for, this way people will also get interested in your film just not because of content but what it also gives more. These offers can include a variety of things such as cashback/ discounts on movie tickets and meal vouchers or maybe giving them for completely free. Generally, these offers are made in regard to some holiday or festival for couples.
- Holidays: Marketing research shows that if you release your film around a holiday, there is a chance of more people watching it than on any other weekend. Obvious reason being, time saved from work will be more time for leisure.
- Merchandise: If your film really does well, you can also sell film related merchandise on your website like T-shirts and caps. These will serve twin purpose of
- Marketing
- Good business
Keep these above points in your mind and try to work with these. This will certainly help you promote your short film and who knows you’ll even throw a success party.
