Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube Oh My!


In today’s day and age it’s all about social media. More than half of the planet is connected to at least one platform of social media. According to statistic brain the total percentage of 18-24 year olds who already use social media is 98%. That 98% is our future. There are almost half a billion YouTube users per month. Which is exactly the reason why any independent filmmaker, film producer and marketer, or any student trying to showcase their work should be taking advantage of developing their brand on social media.  Anyone can make a post, tweet, or upload a video, but who’s listening and watching? The only way to get likes, followers, and subscribers is to build your brand.

You must know who you are, what you are doing, where you want to go. What is your message, who is your target audience, and what is your intent. This is the first step in developing your brand for social media.

According to Jason Osder on Lynda you should stop trying to pull people in; go to where your audience is to engage them. Make connections with others. Don’t expect viewers if you are not willing to view other videos. This will also allow you to see what else is out there, too. Make sure your style and brand is consistent and evolves. Don’t jump from one style to another over night. If someone likes what they see they will be back for more, so continue with your posts and videos. There’s always how to videos and tutorials on YouTube about branding and marketing.

Utilize sources like Tweet Deck and Hoot Suite to get real live topic updates. The who’s talking about what, then engage them through twitter. This encounter can lead them to your Facebook or YouTube. Which is where you want them to go to subscribe and like your content.

As an independent filmmaker it is sometimes difficult to get an audience to view your work. These are a few tips that I have learned along the way.

3 comments:

  1. If people want to lead, they must learn how to follow. Great blog post, thanks...

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  2. A good example of how social media can helps are the owners of eatyourkimchi. They started with just videos blogs of their adventure in S. Korea, and now they are icons in the Kpop culture. They know how to engage their audience and what type the information people wants from them. You are right on that it is not a good idea to jump from one style to another. They have the same style (0f course they have made it better) but their content is the same and that is; I believe, why they are so famous now. They are everywhere in the social media community and they are always communicating with their target audience. Good article by the way.

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  3. This is a great post! I love what you said about going to where your audience is instead of trying to pull them in. If you go to other people's accounts who are doing similar things and begin to comment on their posts, they will eventually be interested in what you are doing. You could maybe go to leaders in your industry and see what they're posting and who is following them. You may want to target their followers because most likely they are in a similar position to you! You definitely have to create a consistent brand. Even if you choose to use 5 difference social media platforms, be sure that they are all consistent and linked in some way. Perhaps have a blog that has links and displays feeds of all your social media accounts. I've found that it helps to cross-promote different things that you are doing. Love the post. Thanks for sharing!

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