Social Networks & Film Promotion

How important is social networks to producers and audiences as a form of film promotion. [40]

Social networks are of great importance to the film industry regarding promotion with Film 360 stating ‘social media contributes to the whole life cycle of a film from pre-release to DVD re-release’. Film 360 however isn’t the only one saying things of this accord. When Elliot Grove was asked what social media meant for the film industry he replied “The ability of emerging filmmakers to understand this and utilize the new marketing approaches will define the careers of filmmakers in the next thirty years. Those who refuse to adapt to the new social media structures will wither and disappear”. Throughout this essay I will explore why social media is of dire importance to the success in a movie regarding promotion.

            From a producers perspective the possibilities that social networks offer regarding promotion are almost limitless, one of the most successful methods of promotion is the online platform YouTube. YouTube allows for almost anyone to post anything they desire however the platform is universally known for movie promotion. Resource pack A states ‘YouTube was the favourite for viewing trailers and was an important link to official film websites’. This has proven to be true with the Star Wars - Force Awakens trailer premiering on YouTube and within 24 hours receiving a collective view count of 30 Million views. (The most any upload on the platform has ever received given the time frame). I believe that the success of the trailer coms from the access to the majority that YouTube provides producers with, however it must be said that Star Wars is a previously renowned franchise.

Another positive of social networks leading me to believe they are of great importance to producers is that they allow a rise of indie (independent) filmmakers to be highlighted for their ability. An example of this is Kungfury; Kungfury was originally a Kickstarter campaign however it was marketed using social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Kungfury’s concept was unconventional however audiences loved it and where willing to share the posts with there friends (an example of viral marketing). The original amount of finance the filmmakers asked for was $200,000 however due to the success of viral marketing they received a total amount of $630,019 over 30 days. I believe the success of this campaign stems from the successful marking campaign Elliot Grove also stated ‘filmmakers can now market directly to their audience for a fraction of the traditional cost’ this is exactly what the creators of Kungfury did.

The creators of Kungfury mainly promoted their idea on Facebook, this choice I believe benefited them massively as resource pack A also states ‘Facebook was used for sharing information and engaging with films in more social ways.’ Meaning that there was the potential for the concept to reach the mass as it allows a lot more information to be conveyed to there target audience than a billboard for example. Resource pack B also states ‘Facebook also offers a way to engage audiences. Disney created a Facebook app for TRON: Legacy called the TRONiVerse. The app is still active; it pulls in posts, videos and photos from various social networks, displaying them in an interactive grid’. I believe the main success of this comes from the fact that social networks like Facebook and Twitter have became a part of modern day life allowing for producers to find viewer who may not have been interested in the movie originally.

            Twitter is another renowned social networking platform where promoting movies has been successful. Resource pack A states the following about Twitter ‘Twitter is said to be the best place to exchange gossip and get exclusive information about the movie’. An example of this is Avatar, Avatars marketing campaign was ruthless, most known for they’re viral marketing techniques. Avatar used Twitter to promote their movie via allowing the audiences to get free content via re-tweeting their post; they allowed the audiences to gain access to a OST (Official Soundtrack). This was so successful as each re-tweet goes out to possibly hundreds of potential viewers, and as Twitter allows greater access to Avatars target audience than any over platform the likelihood of re-tweets where very high. Due to Avatar doing this it meant that their target audiences expectations could be set for the movie they where potentially viewing – lessening the disappointments of viewers that wouldn’t be interested- benefiting them greatly when it came to reviews of the movie.

            A potential negative of social networks being used as a form of film promotion on a producers side is, it is impossible for studios to directly control publicity meaning that if the content isn’t great or a spoiler is realised this could be detrimental to lowering the potential view count of a movie. An example of this is the title Batman Vs. Superman soon to be released, the trailer is said to give away far too much information regarding the movie lowering audience expectations and making others ask “is there any point going to see the movie?” this trailer has been viewed a total of 7,317,215 times to date (according to YouTube alone and disregarding re-uploads) meaning the total view count for the movie has potentially been significantly lowered.

            Another potential negative is that audience’s options can just as easily been shown across social media, this is a good thing if the opinions are positive however if they are negative this could be a very bad thing for studios. The rise of yellow journalism has meant this can be detrimental to a movies success Harry Knowels –Aintitcoolnews.com