Our phones are used for everything these days, from checking the weather to finding a great new restaurant to even checking our bank accounts. Within the last decade, social media has redefined community in a way that phones never could.
The popularity of social media has made it a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. But it’s also becoming an increasingly important way to advertise and find out about the latest news.
We live in a world where social media has become a part of our everyday lives, so it’s no surprise that so many sectors of the entertainment industry outsource digital marketing to reach audiences. But what can you do in such a crowded market to get everyone’s attention?
Diversify your content
The beauty of social media is the ease with which you can switch things up and cater to everyone’s needs.
With Facebook, you can do anything from host a livestream to launch an exclusive first look to planning an event to launch your project. By leveraging all of the features a social media platform has to offer, you can reach a huge audience. Adapt your efforts to the platform you are using and take some time to evaluate what works.
Facebook, for example, draws users of varied ages, while Instagram and Twitter attract a younger demographic, which requires a different marketing strategy. You might even consider launching a Facebook retargeting ad campaign that builds excitement about opening night. Based on their last visit to your page (or the last time they engaged with a post, etc), people will see a string of ads in a logical flow that will effectively engage them and keep your brand in their minds.
Keep your audience engaged
The social aspect of social media can help you reach the broadest audience. Engage your viewers by interacting with them!
Create a catchy hashtag and retweet people who use it on Twitter–don’t just post content for them to consume, invite them to comment on it or share insights. Respond quickly and thoroughly to anyone who asks a question in the comments section. The simple act of liking someone’s post can boost engagement and get more people interested in your work. White label reputation management software can assist with collecting and responding to audience feedback.
Use your audience’s creativity to fuel community engagement by holding a contest or asking them to create a piece inspired by your work. Make sure whatever the winner receives is in line with your programming.
Go Behind The Scenes
The audience loves to know how shows are produced, no matter what the genre. You can show them a bit of the costume or set design process by taking some photos or footage. Give them a close-up look at the sound booth or even backstage on opening night. You can take a live video or post it afterward.
You can build a relationship with your audience by sharing what goes into making a performance happen. This also motivates them to be more curious about the final product, resulting in increased ticket sales.
Feature your cast in content
Make your marketing personal by involving the people who make your production happen. The audience will be more excited to check out your production if they see a quick video from the cast member or artist. Even a 30-second video can make a significant impact and increase engagement.
Your audience can also be included in a cast interview if you ask them for questions. Just be sure to advertise the date and time of the interview so your audience will not miss it! Incentives can be offered to motivate the most active community members to watch and engage, such as VIP treatment, or tickets to the event.
Take inspiration from similar projects
What recent productions have you enjoyed? Is there anything similar to what you do? Take a look at their social media pages and see what has worked well for them. This doesn’t mean that you should copy what they’ve done; rather, adapt it to suit you and your audience.
No matter how large or small your production, the same principles apply. What matters most is that you remain authentic in your storytelling and that you tailor your content to reflect your brand.
By reminding your audience of another major project, you can actually make your new project more appealing to them. Whenever people are reminded of a production they enjoyed, they are likely to subconsciously associate the new production with those same feelings.
Share your content with others
In any social media marketing strategy, cross-posting is essential. Put yourself on as many social media sites as you can. Not everyone will be active on all sites, so make sure you’re on as many as you can. Take your Twitter hashtag to Facebook. Put your teaser trailer on YouTube and Instagram.
Ideally, you should have some content unique to each website so that your audience doesn’t see the same thing everywhere. However, it is okay to share some of the same content across more than one platform, especially important information like trailers. If you start with the same basic information, you can tweak it to fit the style and audience of each site.
Advertise on YouTube
Whatever your production, YouTube Ads can help. Post a short snippet of your content to reach your target audience. Your name will still be in the minds of people even if they skip the ad.
A behind-the-scenes video on YouTube can do wonders for generating buzz and distributing your message. This type of video can help your audience want to learn more about your show. The viewers are already on YouTube to watch videos, so make the most of it!
Run ad campaigns running throughout production
It used to be that entertainment industry marketing campaigns were restricted to 1-2 weeks before release. With social media, that no longer applies.
An effective place to run campaigns during production is Facebook due to its active user base.
With a strong marketing strategy, your target audience is more likely to hear about you. You can also start early, resulting in a rewarding payoff for your efforts.
Your profile picture and banner photo should include important information about your production, and if you aren’t comfortable running ads on this platform, consult a trusted digital marketing expert who can monitor and report on campaign effectiveness.
Make use of Instagram TV
Instagram only allows you to post videos of up to one minute, but IGTV allows you to post videos up to 10 minutes long, giving you more time to captivate your audience.
Instagram is also great place to share behind-the-scenes snippets, full trailers, and interviews with cast and crew. Using IGTV, you can reach a wider audience than you normally reach through YouTube while still providing them with high-quality video content. This is an excellent example of cross-posting, which will help your message reach a wider audience.
Engage your cast on Twitter
Tweets are a great way to spread quick messages about your production, and their brevity makes them ideal for engaging with your audience. You can invite a performer or cast member to take over your Twitter account for a day and do an AMA (Ask Me Anything). Retweet something from your cast or artists to your main production’s Twitter page, and have your cast member do the same.
The more you share, the more people you reach, and the faster you gain followers.
Final Thoughts
With today’s social media tools, brands in the entertainment space can connect with audiences in a variety of ways. We have only touched on the surface here.
While some of these ideas may seem obvious, you’d be surprised at how effective a consistent, thoughtful social media strategy can be for promoting interactive engagements like events, experiences, movies, and shows.
The entertainment world has become increasingly dependent on social media over the last decade, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. If you are able to effectively use these tricks and secure a solid following on social media, your marketing strategy success is virtually guaranteed.
