Blog #6 How to Market Yourself as a Filmmaker
As a filmmaker, from time to time you will need to market yourself. To me, marketing is connecting with people and keeping their attention. This can take different forms, some you will find surprising. You may already be doing some, for example many people post work projects on their personal Instagram account. Is this marketing? Absolutely yes.
Recently, I have begun to think about marketing differently. I’ve begun to think that more “influencer“ style methods of marketing can have a beneficial impact on my business and the eyeballs on it. Because for every 1000 new eyeballs on a blog post (for example), it could lead to 1 new paying customer. You are reading that ratio correctly by the way! Some might even say you need 10,000 impressions to make 1 new customer.
In this post, I’m going to share a few different ways you can market yourself as a filmmaker and my tips on getting the most out of each of them.
Social media. Yes, this is obvious but not everyone uses social media. I, personally, was very hesitant for a number of years to give my personal data to these giant information collectors but see the benefit now, of a small investment into social media. This is very useful to quickly connect with people, i.e. “What’s your IG handle?“ “dill underscore online“ Boom. Done. If you didn’t have one, the conversation would have gone a lot worse: “What’s your IG?“ “Oh, I don’t have one, I don’t do much social media, I need privacy and I find it too addictive“ “Oh…“ Missed connection.
Networking. I went to a networking event last month and enjoyed it a lot. I met a lot of people in the industry and got some new Instagram followers, which is the currency used by creatives at networking events. Networking events can be a great way to see what’s going on in your area and see what other people are up to. I found that a lot of people were in the same boat as myself. It’s also nice to talk to other people about something you both have a passion for and can relate to, a reminder that others are working towards similar goals and asking themselves which road leads to riches.
Blog. Tried and tested, blogs are a way to connect and provide substance to your readership. Your audience will be in a similar position to you and will want to read/watch your thoughts on a current topic. You can do a written blog or a video blog too. Or both! It never hurts to get your thoughts out into written form (or video) and see what people connect with. Chances are you know something that someone else wants to know, why not share it?
Podcast. Podcasts can be in audio or video form. Some creators do both. People are always curious to know what other people think and how they work. Podcasts create a platform to gain a following while giving back a conversation that the audience will take something away from. There isn’t half the setup required in a podcast as a short sketch or advertisement and they do well, in terms of numbers and sponsorship deals. Of course, everyone seems to be doing a podcast these days and many resort to constant clickbait attempts to steal people’s attention. They do however, always provide a talking point that starts a conversation.
Training events. Training events are absolutely networking opportunities and have the bonus of upskilling as well. While doing a training event in a skill, in writing or camera, etc. you will be training and connecting with people in a work setting. Conversation will inevitably lead to talk of work and other opportunities and before you know it, you are networking in an effective manner.
While you are training, you are seeing how other people work, seeing how good they are. This will help build trust between the two of you. If you see someone working well, you will trust them to work with you on a future project, and vice versa.
Networking in person
6. Website. From my short experience having a standalone website is not enough. A website is a meeting place for social media, blogs/podcasts and other exchanges to meet. It shows credibility in your business and can keep the flow moving in your “package“, i.e. your online presence. It’s important to be aware that a website will not create a pool of incoming customers, it will stand as a tool to put people’s doubts at ease and enlighten them on what it is exactly you do and offer. It will require a bit of technical skill to create a template website, or a lot of skill to write the code for a website. With either method, you can customise it to your liking and engage your audience effectively.
Those are my tips on marketing. Other ways include LinkedIn (yawn), business cards (don’t bother) or any other way you market yourself. I’m sure you can think of other ways that I haven’t mentioned here, I’ve only scratched the surface. Let me know in the comments section.
-D.C.