Marketing my Film/Television work

Social media platforms are a great way to market a new company, product, or service. Some of the main ones are Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. I plan to use all 3 of these when I start my film/television work.

The Internet is a great way to get the word out about something to a bunch of people at the same time. Facebook is a good website to help with that. Creating a Facebook page should be your starting point because, after all, you won't be able to do anything else without one. Another way to use Facebook is by creating either a group page or a pages profile. Like personal pages, these can also generate publicity for a company. They can also be referenced to as "Bumper Stickers" on profile pages. A lot of people tend to join groups or pages because of their friends. It'll pop up in their news feed and they will click on it to see what it is about. If they like what they see, they will join and the cycle will continue. One last thing to do is to create events on Facebook. These events don't necessarily have to be events that people attend. A lot of people use them as a way to let people know when something is being released, like a movie or a book.

Twitter can turn the boys and girls next door into celebrities with just 140 characters. When it comes to marketing a product or service, it's not different. Twitter is known for being one of the sites to go to for breaking news, so why not use it to break news about a company's product. Tweets can be sent about every step of a product's development. This will spark an interest among some people on Twitter. Browsing the Who To Follow section of Twitter can help reel people in. They have a section dedicated to people's interest and offer suggestions on who to follow. Twitter may also be used to get instant feedback. If you want people's opinion about what you are working on, just post some ideas in a tweet and see what your followers say.

For someone wanting to get into film and/or television, YouTube is a good way to get your material out there. You can take something as simple as class assignments and post them onto YouTube. It'll increase exposure for you before you even starting working on anything serious. People will be anxious to see what else you have to offer and subscribe to your page so they can be updated. YouTube can also be used a networking tool. You can link up with other users. They may know someone in the industry you want to pursue or you can help them with whatever they are doing. This last tip may seem small, but it can make a big difference. Tag whatever videos you post on YouTube. Tagging  can lead to more exposure for your content. When people are searching for particular videos, your video may come up in the search results. This can lead to the possibility of someone clicking on it and watching it.

Social media is powerful. So many people nowadays are using it that it makes it that much easier for you to get the word out about something you are working on. But be careful not to overdo. Don't send too many Facebook event invites. Don't send too many tweets. People don't like to be constantly bombarded with information.

I need to put my 5 years of education to use...How can I do that?

            My life long dream is to become a television producer. I want to be the person behind the camera who is responsible for everything that goes on in front of the camera. I know that it may take me awhile to get to that position. So how do I get there? I believe that I have to work my way from the bottom up. I’ll first need to start off as a Production Assistant.

            A Production Assistant pretty much assists the production. It can mean doing thing like getting coffee for the director, getting the actor from their trailer to the scene, or helping move lights on a set. It may not seem like the glamorous job, but it can be very rewarding. I’ve never been a Production Assistant, but I would really love to be one.

            I feel like getting any job in this industry is all about whom you know. A lot of other jobs in other industries are the same but even more so in the entertainment industry. In order to get the kind of position that you want, I think it’s important that you network. When I was in undergrad, a lot of teachers gave me their information and said to contact them if I ever needed anything. Most of them had contacts to people that already in the entertainment industry.

            One way that a professional in my industry can use social media to kick-start their career is by creating a Facebook page. Almost everyone in the world has one. A lot of employers even use Facebook to screen applicants which is why this would be a good idea. It’ll help you gain exposure and make get you in contact with the right person. A classmate of mine from undergrad took this route. Here is a link to his page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Danny-Ligsay/128455040500366

He is using this page to showcase what he has done. I think that’s a good idea. It’s free to sign up on Facebook so you’re not spending any money to do it.

            Another way that a professional can kick-start their career is by creating whatever your media is (films, books, music) and shopping it around to people. If you have a film, make a few DVDs and sell them to people or give them to family and friends. You can also use YouTube to get yourself out there. I was randomly searching YouTube one day and came across this page http://www.youtube.com/user/Timaya

A lot of things that he talks about are things that a lot of us can relate too. Now he might not be doing any of this to get a job in the industry, but I think that he definitely has the potential. He could get a job as a celebrity gossiper or something like that.

            One final way that someone can kick-start his or her career is by creating a Twitter account. I know this may sound crazy, but Twitter is very powerful these days. I found an article that I thought was really interesting. Here’s the link http://gigaom.com/collaboration/real-life-twitter-business-success-stories/

In it, they discuss how people have gained employees and clients because of Twitter. An author got at least one book sold through Twitter. Her followers looked at a link that she posted and was hooked. Different software companies found her because of this and asked her to look at their products. She reviewed their products and they gained publicity because of that.

            Digital media can be a powerful force if you use it right. I plan on using some of the ways I just discussed to help get my foot in the door. I’m not going to get the career that I want by just sitting on my butt. I have to work for it and I have to work hard.