As published on Indiegogo.com: http://www.indiegogo.com/blog/2009/06/the-beginners-guide-to-viral-marketing-episode-2-of-5.html
Congratulations! You have succeeded in making a video, and have successfully uploaded it to one of many fine online video hosting sites. That, for some of us, may feel like an achievement in itself. But let’s get real for a second: So what? It only counts if people see it.
Be it a short documentary, an indie animation, a video blog or even a slide show of your niece’s 3rd birthday party (and we sincerely hope it’s not the latter), there are tons of ways that you can maximize your audience and help turn your video into a viral hit.
This is a 5-part weekly blog series that will provide an introduction on how to best get eyeballs to your content. Simple.
EPISODE 2- VIRAL MARKETING 101: BE A VIRAL SUPERSTAR
First off, to be a superstar, you need to be good. It takes good content, or at the very least some serious creative commitment. This is pretty crucial, so the first thing you need to do is to start sharing your ideas and content, and learn to take criticism and advice. Your content needs to be compelling in some way, and that does not include shaky camera work on your 29 year old brother’s long soliloquy about the value of fixed term mortgages. Unless he’s bloody hilarious.
Secondly, you must make sure that you are fully utilizing your marketing savvy, your friends, your network, as well as the promotional tools that video hosting sites can provide.
You say you haven’t finished your film yet? Never mind! It’s never too early to start getting people excited about your project. Throughout the production process, it’s a great idea to create related video collateral: video blogs, outtakes, bloopers, interviews… This allows you to keep people posted on the process of making a film- they in turn will feel more invested in your final product, and be more likely to help you spread the word.
Crucial first steps:
- Get a website or a blog for your film, asap. Even if you’re still in pre-production. This creates an information point, where anybody who wants to catch up on your progress can go to find out what you’re up to. (Note: IndieGoGo’s Announcement section can get you started here. All announcements get sent to your followers via email or RSS like a blog.)
- Learn to love Twitter. Get followers, keep them posted on your news.
- Make related videos. The most exciting independent films have gotten traction by creating a lot of related content and buzz, with the net result of creating personalities out of the filmmakers.
- Make sure that every video you make ends with a url, so people know where to go to find out more.
- Post blogs/announcements, commentary, opinions & photos. People are curious. Indulge them!
- Paste your content all over the web by embedding them into various social networking sites.
- Not crucial, but highly recommended is to atart learning some basic HTML: This’ll help you customize sites like wordpress, as well as allow you more control over your Myspace page, twitter page, etc.
If the term ’social networking site’ makes you shiver, do not fear. Here is a quick introduction on how you can best utilize the top contenders to create a fan base, aggregate your audience, and market your video, all in one! Now’s not the time to be shy, so get cracking!
Sites to sign up to, post-haste:
- indiegogo.com
- facebook.com
- myspace.com
- twitter.com
- wordpress.com
- theauteurs.com
- flickr.com
Embedding Your Video:
You can embed your video to social networking websites using embed code or link HTML.There are hundreds of these social networking sites out there, so when you’re next feeling like an over-achiever, do a Google search for: +‘social networking’ +’website” and go to town (don’t forget to create a free email address on Yahoo or Hotmail to sign up to these sites with- otherwise, your inbox will be deluged with spam).
Here are a few examples of places to embed your videos:
Indiegogo.com: Filmmakers on Indiegogo.com can use their ‘video’ section as a video blog, of sorts. This is great because not only can you post your trailer, but you can also add vlogs about your production, outtakes, etc., keeping fans updated throughout the production process. Also, indiegogo.com allows folks to just pull in any url, not just an embed code, making for a rich hyper-linked video blog.
Myspace.com:
Yes, we know: everyone already has a Myspace page. But if you don’t, go to myspace.com without delay, get a profile, add some friends, and embed your video using the code provided on your video’s item page.
To embed your video, go to ‘edit profile’ and paste the embed code in the ‘about me’ section. Save all changes, and view your gorgeous new page with your supercool video, embedded for the world to see.
Facebook.com:
Facebook, unlike Myspace, does not allow you to embed your video directly into your profile. You will either need to simply link to it, or upload it directly to Facebook.
If you are linking directly to the video using the status update button at the top of your home page, simply paste the link in there, a brief description, and a thumbnail should pop up. Facebook will autopopulate your link with a thumbnail and a video description pulled from the video item page.
If you prefer to upload your video, just hit the ‘video’ button on the side of your home Facebook page, and follow the instructions.
Your own website:
Really, you probably don’t need one what with customizeable blogs like wordpress, tumblr, indiegogo et al. But if you do have your own webpage, don’t forget to include your videos either as links or as embedded files! As website creation applications vary widely, it is hard to come up with a concise explanation of how to do this, but a good resource to learn is: www.how-to-build-websites.com. In Dreamweaver, paste the embed code into the ‘Code’ view of the application. Save the file, and upload using an FTP server such as CuteFTP.
NEXT UP: BEYOND THE EMBED: PROMOTING TIPS
Current is teaming up with Common to give you the opportunity to direct your own music video with his track ‘Make My Day’.
