Me Like The Interweb

7 Tips to Improve How You Engage on Twitter and Facebook

Yay! Glad you want to improve!

Below are the 7 most common mistakes made on Twitter and Facebook. (If you received a postcard in the mail, just find the number for your specific tip.)

We’re here to help you! Hire us to evaluate your social media efforts or to train you on Twitter.

Common mistakes on Twitter

#1 Broadcasting: Part of social interactions is listening and responding. You quickly tire of someone who spends all his/her time talking about his/her achievements – and so does everyone else. You become more interesting to follow if you engage others and spend very little of your time talking to others and promoting what they do. In that way, you become part of a community – one that that really whats to share ideas, appreciation of things they like, opinions etc. You can promote yourself – but keep that to a minimum.

#2 Incomplete Profile: The profile section is found in settings, under your name. By taking the time to craft a description telling the world about your interests and goals for Twitter, you take the 1st step to attract a relevant and like-minded community! A link to your website (or even a specific landing page) and your location helps this community learn more about you as well as assess if you will be interesting to follow and engage with.

#3 Retweet Addict: RT (Retweet) or a MRT (modified RT) is a good way to share something from someone else with your followers/community. But everything in moderation. If all you do is RT, you’re not contributing anything of your own and you don’t seem discriminating about what you’re sharing with your network. Try RTing amongst the other things you do – such as commenting, engaging in conversations in your network and sharing your information, finds and opinions. And when you do RT – provide some context (e.g. remark on why you appreciate the tweet posted.) Doing so brings this platform to a new and satisfying level.

Common mistakes on Facebook

#4 Standard page lacking style: Just because you can cross-post to Facebook from Twitter and other platforms doesn’t mean you should. What makes a Facebook platform interesting and engaging is when it not an aforethought but a real area of interactivity. So remember not just to auto-post from your blog/Twitter or other. And check out and respond to comments – these tend to be from people who want to engage with you and your company – which is a great thing! Also:

Keep in mind that Facebook is best for “siloed” content – people on Facebook don’t like leaving Facebook to consume content. So provide content that keeps people within Facebook (text, questions, pictures, Youtube videos, audio you can click on Facebook to hear etc.) and, hence, engaged on the platform.

#5 Low engagement level: The Facebook platform broadcasts interaction between people: Every like, comment, event, photo tag. But your material won’t circulate well if you post it on your wall and it does not receive any interraction (no “likes” or comments, or shares). So, it is in your best interest to encourage interaction. Post content that is interesting – and not just singularly to you – but more broadly. Posting something you think is intriguing, amazing, funny, or somehow share-worthy – whether it’s something you create or the work of others. Also: sharing the interesting bits about your company, business and industry as well as asking questions and providing insight are good ways to stand out from your competition.

Remember: don’t expect people to do too much. Asking people to responding to something that requires a relatively simple answer is better than expecting that they provide an essay… And do a few things to see what works best – it’s different for everyone. Getting people to contribute isn’t always easy but if you’re persistent and creative, you can make it happen – and it will be satisfying.

#6 Incomplete Info section: How can your Facebook Fans contact you if they want to – and where can find you elsewhere? In many cases Facebook is a result of a referral from someone in your network and can be the first point of contact for someone new. Why not make it easier to contact you and locate your website? Don’t expect people to do detective work…

If this was the Yellow Pages you wouldn’t think twice about adding your company phone number, a quick description of what you offer, links to your website, Twitter, Linkedin or promotions. So, why isn’t it on your information page? Make sure you make it easy for people to find you – because that’s what you want. Isn’t it?

#7 Not active. If you don’t post frequently (at least a few times a week), you lose momentum, people think you’re not around and you lose relevancy in searches. You probably frequently come across things that are interesting or insightful – so stay active!

To become a better tweeter, try addressing some of the tips above. (For more suggestions, see the bottom of the post for links.)

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—

June 19, 2012 at 9:00 am Leave a comment

Seeing It From the Audience’s Perspective: An Interview about Transmedia with Lucas J.W. Johnson

I met Lucas J.W. Johnson at Merging Media 2011 where my friend, Cinci, suggested I blog about him. Lucas is exceptionally sharp and ambitious – and he has clearly spent considerable time researching the transmedia landscape. I figured it was in my best interest to sponge off his knowledge. (I found his responses to my interview questions to be quite thought-provoking – so I’ve added a few comments after some of his responses.)

What is a valuable lesson you’ve learned about the digital space?

Look at your project from the audience’s perspective.

You come to a project with the perspective of the creator — I have this awesome story I want to tell, and this awesome way I want to tell it.

[But] if you’re going to actually succeed, then before you actually release it, in the process of creating it, you have to shift that perspective, and come at the project from the point of view of the audience.

Not only things like what will they want, but also how they access the project. Imagine coming to the project as someone who’s never heard of it, right when it launches — how do you draw them in, and convince them to stay? What about if they come to it months after it’s launched — how do you make sure there’s an easy way for them to figure out what’s going on, and where they should start?

The same goes for how you’re presenting the story — what if they’re not on Twitter? Not on Facebook? Don’t have a smartphone? Never engaged with a transmedia or digital media project before? Any time there’s any friction, and moment when it’s easier for them to close the window than it is to delve deeper, you’ve lost them.

(I love this so point so much, because I think that seeing your project through your potential audience’s eyes is so frequently overlooked – even though it’s one of the most important aspects… Think about this more broadly: how many sites have you encountered where you can’t immediately find things like donate buttons or how to purchase a product. Or one with the message “we’ll be launching in December 2011. Come back then” with no way to pre-order the product or even enter an email address for updates? Or how often have you attempted to listen to a podcast only to shut it off after hearing an initial 5 minutes that consisted of an interminable and irritating musical intro or a lengthy introduction of who all the hosts were and what they got up to that weekend…)

Was there anything at Merging Media that you were excited by?

Most mindblowing at Merging Media was hearing Henry Jenkins speak (over Skype, interviewed by my friend Simon Pulman ) — he’s an academic, so clearly he’s smart, but man does this guy know what he’s talking about. He spoke about spreadable media, that what will succeed is not that which is easily broadcasted, but that which is easily shared among friends. Entertainment becomes a gift — let me bring you into this new world, let me give you this experience by sharing it.

(This is brilliant. And an excellent reality-check for the “this will go viral” mentality. We all want to have our posts and projects spread, but there are a number of factors that make people truly want to do so. The premise that “I really want people to share this [project/message etc.] so they should” is oddly at the heart of many campaigns and pitches. The concept of the gift is fantastic. And looking at it from that perspective, and of making your content truly great so that people will be motivated to share can be very eye-opening. Because “it’s OK” or “I like it because I made it” or even “it’s good enough” does not constitute a gift.)

What have you learned from players in the Transmedia space (that you’ve interviewed, read about or had at your Transmedia Meetups)?

To be very broad:

listen to your audience, engage with them directly, build loyalty;
give a big chunk of your work away for free, especially if you’re working on IP that isn’t already a blockbuster success, to get people in the doors;
don’t be afraid to pimp yourself, just don’t be an ass about it;
experiment, try new things, know that you’re going to fail — but get back on the horse, iterate, move forward; genuinely be a good and honest and open person — people like that.
Finally, do something with your work — be aspirational, be inspirational, be a force for good; you’re asking a lot of people for a lot of attention and potentially a lot of money — to do anything else is irresponsible.

(These are all very insightful. My favorite is the first, because I feel that the direct connection with one’s audience is how social media has truly empowered artists. And it’s a beautiful, exciting and, occasionally, humbling thing to have such an immediate and easy access to people who connect with what you do. But those artists who have something special to offer along with a real relationship with their audience (which they demonstrate that they value) are the ones who gain the most from social media.)

What projects have inspired you?

The ARG known as the Beast, for the movie AI, back in 2001, because it was so groundbreaking and inspiring for the time — now of course it doesn’t hold up and there are a host of problems with doing something like it, but the point isn’t that we should do the things the Beast did, it’s that we should find new things just like the Beast did. Lance Weiler’s Pandemic project, for the hugely innovative and experimental nature of it, and his Robot Heart Stories project for its educational and aspirational nature. Failbetter Games’ Echo Bazaar, for its twisted and entirely engrossing story and setting.

I’ve also been inspired a great deal by the old tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Like transmedia visionary Jeff Gomez, D&D did a lot for me as a kid to be able to express the stories I wanted to tell, and the things that make for a great D&D game are in many ways the same as those that make for a great transmedia experience. (I even wrote a whole six-part article about it all on my blog.)

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Lucas J.W. Johnson is a freelance writer and transmedia storyteller from Vancouver, BC. He received his BFA with Honours in Creative Writing from UBC, and has worked in advertising, PR, television, digital media, gaming, and transmedia. He’s published short stories and stageplay, organizes the Transmedia Vancouver Meetup, and is an active member in the international transmedia storytelling community, with his business Silverstring Media. A storyteller above all else, whenever Lucas isn’t writing, he wishes he were. Find him online at silverstringmedia.com, lucasjwjohnson.com and on twitter @floerianthebard

“Azrael’s Stop is very much an experiment for me, but I think it’s a fun one, and I’ve already had people respond quite positively to the story and even the way it’s told. I’d love for you to check it out, and especially let me know what you think, at azraelsstop@silverstringmedia.com”

December 14, 2011 at 4:41 pm 1 comment

Avoiding the Supermarket Approach When Pitching Bloggers

Note: this post was originally published on One Degree.

At a night club recently, I felt the need to tell a guy that I was taken. He then looked at my friend and said, “OK, what about her?”

It’s something I call the “Supermarket Approach”: if you knock enough products into your cart, eventually, one with a honey nougat centre will fall in.

I’d never think it a good plan to dump a bunch of things into my basket and hope the one I wanted would be there. Just as it might to be the best course of action to randomly target single girls.

Or send emails to every blogger in Canada.

That does, however, explain the theory behind such blogging pitches as,

“Hey, I like your blog and I want to tell you about a totally irrelevant product” and “Your [cut and paste] blog exists so I thought you, [your name pasted here] would be interested. You guess why.”

And while that’s not a targeted approach, if you do it enough, you will get some results.

Rob Jones who writes the music blog, The Delete Bin, explains his experience:

“I do think that many marketers tend to think of bloggers as a sort of digital grist-mill, which is a big mistake. A lot of the time, in my particular context, the best pitches and experiences I’ve had have been with artists who are reaching out personally. They understand that marketing through blogs is a partnership, and that it should be mutually beneficial. We’re both after a bigger audience, after all!”

While it is time-consuming to research each blog/blogger and individually tailor pitches, doing so increase the likelihood that she/he will respond – and write about what you’re asking her/him to write about.

A personalised touch is respectful, sets a better tone and will help her/him view you (and your company) in a positive light. The best responses I’ve received as a marketer have been to pitches that focused on why she/he might like the product rather than on the fact that I’d love it if they wrote about it. And I’ve been most responsive as a blogger to pitches that were targeting me based on what I was actually interested in.

So how can you best do this? Let’s assume you’ve done some research and have a list of bloggers in mind for your outreach. Here are some of my suggestions, based on what I aim to do when I pitch. And, to avoid the continuous use of the generic term “blogger”, for the suggestions below, let’s assume her name is Jeanne.

To guage interest and how to tailor, you should try to read:

A number of Jeanne’s posts. It will give you a better idea of her style and the topics and products she tends to write about. This might provide an angle for your pitch.
The About and Contact pages along with the FAQs/ Pitch policy ones. Beyond her name and email address, these pages might provide insight as to whether Jeanne is in fact the proper person to pitch for the campaign. (For instance, say the product is location specific: an ice cream available only in Canadian supermarkets. A search leads you to her blog and a number of 2008 posts where Jeanne showcases her unique dessert creations and writes about how much she enjoys living in Winnipeg. Her love for baking might be enduring – but the About page informs you that she’s recently moved to Las Vegas for a job opportunity. Or that she’s since sworn off dairy and sugar. Or, maybe, that she’s not interested in receiving pitches.

When crafting your pitch:

Make it short, easy to scan – and to the point. Describe the product in a way that doesn’t sound like the description’s been copied and pasted from the press release.
Address Jeanne by name. Avoid mail merge – or be sure to double-check the fields. (As an aside, my favorite bad pitch had the following greeting: “Dear Author of ‘Monica Hamburg Presents: Your Dose of Lunacy’”. If only there was some way of determining who was writing this blog…)
Be sure to introduce yourself and mention how you are involved with the company/project. It makes the pitch friendlier, more human and more transparent.
Make clear very early in the pitch why you are targeting Jeanne specifically. Blogging is a community – and bloggers within niches or cities might know each other, so a templated “I know you’re revered in the foodie world” etc. might not be too flattering if Jeanne later finds that the same pitch was sent to many other foodie bloggers.
Address the value of what you are proposing. What’s in it for her? You might choose to offer Jeanne a few products so she can run a contest for her readers. Many bloggers appreciate your providing something for their readers more than a treat you are willing to offer just them.
Address what it is you’d like her to do. Don’t just tell her about the project and hope something will happen. (E.g. You might offer to send her the product so that she might write a review.)
Create and link to a Media Kit/Page created for the product. This will allow you to write a brief and to the point pitch – and Jeanne to learn more, if she wants to.

Indeed, it is a more involved process than sending out a slew of the same pitches to a large group of bloggers. But it helps you learn about the people you are writing to.

And leads to more contacts with honey nougaty goodness.

November 9, 2011 at 9:55 am Leave a comment

DIY Band Promotion: Mykel Exner Talks about Selling Kill Matilda

Mykel Exner is the Bassist for the band “Kill Matilda”. He recently sent my friend, Bill Allman, an email in which he thanked Bill (who taught him at Trebas Institute) for emphasizing that a band must not leave their promotion to management and the importance of taking control of your own brand and management. Bill told me about the email and I asked Mykel to participate in an email interview about artist promotion. Fortunately, he agreed. Here’s what he had to say. (Note: I took my questions out here as it flowed better without them.)

About the band

Kill Matilda is a do-it-yourself band that has been touring Canada since 2009. We are a 4-piece female-fronted hard rock band that began in Vancouver and has since based itself out of Montreal and South Western Ontario. We’ve self-produced, recorded, released and promoted our self-titled EP along with 3 music videos to support the release – one of which, “She’s A Killer” has been put into rotation on MUCHLOUD, providing us with national exposure. We’ve gone from complete unknowns to playing large festivals like NXNE and opening for acts like Econoline Crush and Die Mannequin. We are blessed with an amazing front person, Dusty, with a killer voice. We have been making a reputation for ourselves for putting on high-energy, fun to watch live shows. We’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the most talented and dedicated artists and professionals, who’ve seen value in our project and have helped us by lending the skills and talents that have brought us to new levels that we never thought possible.

The DIY Movement

Initially, when you first dream of being in a “well-known” band, you dream about being “discovered” by someone and having them take you and your music to the heights of being a “rock-star” – or even just simply heard and appreciated by a larger audience. The reality of the music industry today is that NOBODY is willing to take the chance with their money or time to push and promote an artist that isn’t already making a name for themselves.

We’re facing a crisis in the Canadian music industry where “Music Industry Professionals” are not equipped with the skills and know-how to even make posters to promote shows they organize. Bar owners don’t see the value in investing in promotion for shows that are booked in their establishments and most bands don’t even know how to begin to promote themselves or the shows that they are a part of. From the inside of this beast, the system looks broken. If you aren’t a jack of all trades, i.e. a photoshop pro – a video editor – a photo editor – a booking agent- along with being an artist and performing musician, you’ll never have anyone take notice of your music or project.

No one is going to take you by the hand, discover you, put you on the cover of the Rolling Stone, put your song on the radio, pick out your first single or do anything for you… unless you’re willing to pay for it… and pay big for it

How Kill Matilda raised nearly $2000 in donations in a week via their merchandising sitelet

We’ve investigated fundraising options out there like pledgemusic.com and others but the thought of “All or Nothing” fundraising really scared the crap out of us. In reality we didn’t need a lot of money to help us reach our goals. One big incentive we found helped make it easier for fans to help us was to include a limited time offer to have their name in the credits of our new album “I Want Revenge”. That push really drove a lot of the action we saw. Providing those unique and one of a kind incentives to your fans really open the door to their wallets.

Building an fan-base online

Basically, we built a strong online fanbase through having a lot of good content online and following that up with a killer live show. We have Youtube videos of us bringing people along on tour, and we provide personal experiences for our fans when they come to our shows. We interact with our fans online a lot and I think that providing that personal interaction combined with kicking some ass on stage live over a long period of time really helped us achieve some of our goals and gave our fans a feeling of being a part of our growth and pride in “growing” with us.

Here is one piece of free advice to performing bands… Mention your Facebook Page on stage as a part of your banter. We urge our new fans to like us on Facebook so we can connect with them and comment on pictures of their cats..dogs…babies… all of that. Give your audience directions and where exactly they can find you. It’s amazing going home after a good gig and logging onto Facebook having fans “requesting” your friendship and “Liking”and commenting on your page.

In 2010, before we left Vancouver we asked our fans which track off the Kill Matilda EP they would like to see made into a music video and through a series of votes and comments they picked “Fault Lines”. It was a pretty fun experience to see people actually care and provide their opinions on what Kill Matilda should do next. Ask your fans questions about what they like… what they don’t like… those sort of exercises get your existing fans talking about you and thinking about you when they start thinking about a question you’ve asked, or associate you with the topic you got them thinking about.

Promoting the “She’s a Killer” video (viewed over 14,000 times on YouTube).

The key is constantly reposting and sharing and reposting and sharing. Encourage your fans to do the same for you. Research who promotes music videos online in your genre, show them and talk to them about your video. Create an “online street team” to post your video on relevant pages and just don’t be afraid to share and re-share! We’ve used “She’s A Killer” to promote Kill Matilda to new listeners and used the video to help us gather a lot of opportunities. (BTW!!! If you like that video share it!)

Social Media in general

Social Media has basically been responsible for Kill Matilda being able to have reached where it has today. Just being able to exist, get further, reach more people, have them listen to our music, watch our videos and enjoy it is really amazing and fun. Without it we wouldn’t be able to operate at all.

My personal favorite was tweeting at Bif Naked and having her check us out. She loved and shared my personal favorite Kill Matilda song, “Geisha With A Switchblade” with her followers. Being a big Canadian rock fan-boy that make me feel like a kid again.

Tips for musicians doing DIY promotion

Be pro-active not RE-active. Have your own website. Facebook/Myspace/Twitter profiles are good, but a dotcom is the BEST!
If you don’t care to share about your bands shows or videos or songs online… then why should anyone care about it? Think about your comparables… sound like Tool? then go after Tool’s fans… Sound like Radiohead? Go after Radiohead’s fans. Don’t think you sound like anyone? Then ask someone else. You have to have a comparable otherwise no one will care at all.
Don’t just promote your music! Promote all music you think is good! Promote other bands shows! Let people know that you are a part of a scene and that you care about not just your success but the success of your favorite bands and your friends bands.
Learn that there is a difference out there between a “booking agent” and a “promoter” ANYONE can book a show, cats and dogs can book shows. It’s a simple process of saying, “Hey you wanna play at this place at this time?” Booking agents do not promote shows. Get this through your head and you will not be disappointed when no one shows up to your show. Take control of your own promotion because quite simply, the booking agent, the bar owners, the other bands and fans that don’t know about you DONT CARE who you are if you dont give them a reason to care. Its amazing how many show posters we here at Kill Matilda have been required to make for booking agents across Canada. If you allow someone else to control your destiny… to poster for you… to promote for you… to hold your hand and tell you its going to be alright… you might wanna take up another lifestyle choice.
It is EVERY member of a band’s job to promote. One person should take the lead of course in being pages and website admins BUT if your lead guitarist is “too-cool” to promote… stick your foot in their ass and set them on the right track. No one is too cool to promote, except for bands and musicians that no one has ever heard of or cares about.

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Find Kill Matilda:

Site: http://killmatilda.com/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/KillMatilda

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/killmatilda

Twitter: @KillMatilda

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Want to learn more about Artist promotion? You might also enjoy other posts in my Artist Series.

July 29, 2011 at 2:26 pm Leave a comment

Engage Your (Film) Audience

I’ll be speaking tonight at Projecting Change through Social Media (Club), an informational session for the Projecting Change Film Festival. Stephanie Michelle Scott (my Twitter Workshop/Twitter Parlour partner) and I are conducting sessions on Twitter – however, since we are both passionate about film and have a film backgrounds we’ll also discuss some tips/examples with regards to social media for film in general.

Here are some of my thoughts.

Promotion (is a part of your production)

Find Your Audience Early. Figure out who your audience will be (you likely already know) and start reaching out early. Start your research ASAP and begin building your audience relationships pre-and during filming.
Generate and Release Content. Consider what you can put out to create interest during the process. What kinds of material would flesh out your story more (text, video, pics) or give it an added dimension. Remember that your characters had a life before the film too. (In a post on this topic I wrote: “Allowing the character to live in other platforms before the film is released – and whilst the film is being made – gives the character a larger/broader life – and helps with publicity.”
Examples:

Twitter can be an additional platform for the story. Perhaps you could take pictures and create a part of the story that goes out only via this medium.
Get the audience (and others on Twitter) involved via a Twitter chat. If the film is screening on television have people watch and live-tweet or comment (use something like Cover-it-Live)
Are there characters who were interesting but received little screen time? Can they become more of a part of the story online?
If there are follow-ups to the non-fictional account you provide in the film, allow the people involved to record a video about what has happened since.

Targeting and Blogger Outreach. You are best to truly pitch bloggers when you have something to actually show them, content-wise. (As you know, everyone wants to make a film – but few actually end up completing one.) Really contemplate who would be interested in your project – don’t just target the most popular film-related blogs. Remember that your audience isn’t only composed of film fans and people who read movie-themed blogs. If you’re making a documentary about, say, dancers struggling to find work, you might reach out to others who blog about similar struggles. You’ll get more buy-in if you:

Remember to personalize the pitch as much as possible.
Target those who might be truly be interested – not just because their blog is of the same general genre as the film. (Meh: “you write a humorous blog and this is a comedy film”. Better: “You write about the craziness of the internet – and that’s what our film is about!”) Note: this takes a fair bit of research – but it might be worth it.
Consider the blogger’s time. As is frequently mentioned – for most, blogging is a hobby and a labour of love. Watching a trailer might happen. Watching an entire film is less likely.
Address what’s in it for them. Don’t be smarmy about it – but if there can be something in it for them, let them know. Often this aspect is neglected and the pitch is is basically: “Here’s how you can help us out!” – without addressing why they would want to.

Crowdsourcing Content

This is a great way to get clips for your film – even if it’s just short clips or vignettes – providing your outreach tactics are effective. A few examples of films that have invited people to submit clips for their productions include:

“Life in a Day“: Director Kevin MacDonald and Producer Ridley Scott invited creators from all over the world to capture their world in 24hrs on a single day (July 24, 2010) and upload to YouTube. The winning content was then edited into the final film, a Sundance hit. (Watch trailer).
Of course, not everyone has the clout and reputation of these mainstream directors. But independent productions can also fare well in obtaining crowd submissions. For instance, “Lost Zombies“ received thousands of submissions of “zombie encounters” – far more than anticipated. (They are now in the final submission stage. More information about the project on the Lost Zombie site, on this post and on 4D Fictions post/interview.)

“DSB the Movie” a film which “tells the story of the Netherland’s DSB Bank NV which was declared bankrupt by court in October, 2009.” All elements of this film were crowdsourced including the film’s logo, producer, scriptwriters, soundtrack, editor, camera, actors, and publicity. (Read about it on David Meerman Scott‘s post – which includes an interview with the director.) Crowdsourcing everything is not something I would recommend doing – but it certainly worked for this production.

For a documentary film, audience-produced content can be particularly compelling since people can submit their own, personal, experiences – and particularly cost-effective since people can be filming anywhere rather than your sending crews to other locations.

Crowdfunding

Here’s where your social media savvy can really come into play. Filmmakers are now asking people to micro-fund their film – be it by simply asking for funds, offering financers credits in return for cash, or selling products to make some money.

You can set up funding on your website (make that the key aspect of the site) or use one of several platforms set up for micro-funding such as IndieGoGo and Kickstarter.

Getting people interested in financing some aspect of your film will be (slightly) easier if you have something to show them. Which is why compiling materials and working on YouTube videos early on about your production will be doubly useful.

Keep in mind – it might take a number of years to get the money you need.

Spanner Films has written a useful guide on how to Crowdfund your film includes the following tidbit:

“If you are planning to make a campaigning film like The Age of Stupid, then you should definitely try to find a way to access the people out there who are already aware of and give a monkeys about the issue you want to highlight. If you can get some campaigners believing in your idea early on then they can be a huge help finding investors. You need to explain clearly why investing in your film is a strategic and cost-effective way to further your cause.”

A few examples of projects being crowdfunded include: “I Am I“, “My Million Dollar Movie” and “Iron Sky” which, writes Ross Dawson, has “four different mechanisms for raising money directly: a store selling merchandise such as T-shirts, a sneak peek of the first minutes of the film for which fans can pay any amount from 1 Euro, Fan Investments for qualified investors and up to 99 individuals in EU and some other countries, and ‘War Bonds‘, which are basically framed certificates.”

Casting
There are also many examples of productions (e.g. Paranoid Park, Moderation Town) which cast online (e.g. via YouTube etc.). This can be effective for certain parts, can drum up publicity and can allow you to watch more auditions than you could in a single casting session. (I don’t like the process of seeking votes for submissions – but I’m also speaking from an actor’s perspective.*).

There’s obviously lots more to say on how to leverage social media for film. Please comment below with your suggestions, examples and input.

For further reading, a few posts on the topic are bookmarked here (including some I’ve written).

May 17, 2011 at 1:07 pm 1 comment

The Shimmy, Shimmy Social: Promoting Your Festival Affiliation via Social Media

My Twitter workshop partner, Stephanie Michelle Scott, and I are fans of Burlesque. We wanted to offer some quick tips to advertisers and vendors of the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival as to how they could promote their VIBF involvement (as well as Burlesque in general) via social media.

Photograph by Foxtongue Photography

Here are our suggestions:

By showcasing VIBF and Burlesque content you can have something interesting to talk about and engage upon, while subtly mentioning your involvement.

1) Keep your Twitter account active! It’s the perfect time to revitalize a dormant account. If you tend to feel you have nothing to say – well now there’s plenty! So get back to tweeting!

Things to keep in mind:

Twitter works best when you talk to and mention others’ content) and only occasionally promote yourself (the general rule is 80-90% promotion of others and 10-20% self-promotion). So do spend the bulk of time talking to people and reposting interesting content.
Link your promotional posts with your VIBF involvement. (For instance, how are you participating in the VIBF? E.g. is a performer wearing your fashions? Which ones will they be wearing? You can post pics of those photos onto your Twitter feed. You might also wish to highlight those performers.)
Also, pay attention to other content being mentioned about the festival (you can search using http://search.twitter.com/advanced). You might do searches for VIBF or #VIBF (in the hashtag section) or the complete phrase Vancouver International Burlesque Festival
We’ve also started a Twitter list of people involved in the Vancouver Burlesque scene. Check out what they have to say about the fest – or in general. (More cool people? Let us know and we’ll add them)
Remember to tag all your VIBF-related Twitter posts by placing the designated hashtag for the fest somewhere in any of the messages. (It might be #VIBF – but I’m not sure, so ask the organizers.)

2) Interface – employ Facebook!

Remember to:

Update your fans! If you have a Facebook Page, remember not only to post content – but also to send an update to your Facebook Fans (Go to “Edit info” and then click on “Marketing” in the left-hand column. “Send an Update” will be the last options).
Don’t be shy – tell people that your supporting the VIBF. If you post this message you even remind even those you know about you of your efforts – and you encourage them to spread the message to their circle.

3) Be engaging!

Critical:

With social media you are looking to create interaction – so don’t just post content – ask questions. (You can also get information – even about what people like most about you!) Think of interesting ways of interacting with your audience.

4) Try running a contest.

Have a few tickets to the VIBF that you are planning on giving away? Why not run a quick contest?

Some thoughts:

The easiest contests to run are ones where people can just enter their name for the draw. You can make a simple form via Google Forms to get entries.
If you have a blog you might just put up a quick post and ask people to comment to win. (You might want them to also “like” your Facebook page in order to enter. (e.g.))
You might just run one for your Facebook fans – ask a question (e.g. “What are you excited to see at the Fest?” or “What do you plan to wear to the fest?”)
Perhaps try a Twitter contest. Perhaps there too you might ask a question and get them to answer in order to enter.
Or you can go more complex on your blog and ask for photo entries or video entries.
Remember to promote your contest on all your social platforms in order to get maximum exposure.

5) Find cool content!

Stumped for fun burlesque content to link to via social media?

Look at the list of performers and hosts of the VIBF: You might try a search for any of them on Google for articles about them, videos etc. (use advanced search to narrow down content). You might also type in “Twitter” next to their name in the search to get some interesting content (Such as )
Search for “Vancouver Burlesque” or “Vancouver International Burlesque Festival” at Flickr photos – there’s loads of fun pictures to link to!
Search Google for “Vancouver International Burlesque Festival 2011” and you’ll turn up content about the fest. Or you might simply Google “Vancouver Burlesque” for general content about the scene. (e.g.)

6) Watch what others in the scene are saying.

As above, we’ve started a Twitter list of people involved in the Vancouver Burlesque scene so if you’re looking for cool content about Burlesque, these people likely have it. Retweet them!
Similarly, look some VIBF related Facebook pages to see about content you want to share (e.g. VIBF’s FB can be found at: http://on.fb.me/vibffb ). Go there and you’ll see some great stuff such as a recent post about a workshop that the East Vanity Parlour girls will be putting on.

Those are our tips – what would you suggest? Do you have some good tips for sponsors of an event etc.? Please share your ideas in the comments. Cheers!

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Note: Our next workshop is on May 21! To register for Twitter Parlour: (Twitter for Your Unique Business) Workshops (we’re currently rebranding 🙂 go to http://twitterforbusiness2.eventbrite.com/

Here’s a cute post about how to tease on Twitter: “How to Tweet Like a Burlesque Dancer“.

April 27, 2011 at 11:57 am 2 comments

Exposure or Exploitation?

I was reading the Utne Reader recently and I came across an pretty ad for Fluevog with an artist’s drawing.

The accompanying text read:

“Do you have the world’s best Fluevog Ad stuck in your head? Get it out at Fluevogcreative.com”.

I went to the url and read that this contest was offering $1,000 (in Fluevog gear) and exposure to the winning ad artists.

So…. is an ad worth only $1,000 and will the exposure really benefit the artist?

My initial reaction is “probably not”, because I have concerns when it comes to artists and contests. And because my antennae prick up when I hear the word “exposure”.

See, “exposure” is a woefully overused term. It is a huge “incentive” (really need the quotation marks there) offered in the indie film world – especially directed at actors:

“Work for free (and coffee!) on our production. Great opportunity for exposure!”

Now, granted, the Fluevog ads are being placed in decent magazines – so this is actual exposure, for what it’s worth, as opposed to imagined (many films don’t see the light of day as their filmmakers don’t fully grasp the challenges of getting their film into a festival). And the winners also get bios on the Fluevog creative site (e.g. the ad I saw featured Heather Mulligan’s art and her bio is on the site).

But is there a true value for the artist in said exposure? This is not a rhetorical question. I would be interested in an unbiased follow up to this type of contest. It is entirely possible that someone else would notice the ad and hire the artist for a project. But is it likely? How many of the ads/artists will there really be a success story for? I’d sincerely like to learn what happens.

The prize amount irks me a bit, though. An ad results in $1,000 of product for the artists – which , by the way, in Fluevog dollars equals… about 2 pairs of shoes (perhaps less)? Fluevog could reasonably pay more reasonably. (Of course, I can never wrap my head around purchasing shoes that are $400+, so my understanding of the value factor is clearly limited. Oh wait, the value is only $1,000 no matter how much you love the shoes! OK, I’ll proceed then.)

In the Fluevog case, it also strikes me that the exposure might benefit one party to a degree greater than the other. The ad showcases Fleuvog. The artist’s concept is secondary – although I commend Fluevog for actual including in the creative, in addition to the artist’s name, their url (something I’ve rarely seen). (The ad I saw provided the link to Heather Mulligan’s Deviant Art page: www.auroracle.deviantart.com )

Of course, on the plus side, the artist may not get magazine ad level exposure were it not for the contest (and, in this case, I’m assuming that the exposure might have some value, which of course, is still up for discussion). And the artist could very well re-purpose something they already created (although I haven’t checked the rules on that) and just plug in a shoe or the name Fluevog or what not, and Boom!, ad created. So it may not, in fact, involve a huge effort on their part.

And, of course, there is the fact that here I am, & Pete is, talking about it. So the “tactic” is working, in some respect. (Although, again, perhaps more for Fluevog?)

But back to the bad side: Fluevog gets the ad(s) created for far less than they would pay an agency to create, and the art for far less than a fair price: I think this serves to devalue at both industries.

Now, I understand that nobody can be exploited in these cases without their consent. The artists have to agree and do the work – and the transaction seems to be clear. That said, the lure of “exposure” is a strong one – especially for artists – who sometimes encounter difficulties in terms of getting paid to do what they love.

Your thoughts? You might also consider weighing in Pete’s post on One Degree.

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*At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I should note that I work on and enter contests. Obviously for those I don’t see the imbalance as much – although there’s always the possibility cognitive dissonance could be at play.

I have also written about the topic of artists, contests and crowdsourcing on the following posts:

Please, Sir, Can I Have Another

Contests for Artists

January 11, 2011 at 9:18 am 5 comments

Learn About Using Twitter for Business at Our January Workshop

(Note from Monica: Originally the amazing Tanya Roberts and I were running the workshop, but Tanya is at full capacity with her work and I am fortunate to have another awesome and brilliant gal to work with. I am thrilled to have Stephanie Michelle Scott of Wildfire Effect as my new partner.)

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On January 22nd Tanya Roberts and I will be presenting our Twitter for Business Workshop.

We’re aiming to offer this workshop, geared towards beginners, monthly. If you’d like to be kept posted, please fill out this quick form and we’ll keep you in the loop. (We might also offer advanced sessions at some point in the future. Again, please fill out our form if you want to be updated.)

FYI, the sessions will be informative, educational – and fun!

General Session Information

You’ve heard that Twitter is a great marketing tool, but you still don’t get it, right? As Steven Berlin Johnson wrote in his Time Magazine story on Twitter, “The one thing you can say for certain about Twitter is that it makes a terrible first impression. The service allows you to send 140-character updates to your followers,” he writes, “and you think, why does the world need this, exactly?”

The goal of this workshop is to demystify Twitter and give you tangible, real life examples that you can use to get on the Twitter bandwagon, beef up your marketing efforts, and ultimately grow your online presence.

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