How Can you Cost Effectively Market your Indie Films?

Pixabay.com/ If you are an indie film maker, you must be often forced to work on shoestring budgets. Moreover, you may often have to make compromises with the creative concept of the film simply because you know that the marketing effort would eat up a chunk of the total appropriation. But there are some innovative methods of marketing that are becoming increasingly popular with indie film makers. If you haven’t tried them out yet, you may give them a try. Innovative marketing efforts that can save you money:

1. Make your audience a part of the film right from the beginning– This is an idea which is tried by marketing teams of big budget films as well. Creating small teaser videos of an engrossing scene doesn’t take much. Make that one scene a talking point. Don’t reveal a lot and keep the suspense growing. In the lead up to the film, you can release a few 1 to 2 min videos. You may also take candid footages of the actors during their shoot and make a collage and upload them on Youtube or Vimeo.
2. Create a page on Wikipedia– Wikipedia is a free site and creating a page won’t cost you a single pie. Create a page about the film well in advance. After the film has been conceptualized and the script has been locked, you can put out some interesting information about the film like the characters, the tentative actors, a one-line or two-line plot summary and a working title, if the final title has not been locked.
3. Stage a short play or skit– You can take your group of amateur actors to different local film festivals and stage short skits outside. You would get your ideal audience outside these festivals and you can directly engage them. Ask for their opinion and advice to make them even more involved.
4. Film Festivals– Film festivals may be your best bet. Try to take your film to as many festivals as possible without waiting for only the top burns like Raindance or Sundance. Request the organizers to screen your film, became part of interactive sessions, talk to the media if you get a chance and try to build up a positive word of mouth publicity.
5. Create an interactive Facebook Page– This is the least expensive way to reach out to as many of your target audience as possible. Use a lot of graphics, photos from the movie and share interesting trivia about the movie. Basically, try to create a compelling narrative on your page. Publish interviews of your leads in a Q&A format like newspapers and magazines do. Hold chat sessions with your fans. It will really help to drive engagement.

See how easy marketing a movie can be? In the digital age, marketing a movie has become almost as easy as shooting one. Just go out there and shoot!