How to Market Your Film Festival Award
Congratulations! You’ve won an award from a film festival.
Let’s face it, unless you won an award at Cannes, you need to do some marketing. Even then, can you name who won Best Cinematography at Cannes last year?
Marketing your festival award can help to build buzz for your movie. A lot of awards or just the right award can win the attention of powerful people, including distributors and film company executives.
So how do you do it?
- Social media – This is obvious, but make sure you post your award to social media outlets and start that conversation. Post a couple of messages spaced out with other stories in between. Celebrate your win with friends and family too.
- YouTube – Make a short video about what you’ve created and add your award to it. Each time you win an award, it’s a chance to make a new film. Make them short, but make each a trailer that includes the story of your win.
- Press releases – Post these to a blog or you might consider paying to have them distributed. One place that people always forget is their small town or neighborhood papers. Small papers always love the “hometown girl makes good in Hollywood” type stories and your press release might give them that.
- Bloggers – Contact bloggers who are in your genre. They might be flattered that you’re reaching out to them and you can get lots of free press by doing interviews. This is extra cool if you have had a career in film that includes famous actors or directors. Offer to send them a copy of the film or connect them to a link for the film. Be sure to send an email of thanks after a couple of day. Bloggers can launch careers and they get no love.
- On your website – Be sure to include a complete list of your accolades on your website. If you have the film posted there, put it with the film. Also include it in your online resume so that they world can see that you’re keeping busy. If you don’t have a personal website, you can at least create one for your film.
- Social media headers – Include the award on your social media headers. Every time someone looks at your pages, they can see that you’ve received an award. It’s fairly easy to change your header. It can take only a few minutes. Also list yourself as the director / producer of the awarded film in your Facebook / Twitter bio, and even on Linkedin.
- Crowdfunding page – If you’re doing a crowdfunding, be sure to load a copy of the award onto that page as well. An award tells the world that you’re a pro, even if you’ve never had a showing or anything else.
- Paid advertising – Obviously, you’re not marketing your award, but you are marketing your film or your services. Spend a bit of money to promote the fact that you won an award. It’s an impressive thing and you need to let people know (especially fellow filmmakers). Networking comes first!
A film festival award is a great thing. It’s nice to be able to say that you won something. Be sure to put out some timely messages and advertisements about your win so that the rest of the world can celebrate it.
Article written by Bob Peryea for The Monthly Film Festival
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