With new videos and films being uploaded online every day, it can sometimes appear to be somewhat of an overwhelming mission to find your potential audience and speak to them, let alone actually grabbing their attention.
However, by getting clear on who they are and by implementing a little research, you will quickly learn that this “Everest” is actually the size of a pesky hill.
- Identify
First and foremost, you need to identify who your production speaks to. Remember the super hit web series “The Guild”? (If not, check them out now). Well this production knew their audience perfectly. They knew that their show, although translatable to a multitude of people, spoke predominately to gamers; given that the series revolves around an online guild and the lives of the players attached. So who did they talked to primarily? You guessed it, the gaming community. By identifying who your production resonates with, it will allow you to find out the best way to speak to them. Which brings us to:
- Get specific
You’ve identified your audience, but now I’m going to ask you to get more specific (generalisations aren’t going to help you!). Within any sector, there are going to be a multitude of desires. Let’s say your production speaks to fashionista’s. Well, that’s a rather broad spectrum and you need to learn where your production fits in. Does it have a more “Gen Z, boho-chic” feel to it or are you more “Gossip girl, inner city, trendy”? Get this unbelievably clear because, without it, you’re not going to know where to find them.
- Research Baby!
Wonderful! Now it’s about learning what they want, and to do this you need to spend a little time researching. Who are the people they look up to? Where online do they gather? What platforms do you see them interact? To use my fashion example again, I would argue Instagram and style blogs would be a great place to start.
- Access Them
You’re specific, you know whom your talking to, you know what they like and now that you’ve got a little research under your belt, you’re starting to identify certain consumer patterns. Now it’s time for them to see you. Contact influencers within your audience’s radar (I would recommend starting small and then building up to the big guys). Contact social media accounts, bloggers, online magazines, moviemakers and other people who are in that realm and see if they can watch, review or promote your production. Reaching out is another task, and one I will discuss in the future, but just remember this; there is no harm in asking and no one ever got a yes from keeping their mouth shut.
No go for it, filmmakers – you’ve got this!
Article written by Alexa Berry for The Monthly Film Festival
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