"Earning back from all our hard work just gives us one more reason to keep going!" - Sorcha Anglim
Sorcha Anglim is a female filmmaker who currently fills the number 1 spot on Eren's Picks. This means that she actively promotes her Web TV on social media and also influences her audience. She's active on several platforms, especially on Twitter, for both personal and professional use. She likes to blog regularly to connect with her viewers and always tries to find new ways to attract people to her work.
Sorcha's Twitter profile. The only listed link: her Web TV on Film Annex!
You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
Below is an interview about how she uses social media as a film promotion tool and how it has affected her revenues on Film Annex. She also gives a few tips on social media film promotion.
Film Annex: When did you start promoting your work specifically on social media platforms?
Sorcha Anglim: I have always promoted my work on social media platforms, ever since I started making short films! I think it's really important that the people who know you best can see what you've been up to and support you in the process. However, more recently, since I started taking an even more active role with my Web TV, I have tried to take this one step further than my friends, finding relevant pages on Facebook for example, to promote my films, or targeting Twitter users who might benefit from 1 or 2 of my blogs, and retweet to their followers. So I'd say I've been "actively promoting" for at least a year now.
FA: What social media platforms do you use? Which one(s) do you think is more efficient for filmmakers to use to promote their work and why?
SA: I use Twitter a great deal to promote my work. Partially because I post on there regularly anyway, using hashtags to join in 'big conversations' that happen on there. I think this allows me to promote on Twitter without being too intrusive or too pushy with my content, and finding a way of linking in trending topics or hastags with my content is something that can work wonders in spreading the word. Another great platform is of course Facebook, where you can reach people anywhere, who have similar interests to you, and hopefully, might also enjoy your films. Fan pages, film pages and groups are fantastic for both gathering your own 'fans', and also interacting with other peoples, for example to promote a film shot in New Zealand, there are tons of tourist pages and different activity pages that would be interested in seeing it, and who you can contact through Facebook. Finally, Linkedin is a great little platform, which allows you to connect with other short film makers, any freelancers, and many other types of people who might be interested in independent projects such as short films.
A post about her Web TV on her Google+ page.
SA: I think Amy Hill hit the nail on the head: "Putting yourself in your audience's shoes is really important!" Why is someone going to click on what you post out there? A post with just a link to another website is going to be scrolled past, but if you can think of a witty title or hashtag it to a relevant event taking place, or let people know WHY they have to see what you are posting, they are much more likely to click... and maybe even share! Focus on sharing one thing at a time... If you post 5 things at once, people might just assume it's spam and ignore it. Lastly, interact with people, have presence online, and let people see your personality! People want to invest time into someone who is open about their work, who they are, and someone they can begin to really like, through their computer screen. If you appear too faceless or 1 dimensional, people won't take notice on give you their crucial time.
