The discussion of what makes something truly "social" - and how to do this, seems pretty set by the web community. Hollywood is getting on board - for the more mainstream or younger-demo focused films and more.
These points are important to keep in mind from a ohHeyWe'reMarketingOurShow perspective:
1. Think Content, Not Ads
Getting people to watch and share your content requires some fundamental shifts in how marketers think about video advertising. Sharing has to be the starting point when developing content. Hollywood gets it: Great content is their currency. This is one reason why movie trailers were shared 184% more than the industry average for brand video content over the last quarter, as measured by Sharethrough’s distribution network.For example, to promote the new Muppets movie, Disney released a short original video called “Green With Envy,” a parody of the Rom-Com genre. It has more than 1.4 million views on YouTube.2. Mix It Up
While television and much of online video advertising inventory is limited to 15- or 30-second videos, social video advertising allows for distribution of video content of varied lengths and styles. Hollywood is taking full advantage of the flexibility of this medium to mix in “red band” (read: racy or R-rated) trailers, long-form trailers, interactive videos and viral videos along with their standard trailers to keep things interesting.For example, a recent red-band trailer for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo did a fantastic job of stirring up buzz. The shaky camera — evoking a sense that the video is a bootleg — added to the intrigue and exclusivity. Many in the marketing and film worlds have expressed their belief that this “bootleg” was created by Sony as part of a campaign intended to go viral. If that’s the case, they’ve even gone so far as to remove it from YouTube on copyright grounds.Another great example of non-standard content is an amazing interactive YouTube video page for Kung Fu Panda 2, featuring a mix of fun videos of Jack Black and the animated main character, Po. The page’s videos have generated millions of views and nearly 4 million Likes on their Facebook page.Brands should look to mirror this approach and come up with different versions of the same themed content to reach different audiences and prevent fatigue.3. Look for Social Distribution
In the old model of TV advertising, demographics ruled. Now, film marketers are going one step further in search of an audience with social influence that is most likely to watch and share their content. For example, Hollywood was early to experiment with the distribution of movie trailers in social games on Facebook, and they are trailblazing the emerging trans-media distribution world. Integrating brand video content into social media is critical to maximize sharing.With the launch of Facebook’s recent program that enables brands to distribute their videos into more than 300 social games (and provides Facebook Credits to users who watch them), any brand marketer can take a page from Hollywood’s play book and get their content in front of hundreds of millions of socially active consumers.Another good example of cross-media promotion was the addition of an ad for the film Super 8 as a playable level inside the hit video game Portal 2. Game review site Kotaku released a YouTube video about the trailer, which has generated hundreds of thousands of views to go along with the millions of people who played the game.4. Use Social Analytics to Test Content
Movie marketers were some of the first to embrace social metrics such as “sharethrough rate” — the rate at which a video is shared — in order to quantify success. Data collected from sharethrough rates now help movie studios make informed decisions about which trailers to use for online advertising campaigns, which demographics to include in campaign targeting and even potential markets for film releases. Brands are also beginning to use social metrics as a proxy for the overall success of their campaigns. They should look to further use sharing data to optimize their creative assets and distribution strategies, as well as test new markets for their products.
Of course, the question of how to get people to share isn't always science. Some things that should really not get shared (Charlie Bit My Finger, anyone?) and stuff that seems perfectly set to go viral... doesn't.
It's a mix of authenticity with innovation. Fun mixed with uniqueness. It's got that je ne sais quois that makes things interesting.
And the one thing that makes the Internet interesting is that you can change things on the fly (not easily per se, but it can be done), so if a trailer or teaser isn't working for you there's an ability to try again. To find something that will or can be shared more easily. Innovation and fun. Uniqueness and humour. And - most importantly - getting in touch with people to share things.
After all - the Youtube metrics have changed - and there's 48 hours of content uploaded every second.
The signal to noise ration is getting worse. So you have to find people to champion your project.
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