Choose Your Channels and Determine Your Messaging: Social Media Advice for Aspiring Filmmakers

Social media is changing everything from the way films are released to how they're recognised in the community. In 2013, distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories drummed up massive buzz for showing their film, "It's a Disaster," starring Julia Stiles and David Cross, in its entirety on social network Vine before releasing it in theaters. This year, CNBC asked the question, "Does an Oscar matter in the age of digital media?"

With Pew Research Centre reporting 65 percent of American adults use social media sites, as of October 2015, the free marketing tools provide ample ways to get your indie film noticed, even if you don't go the route of releasing the entire thing on a social channel.

From setting up your accounts to enticing new viewers with the right messaging, use these tips to get your film noticed, watched and buzzed about by the right target audience.

Choose Your Channels

Your time is precious and shouldn't be wasted setting up accounts for every single social network out there. A key component of your social media strategy is determining your target followers. If you want to network with other filmmaking professionals, get funding from investors or find quality people to work with you on your next project, professional networking site LinkedIn makes sense. If you want to be able to have personal interactions with everyone you follow, Twitter is a great option and allows you to segment the people you follow into lists such as actors, loyal fans and journalists. Facebook is the most widely used social network in the world and is key for gaining exposure for your projects.

Realistically examine how much time you have to devote to social media or how much of a budget you can allocate to getting outside help. Choose a few targeted sites to focus on before spreading your brand too thin. Cultivating a loyal fan base on one or two networks is more valuable than attracting unengaged followers on several networks. If you're able to follow accounts, such as on sites like Twitter and Google+, target accounts that you enjoy or that could benefit your brand if they follow back or interact with you. If a follow-back isn't immediate, be patient. Respond to their posts, and tell them why you admire them to get them interested in what you're working on and get them motivated to follow you back.

Determine Your Messaging

Every message you disseminate on social media is a reflection of your personal and professional brand, so think wisely before clicking "post." To optimise your social media efforts, it's best to post, measure and refine so that you're continuously evolving your messaging to ensure it's resonating with followers. Vary messaging so that you're not just posting marketing messages, and experiment with times and days of the week you're posting to see when people are reacting in the highest volume. Ask your followers their opinions, share news from other people you respect in the social space and always ask, "Will this message benefit my followers?" before posting. For example, identity protection service LifeLock creates blogs with useful information their followers are interested in and shares them on Twitter in an effort to help, rather than sell. If you're just promoting yourself, you might turn followers off.

It's also vital to interact with followers to build relationships and turn them into brand advocates who will spread news about your next film for you. If you give them behind-the-scenes access to what you're working on, like Sundance Institute recommends, tell them you'd love their opinion on what they see. Respond to comments and treat followers as you would friends in real life. It not only helps you get valuable insight for your project, but on networks such as Facebook, the more interaction a post gets, the better it is for your profile's performance in the network's algorithm. By showing an interest in your followers, they'll be more likely to show an interest in your film and tell their friends about it, too.