There are about 186 million users on Twitter sending 500 million+ tweets sent each day, which comes out to approximately 200 billion tweets per year. Instagram users post more than 95 million photos and videos per day, or about 34 billion pieces of content per year, and if you’re brave enough to jump into TikTok, you’re joining 600 million users who post almost every day. It’s time to get smart about your hashtags.
Read MoreAttending three webinars a day is totally the new normal, right? Team Smarthouse has been attending A LOT of webinars since social distancing has been in place, with a focus on listening to people talk about the current state of film festivals and learning as much as we can about how festival organizers are adapting to the industry's changing landscape.
We have pages and pages of notes from our learnings, but here are the top five things we thought would be most helpful for indie filmmakers:
Read MoreThere are three essential elements to every successful film release campaign: a trailer, a logline, and a poster. These are the items that any potential viewer will have at their disposal prior to making a decision about what to watch.
Read MoreIt will be especially difficult if you don’t have any big names attached, so how can you rise above the noise and get the attention your film deserves from the media? These seven practical tips will help put you on the path to success.
Read MoreCongratulations! You just received your first film festival acceptance email! Now what?
If you’re a new filmmaker experiencing the film festival circuit for the first time, you probably have a lot of questions about what happens next. This article is for you.
Read MoreWriting the perfect logline is a meticulous pursuit. Equal parts creative inspiration and fastidious editing, the logline, along with the title, poster and trailer, is one of the four key marketing elements of your film. Your logline is both sizzle and steak, so you better make sure it whets the appetite of your intended audience.
Read MoreAs a filmmaker and an entrepreneur, I’ve made a lot of pitches. I’ve pitched start-up ideas, apps, screenplays, and myself to a variety of decision-makers. I’ve also taught workshops on how to make an effective pitch. But, it wasn’t until I rewatched the Season Eight finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones that I noticed what turns out to be a near-perfect example of a pitch that makes people literally sit up and take notice.
Read MorePlanning your film, no matter how thrifty you can be with sets and equipment, is a daunting enterprise. Including a little extra for a publicist before you even begin shooting can seem like a luxury. So why is it worth it? Well, why make a film if no one sees it? A publicist is your best advocate for outreach, press coverage, and generally putting a good face on your project.
Read MoreBecause social media is an ever-changing landscape, it can be hard to know where to spend your time, effort, and budget in order to get the word out about your project. Earlier this year, I participated in an “Ask Me Anything” marketing forum and answered questions about social media and digital marketing.
Here are some highlights that small biz owners may find useful:
Read MoreMovie posters are works of art. When done right, they can be iconic, collectible, and set the tone for your entire marketing campaign — but their first purpose is to be effective tools for getting people to watch your movie. Here’s what to consider when creating your one-sheet.
Read MoreSmarthouse co-founder and principal, Brad Wilke, presented our hybrid film marketing, audience engagement and personal branding workshop, Bridging the Indie Gap, to a full house of filmmakers and industry members at the 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Check out this video of the full 60-minute workshop we've developed to help indie filmmakers leap across what Brad has coined “The Indie Gap” – the divide between filmmaking as a hobby and filmmaking as a sustainable career.
Read MoreAlmost all of our independent film clients have questions about the appropriate size of their respective digital advertising budgets. It’s a tough question mainly because there isn’t a simple, one-size-fits-all answer. Of course, it would be great to have unlimited resources but, as I’m sure many of you reading this already know, that is almost never the case when it comes to independent artists.
And that’s why Smarthouse created our online ad budget calculator tool!
Read MoreYou’ve made a documentary and now you’re looking to find your audience. Maybe you’re hoping to partner with an organization that could help you connect with viewers. But where to start?
Luckily, a webinar featuring Caitlin Boyle from Film Sprout and Keith Ochwat from Filmmaker.MBA explained how your film’s message can propel your direct distribution campaign and build a revenue stream.
Read MoreIf you’re serious about making a splash, you need to be serious about your marketing campaign. But, that doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on your ads in order to make it work. You do, however, need to be smart about your platforms and your audience targeting.
The following case study will help illustrate, in practical terms, how an independent filmmaker might approach this data-intensive process.
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