The term social media can be defined as:
“Many online tools that
allow people with similar interests to share information, learn from others, or
network in an open process. The information found on these sites is commonly
referred to as ‘user-generated content, which means anyone is able to
post with minimal restrictions or oversight.” (Wilson, 2010)
The
effectiveness with which a film is marketed is an important factor in its success.
Before the Internet, production companies had to advertise to their customers
via print media. Handmade posters are used to adorn billboards,
buses, and city streets. However, the trend is still in practice, but the
handmade posters have been replaced by digital ones. Trailers were used to
help sell forthcoming films after cinema became a big industry. Not just for
movies, but also for commercial organizations and departments, the industry
started to grow. Movies that do not use this kind of promotion risk failing to
attract an audience and losing money paid by studios. Both parties are now
using social media in their campaigns in order to increase revenues and reach a
larger audience.
A
viewer's trip through a film is divided into three phases: pre-release,
release, and post-release of the film. Pre-release advertising is used to
provide an impression of a film before it is released. It includes elements
such as the release of songs, the publication of first-look posters, teasers,
and interviews on social media platforms. Actors and all the film's collaborators
give live interviews on the day of the film's debut, both in person at the
theatre and, more importantly, by going live on social networking platforms
like Instagram and Facebook.
Over
the past five years, freelance filmmakers and large production companies have
dominated the social media scene. According to a study performed by Chong Oh,
“the more a movie studio is prepared to communicate with its fans through
social media the more probable it is to have a larger WOM [Word-Of-Mouth]
volume. This consequently enhances the chance of having a stronger
opening-weekend box office performance” (as reported in science 2.0). Some of
the top social networks that production companies have utilized to advertise
their films include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn,
and Pinterest.
If
we talk about freelance filmmakers, they may get continuous real-time feedback
from their viewers, which is a tremendous method to help them grow both technically
and artistically. What's amazing about this change is that it's taking place in
a really natural way. The fact that these filmmakers are already utilizing
these social media sites for their personal life which makes it simple for them
to use them to promote and advertise their films. Production firms, on the
other hand, are increasingly using social media to promote and advertise their
films. This is to protect the reputations of the producing corporations, but
things are changing quickly. Even though Hollywood spent millions of dollars
promoting James Cameron's sci-fi epic 'Avatar,' a large part of the film's
success was due to its social media campaign. "Avatar has its own Facebook
(Facebook), Myspace (Myspace), and Twitter (Twitter) sites," says Samuel
Axon. That's becoming the norm these days.
Taking
the case study from the Bollywood industry, the film 'Baahubali' was one of the
most recent instances. It came up with a variety of organic, viral campaigning
ideas, such as a picture frame contest, Baahubali Comics, Facebook-related
stickers, and so on. "Why did Kattappa murder Baahubali?" become a
popular question. The fact that the official Facebook page has a following of
4.21 million people attests to the effectiveness of these initiatives.
To
sum up, with the introduction of social media, viewers' connection with films,
celebrities, artists, and other media has taken on a whole new meaning. Whereas, there are many other synergies across
various platforms that would prove to be a great source of entertainment
industry’s advertisement and provide several development opportunities, such as
e-commerce, payment gateways, booking websites, merchandize and fashion
portals, and so on.
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