Cheree Dillion, Kristin McCracken, Gary Hustwit, Roz Murphy, Marisa Vitale, Angela Tucker, Elisabeth Holme, and Jorge Rivera.
The power of social media in independent film is undeniable. Which is why filmmakers want to know how can social media can increase their film’s visibility and audience reach.
Held on November 21, Create the Buzz, Audience Will Follow was the second installment of NYWIFT’s DIY Series and focused on engaging and connecting with your audience. I was thrilled to moderate the talented panel, which featured Elisabeth Holme (producer, Welcome to Pine Hill), social media consultant Kristin McCracken, Gary Hustwit (director, Helvetica), Jorge Rivera (writer, Lenox Avenue), and Angela Tucker (producer, AfroPop, The New Black).
With diverse experience in film, TV, and web series as well as with Kickstarter campaigns, the panelists offered tips on leveraging social media to promote your project:
- Building your audience before production begins is a key part of successful distribution. Interact with fans/audience members. They are your advocates as well as your audience
- A social media plan can help build an audience that will watch and share your film
- Start wherever you currently have an online presence and build from there
- Utilize social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram not just to promote films but also to cast, staff, and fund projects
- Drive sales and viewers for your film by building a social community where filmmakers can reach out directly to the audience
- Storytelling is vital to successful social engagement. Social media allows you to extend your reach
- Create content that entertains and educates
- Post/update consistently
- Support your peers’ projects
The speakers discussed their storytelling campaigns. Tucker talked about engaging her fan base across multiple social media channels. While, Hustwit shared the importance providing interesting content and engaging with followers. Holme, who is Kickstarter’s film program director, encouraged filmmakers to use social media to not only raise funds but also build an audience community.
A big thanks to our speakers, attendees, and my DIY series co-producers Cheree Dillion and Marisa Vitale.
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Chicava Roslyn Tate
Welcome to NYWIFT, Chicava Roslyn Tate! Chicava is a burlesque artist, actor, producer, and leading scholar of Black women in burlesque. For more than 15 years, she served as Creative Producer of New York City's Brown Girls Burlesque, developing political and theatrical shows across the United States and internationally. She holds an MFA from Goddard College, where her studies focused on Black burlesque herstory, Taoism, and sacred sexuality. Chicava’s work spans performance, film, and scholarship, including directing The Skin I’m In, co-writing and directing Becoming Betty Page, and developing the docu-series Black Bombshells, which explores the history and cultural legacy of Black women in burlesque and pinup. As an actor, she has appeared in Chock Full Till Empty, Nicole Franklin’s Title VII, and Spike Lee’s film She Hate Me. In our interview, Chicava reflected on her creative journey, the overlooked history of Black women in burlesque, and the projects she is developing to preserve and celebrate this cultural legacy.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Nicole Murray
Welcome to NYWIFT, Nicole Murray! Nicole is a producer, writer, actor, and co-founder of Svelte Dog Productions. She has produced and acted in various productions, including the feature films Tim Travers and the Time Traveler’s Paradox and Death Perception, both receiving distribution this year. Under the Svelte Dog umbrella, she has also produced, co-wrote, and starred in the award-winning short 3 Easy Steps and the short Run Out Groove, which premiered in the Platinum Showcase at Outfest. Svelte Dog prioritizes representation in film, and both projects consisted of a team of an entirely women and non-binary cast and crew. Nicole comes from a science background, with years of research experience in the addiction and individual differences fields. Get to know her in our latest interview!
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Rachel Fleit
Welcome to NYWIFT, Rachel Fleit! Rachel is a writer, director, and producer known for her intimate, character-driven storytelling across documentary and narrative film and television. With a background in fashion and business, Rachel brings both creative sensitivity and an entrepreneurial mindset to her work, balancing artistic vision with thoughtful leadership. Rachel directed the acclaimed documentary Introducing, Selma Blair and has helmed projects including Bama Rush and Sugar Babies, each reflecting her commitment to emotional honesty and layered storytelling. Her latest award-winning documentary, The Slightest Touch—which follows the extraordinary friendship between Emma Fogarty, who lives with epidermolysis bullosa, and actor Colin Farrell—has been acquired by HBO Documentary Films and is slated to premiere later this year on HBO Max. In our interview, she reflected on building trust with her subjects, navigating personal and cultural storytelling, and the creative directions she’s most excited to explore next.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Alyssa Lomuscio
Welcome to NYWIFT, Alyssa Lomuscio! Alyssa Lomuscio is a TV editor, story producer, and assistant director based in NYC. Her work as a story producer has earned her two Daytime Emmy award nominations in the Outstanding Lifestyle Program category. She is also a science fiction writer of short stories, novels and screenplays under the pen name A.M. Lomuscio. A 2019 Clarion writer’s workshop alum, her short fiction can be found in Apex magazine and Uncharted. In our interview, Alyssa discussed her time balancing being an AD and a writer and shared stories of working in TV.
READ MORE
