The term “Kony 2012” is met with roll of the eyes these days,
depending on who hears it. Yet when the short film was unveiled in March 2012
on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Jason Russell provided hiss viewers a harsh reality
not seen by many until they logged into their trusted social media sources. It
was through those platforms that carried the short documentary to the public
eye with light speed recognition. Yet while “Kony2012” is sometimes considered a
commonplace term, dare we say old news,
its reach exemplifies the impact social media platforms like Facebook have on
news documentaries and social awareness campaigns.
When one is determined enough to create a campaign or visual
representation of that campaign it needs a vehicle to reach an audience. While
many of these projects don’t come with the monetary backing of Hollywood, it is
left to the producer or the filmmaker behind the title to promote their project
on their own terms. Often times coffee houses or concert venues and bookstores gained
a strong reputation in the past as means or promoting or hosting screenings of
news documentaries or awareness campaigns. That’s not to say that these means
of promotion are no longer viable, they continue to support independent media
in the same fashion they always have, but we live in a digital age that moves
faster than we’d often like to admit.
Social media has become a means of social and economical existence
in today’s world. It’s affordable, fast and it integrates different media
platforms while keeping its content interactive.
Yet in order for one to succeed in reaching and impacting
the masses by means of a documentary or visual awareness campaign, the answer
is simple. Facebook. Yet before one starts bombarding the Timelines of
potential fans with their newest idyllic documentary trailers and teasers, there
are several key ideas to keep in mind when using Facebook as a mode of
promotion.
- Know your audience – Depending on what the project is and what you want it to say, you must first consider what is a target audience you hope to reach? If it’s a topic that affects everyone globally, young and old, use simple language that is short and to the point when posting a link to a video or interview or a graphic that pertains to your project. Take for instance, Matt Shea from Vice.com who provides his audience with topics that span all interests, such as his most current story, “The Raving Outlaw Biker-Druids And Their 1575-Year-Old King”. Any real raving, outlaw, biking anglophile would be interested in what Shea has to say, or they should.
- Stay personable and current – Nothing is worse than finding links in your News Feed that were the same that you encountered 3 days prior. It reflects laziness and lack of interest. Add a personal message to each post and post several times a day with different content each time.
- Expect criticism – You put yourself out there, you put your heart into a project you believe will mold young hearts and minds, and some religious extremist or sociopathic redneck blasts you on every post you add to the news feed. Expect that. It’s an open forum for all who joined Facebook to add their two cents. Those same critics probably wrote, and rewrote, and rewrote, and deleted and rewrote their comment 5 times over before posting that. Keep that in mind if it gets under your skin. Their opinions mean nil in the grand scheme of things.
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/kony-video-proves-social-medias-role-youth-news-source-pew-455365
http://www.vice.com/read/all-hail-king-arthur-uther-pendragon?utm_source=vicefbus
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