Twitter is the easiest social media tool to master because, with its short 140-character limit, it's little more than a glorified sandwich board.
It can also be a huge waste of time if you're not careful. Here are a couple of things I've learned from my twitter dealings:
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Twitter Tip No.1: Follow to Be FollowedI know, it's spammy and unethical, right? To just mass-follow people so they'll follow you back?
Yeah. But it totally works.
If there's a group of people you'd like to target, such as agents or producers or directors, then look at who they follow. Then follow that user's followers.
For instance, if I want to target up-and-coming actors, then I'd follow casting directors.
If I wanted to target new feature directors, I'd target existing directors like Jon Favreau or Ron Howard, or maybe the twitter handle for a certain high-end digital camera manufacturer.
If I wanted to go after agents, I'd follow @PrinceOfDarkness. (Kidding. Sort of.)
Now this assumes you will tweet out cool stuff, not just spam people. (If you want to do that, this isn't the book for you.)
Don't EVER use automated tools to follow people — ones that do all the following for you overnight. They suck and will get your account banned.
And if somebody follows you, don't un-follow them. (That's just bad mojo.)
Here's a twitter-following formula I use:
Follow 50 or so people three times a week.Wait three days. If they don't follow you back, un-follow them.Rinse and repeat.I find about 30 percent of people you follow will automatically follow you back, so you'll have a thousand followers in no time. Which means a thousand more people that might get your script on a producer’s desk.
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Twitter Tip No.2: Tweet Funny Stuff, Not Your Own ShitDon't bug people to read your script or beg them to introduce you to Harvey Weinstein. Send out funny links to stuff about the business. Or cool photos. Or links to weird videos. Anything that gives people a little break from their stressed-out lives.
Some social media gurus advise you to keep the self-promotional stuff down to 25 percent of your overall tweets.
I think you should strive for more of an 80/20 mix. (80 percent fun stuff, 20 percent self-promotional.)
This means for every five tweets, you're allowed to send out one that's about you.
And when you finally ask for something like, “Anybody know a producer who's looking for a quirky comedy about South Dakota politics?”
They're more likely to not just help...but they could actually be interested in reading your script!
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Twitter Tip No.3: Stick to a ScheduleTweeting once a day is okay, but 2-3 times a day, or more, is ideal. Remember, during the day, people are busy.
Send out funny pictures and short stuff during the day and leave the long videos and blog posts for the evening.
Note: Re-tweeting other people's tweets is probably the best way to get their attention. (We’re a vain species. Especially in southern California.)
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No.4: Go for the Gold on Sunday NightSunday nights, about 5:30 PST, is like prime-time Super Bowl viewing for twitter. Make sure you target your quest for help around that time to reach the most people.
Just make sure you do so in a non-threatening, self-deprecating way. Make it fun to help you. (And people usually will.)
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Facebook: Where “Friend” Is a VerbFacebook is the 1000-lb. gorilla of social networks. It's also the one social network people feel most protective about.
Unlike Twitter, Facebook is like a private clubhouse where the kids want to keep anybody out who doesn't belong. You’ve gotta tread carefully.
However, for building connections, Facebook can be staggeringly effective. Here are some best practices for screenwriters using Facebook:
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Facebook Tip No.1: Go Friend CrazyAdd as many new connections as you possibly can. If you're in a film class, add everybody you can. If you're in a writer’s group, add them. If you meet somebody on a laptop at Starbucks working on a script, add them.
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Facebook Tip No.2: Use What Ya GotScour your existing social network to see if they have connections based in New York, L.A., or London. Chances are, they know “somebody” in the business. One quality referral can be worth more than 25 cold email queries.
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Tip No.3: Think About THEM FirstGive before you get. As with Twitter, post a lot of cool stuff before you get all clingy and ask for something. Once a day is usually good for Facebook; any more can turn people off.
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Facebook Tip No.4: Let Fans InsideShare your writing process with people. This will make people feel connected to your writing success.
If you've got a question about something your characters might or might not do, ask your Facebook crew. People just love to answer questions on Facebook, so for God sakes let them!
By the time you're ready to circulate your script, people in your network might just know somebody who can do for you than give you a “like.”
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Facebook Tip No.5: Power of a Good QuestionAsk questions. Don’t plead for help. Instead of saying, “I want to sell my script,” instead say, “Anybody have any advice on how to get a horror comedy script read?” See how one seems self-serving, and the other seems like a puzzle for the brain to solve?
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YouTube, We All TubeAh…YouTube. The land of piano-playing cats and bad Justin Bieber covers.
I can't tell you exactly how putting a video on YouTube can transform your career.
But YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world — not just video site, but search engine. If you want eyeballs, and lots, you can find them on YouTube.
And a cool, interesting video can go viral much quicker than anything you could spend years writing. (“South Park” came to the attention of Comedy Central as a viral video passed around by Fox development executives.)
So here are a few YouTube strategies that might pay off:
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YouTube Tip No.1: Video Your PitchIf you've finished your script, and registered it with the WGA, put your pitch on YouTube. (A cool way to do it might be with sock puppets or action figures.) Just don’t take yourself too seriously.
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YouTube Tip No.2: WebisodesIf you've got film-making skill, why not film shorts each week to show off your writing chops? Not only is it a great way to boost your skills, but it can also be a calling card to getting your script read.
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YouTube Tip No.3: Be FunnyCan you do funny movie reviews that people would subscribe to? Can you tell funny stories about your grandma working her DVD player? Can you pull off a satire of popular movies that suck? Try some crazy, off-the-wall strategies. You’d be surprised by what might pay off.
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YouTube Tip No. 4: Create Your Own TrailerWhy wait for the studio marketing department to abuse your script? With a decent film-editing software suite, you could throw together a trailer for your script in a couple hours. You could even add in casting ideas and a couple lines from your script.
Just make sure you don’t cast Natalie Portman in your project. She’s mine, dammit!
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