In order to advertise cinema, movies, the film industry, anything in that gene pool, you have to learn how to market yourself in social media. It sounds dumb and elementary, but it's the truth; networking takes practice and it takes skill, the notion of adaptation and the willingness to learn new technologies and advancements before everyone else does so that you're ahead of the game. So, within reason, Instagram is important. Why? People could believe it's just for photographs and for menial things like keeping up with your friends and their daily lives, the simple and dumb things they post on a daily basis. How on Earth can you use a medium like this to benefit you professional, or to at least use it wisely?
However, Instagram is a really great advertising tool.
It's also something that can make and break said advertising.
I wasn't aware you could, honestly. When we were asked to use Instagram, I immediately groaned because my phone's camera is absolutely atrocious and the app dies every twenty seconds when I try to upload. I had no clue what to post photos about because I pretty much do a solid nothing during the day that's note-worthy for photos. Did that deter me from using Instagram? Not entirely, but I tried to do my best with the project in general. I went along and posted some movie stubs and some of the photos at work (I work at a movie theater, if you didn't already know by the sixty thousand times I've said it.) and sometimes part of my work to fill the quota of three posts a week.
What was weird was the fact that I saw patterns, and while I knew that my movie stub obsession was just a personal preference, I decided to take a step deeper into the rabbit hole. Did other people do this, too?
Turns out, they did. In fact, a lot of people did.
However, Instagram is a really great advertising tool.
It's also something that can make and break said advertising.
I wasn't aware you could, honestly. When we were asked to use Instagram, I immediately groaned because my phone's camera is absolutely atrocious and the app dies every twenty seconds when I try to upload. I had no clue what to post photos about because I pretty much do a solid nothing during the day that's note-worthy for photos. Did that deter me from using Instagram? Not entirely, but I tried to do my best with the project in general. I went along and posted some movie stubs and some of the photos at work (I work at a movie theater, if you didn't already know by the sixty thousand times I've said it.) and sometimes part of my work to fill the quota of three posts a week.
What was weird was the fact that I saw patterns, and while I knew that my movie stub obsession was just a personal preference, I decided to take a step deeper into the rabbit hole. Did other people do this, too?
Turns out, they did. In fact, a lot of people did.
Hashtags important to the cause came from #cinema, #film, #moviestub, #movietheater, and #movie. People would post hundreds of photos with their friends waiting for a movie to start, but the biggest trend I noticed was the movie stub. It was as though people wanted to say 'Hey, I'm here! I did something! I'm out and I'm living life and you're not!' Generally that's what Instagram seems to be used for: to boast about life. To brag that, while people are scrolling through their feeds, your photos pop up and you are having a happy and fun life.
And in a way, it devotes a discourse community with the serious movie goers, the ones (hey!) who spend every week at the theater to watch the latest flick and to show just how many films they've seen in order to form full opinions on the subject matter. A discourse community, if you didn't already know, happens to focus on a group of people that surround themselves with a common communication method to discuss goals and the same interests, this being the movies. Instagram can bring these people together, start discussions because you can post that you've seen the film. I believe it ties in with Ana's project on instagram about friendship and posting it on the internet.
Check out Ana's awesome blog here.
Yet, how genuine are these discussions? The downside to these photographs can be crucial to a film's box office, and this is where the advertising part comes in. Films can be promoted just by the actors and producers alone, but if it's not snappy enough, if it's not innovative and capturing, too much publicity -- especially bad -- can hurt a film. Advertising on Instagram is one thing, but what if word gets out that it's bad? Social media has hurt films tremendously considering one bad review and the world goes up in flames about it. Bye-bye box office.
So does Instagram help business or help anyone at all? Time will tell. The app is young and it succeeds in joining people together, but it also has a negative connotation behind it if people post with the wrong intentions. It could be a positive place, it is a positive place, but a few towers tumble and it can turn ugly really fast for the outside world if these people keep themselves so self-contained in only relying on opinions of others rather than going out to see something for themselves. What it is is manipulative, makes you think you have to take these photos in order to credit whatever you're doing with your life, and the farther you crawl down into the rabbit hole, the more toxic the site can be.