Here we are at an afternoon panel moderated by Scott Kirsner, who runs the Cinematech blog. The basic question it aims to answer is: how do filmmakers, musicians and artists successfully create audiences online?
Someone in the audience called it an anti-marketing panel as all the panelists have taken grassroots approaches: They are Markos Moulitsas, aka Kos of the massive US politics blog Daily Kos (he’s also third in Forbes’ top 25 web celebs); artist Natasha Wescoat; musician Johnathan Coulton; Burnie Burns, creator of game-culture comedy video site Red vs. Blue; and Brett Gaylor, a filmmaker friend of mine from Montreal, whose film Rip: A Remix Manifesto is premiering here.
- Coulton says he gave his audience variety and let them choose what they liked; he also encouraged mashups, and videos of his songs using World of Warcraft footage, made by fans, have had millions of views; he also notes that “coming soon” appeals are useless online — if you can’t give them something right now, you’re wasting their time
- Moulitsas sought out a niche (political statistics and foreign policy) and made sure to brand his site so it would be remembered; he
- Burns, like Moulitsas, started in an underdeveloped niche; they also had a good audience (Halo players) and then made sure to update regularly and consistently
- Gaylor gave audiences simple calls to action and emphasised transparency; he notes you have to work to engage with the community that his audience comes from
Daily Kos gets 95 percent of its revenue from advertising and 5 percent from subscribers (who pay to not see advertising). It’s a seven-figure operation, he says, with a paid staff of nine. He hasn’t spent anything on traditional marketing. Instead, he uses tools that relate to his context, e.g., he pays to have polling done, which allows him to create news and generate more traffic.
Gaylor says it’s still important to spend on a publicist if you want coverage, especially given the contraction of big media budgets. Maybe, says Coulton, but if your audience is internet savvy, they can smell (and avoid) marketing from miles away.
There’s a consensus that “non-marketing marketing” is synonymous with a lot of work. Every panelist notes that their efforts to stay engaged with their audiences often keep them from their work.
Best quote, from Burns, who just started using Twitter two days ago: “I can’t learn to use this stuff as fast as other people are learning how to hate it.”
Image from Red vs. Blue.
1 Comment...
Nice post JM.
It funny how the approach to non-marketing marketing is seen to be too much work. How do they equate this? Is there a financial rule of thumb like the 80 – 20. Surly having an engaged group/community can do more for you perceived brand values than a leaflet drops can ever do?