The kinds of posts that used to work don't anymore. You can't just phone it in, tossing chum in the water to gain interest, referrals, leads, goodwill. Nowadays, you have to take the "self" out of self promotion, and promote something the community has a stake in, and will reap rewards from. It's about turning your audience from being benefactors to beneficiaries when you put stuff out there. Mike Woolf, Founder and Film/Video Director at Beef & Pie Productions in Austin, puts it succinctly: "It used to be, 'Look at my latest!' and that was that. Now you need more depth."
Woolf's team now utilizes what he calls "passion projects" and "usable insights" to truly connect with audiences. On a crowdfunded basis, Beef & Pie recently completed a series of ten short documentaries about an iconic mural near the University of Texas campus in Austin dating back to 1973. The mural represents a mysterious time capsule of 70s-era Austin musicians, politicos, outlaws, saloons, urban legends, you name it. Beef & Pie seized the opportunity to expand the film into a full-on cultural education and preservation effort, with an interactive "mural experience" embedded with details on everything depicted in the mural. Beef & Pie's community rallied around the project.
"Anyone's passion project–someting that truly drives and consumes them–is more interesting and worthwhile to others than just the latest client success story," says Woolf. "It may not be driving revenue, but it's resonating with people." He also believes that "behind-the-scenes " glimpses of work in production that showcase the craft of filmmaking also draw strong responses. "Folks appreciate it when you don't just show 'the thing' and instead show all the spirit and care and commitment that went into 'the thing,'" he adds.
Let's be clear: sharing more meaningful content with online audiences that intrigues and inspires doesn't just benefit the one doing the posting. All of us get better odds of seeing something that might change our perspective, or at least change our day for the better. That beats a silly blurb any day.
