Knowing who your niche audience are can be the keystone (the central aspect on which various other elements depend) of having a 'successful' documentary film. ('Success' being relative, of course!)
Let's find yours!
What Is A Niche Audience?
Your niche audience are the group of people who will watch, buy and champion your documentary film. They are the ones who will want to know how soon and where they can see it, how they can receive updates on it being made, may want to know how they can help and will tell all their friends about its existence.
This group of people is at the center of your funding and distribution strategies and finding and connecting with them should be top of your list of priorities from day one.
You may be imagining that your film is for everyone (which no film is) and it may feel counter-intuitive to focus on such a small group of people. However, we assure you that by focusing on your niche audience you are not limiting the potential and scope of your distribution strategy, you are giving it the strongest and most viable foundation that you can.
Note: We use the term niche audience, however, target or core audience can also be used. These definitions mean similar things - the main group of people your film will appeal to.
Why Do We Want A Niche Audience?
So you know what a niche audience is, but why do you want one?
• You will have a core, focused group of fans
Identifying your niche audience allows you to tap into an energized, excited group of people who will form an engaged, active and responsive community of supporters. What filmmaker would not want that for their film?
• They will want to hear from you
Being a group of people who really want to know about what is happening with your film and eventually get to watch it, your niche audience will be incredibly keen to hear from you and know how the project is evolving. It is so much more exciting to be creating a film and other content – via blogs, newsletter and social media postings – for a group of people who are excited about it.
• You may receive information and resources you didn't expect
When you begin to connect with your niche audience you may find that they are able to offer relevant knowledge, information, footage, resources and connections that you would otherwise not have had access to.
• Assistance with fundraising
They can assist in funding your film in multiple ways. By donating to your project directly. By promoting your fundraising campaigns – whether that be crowdfunding campaigns, fundraising events or by introducing you to other potential donors.
By engaging with you - through social media, email and your website - which can help you to form partnerships, sponsorships and help support your grant-based funding applications, by proving an interest in your film.
Our Experience When we ran our crowdfunding campaign for Elvis of Cambodia in 2014 we were amazed by the response we had from our niche audience. Not only did they share our campaign, but several even offered products and services to those who donated to our project. They created their own rewards and incentives for others to donate to the film! This definitely created additional buzz and support and helped us reach our goal. In addition, others ran fundraising events in their local areas to help contribute and make our campaign a success. Do not underestimate the potentially immense power of your niche audience to get behind your film and help to make it a reality. |
• You will know where to find them and how to reach them
When you know who your niche audience are you will discover what groups they belong to, where they hang out in person and online, and what social media platforms they utilize. This will make updating and mobilizing them much easier.
Some things to consider:
• What social media platforms do they utilize?
• What publications do they subscribe to or frequently consume the content of?
• What is some of the key language this niche audience uses?
• Where do they hang out?
• What do they spend their leisure time doing?
• What are they spending their disposable income on?
• How fiscally secure are they?
• Why is your film so appealing to this niche audience?
• Does it speak to a cause they believe in?
• Does it capture emotive aspects of their own experiences?
You want to meet your niche audience where they are and speaking a language that resonates with them.
Also, importantly, don’t forget to determine the why for their enthusiasm in your project. They are highly interested in your film for a reason. Why is that?
You want information on this so that you can connect with them and also so you can convey this reason, feeling or emotion in the language and tone with which you promote your film when you launch.
• You can make the most out of your marketing budget
As an independent documentary filmmaker your resources for promotion and marketing will probably be limited, so having a niche or core audience that you have developed a clear and knowledgeable understanding of allows you to make the most of the money you have to launch more targeted, and effective, campaigns.
• Free publicity
By knowing your niche audience you will be able to generate free publicity for your film as you develop partnerships with relevant organizations, groups, businesses and foundations. They can share your film with their members, clients or followers (who are also your target market).
You will also receive publicity as you connect with relevant influencers, bloggers, publications and other media outlets who can share stories and insights about your film to their audience (who are, of course, also your target market).
These partnerships and promotions are able to work so effectively when you have a reliable, and preferably tested knowledge, of who your niche audience are. For more see the Partnerships tutorial in module 8.
• Word-of-mouth promotion
Your niche audience will be the biggest, and most effective, advocates and promoters of your film. This is known as grassroots promotion.
Grassroots definition: Ordinary people regarded as the main body of an organization's membership.
These 'ordinary people' who happen to care about your film (it's topic, theme, main character or whatever reason they are drawn to it) will spread the word to others. This could be very helpful to your promotions budget.
• Helps to inform distribution strategy
Getting clear on where and how your niche audience consumes media content will help to determine the best platforms and experiences that will be relevant for them.
Perhaps your niche audience enjoy viewing content together and are often meeting up socially? Then perhaps community screenings would be something you would prioritize.
Perhaps they spend large amounts of time online and rarely watch content outside the home? Then selling your film as a download on your website and having it available on online platforms may be the best option for you.
This is really helpful information to have.
Find out the following:
• Where and how do they enjoy watching films and consuming other media content?
• How computer savvy are they?
• Do they like to download film’s and watch them on their laptops or other devices?
• Do they subscribe to online film subscription services?
• Do they enjoy going to the theater or venues outside the home? How frequently are they doing this?
• Do they regularly come together as a community to engage and share with one another?
• Do they predominantly live in remote or rural locations?
• Do they represent or support other groups or communities?
The more you can learn about their viewing and lifestyle habits the easier it will be for you to determine the best viewing platforms you should be utilizing in your distribution strategy.
This list is not exhaustive, but as I’m sure you can see, knowing your niche audience is important when considering and strategizing for multiple key aspects of your film.
Discovering Who They Are and Reaching Out
In this video we will share with you how to uncover who your niche audience are, how to confirm that you have found the right group and how you can reach out to them.
Finding Your Niche Audience and Being Ready
In this video we will share with you how to locate your niche audience and what you will want to have prepared before you reach out to them.
Takeaways
Knowing who your niche audience are is a keystone to making and launching a successful film.
Your niche audience are the group of people who want to watch, buy, champion and promote your documentary film. They will support it through to fruition and launch.
Finding your niche audience should be top of your priorities and central to your funding and distribution strategies.
By focusing on your niche audience you are NOT limiting the scope of your potential film audience.
In addition, you may discover resources you would otherwise not have found and you can make the most out of your marketing budget and the free publicity you will garner through word of mouth from your niche audience.
Create a list of potential groups you feel could be your niche audience (the people who are most excited, impacted or motivated by your film) and then test your theory.
Market research = Finding your people
Three key groups which will help you determine if you have the correct niche audience for your film will be 1. Individuals, 2. Organizations and Companies and 3. Bloggers, Influencers and Media Outlets.
Find your niche audience on social media, inside online communities, at events and conferences, at meet ups or in person gatherings and through a google search.
Before reaching out try to have a good grasp on your film, have your elevator pitch memorized and, preferably, a visual representation of your film through a trailer or promotional video. You should also have a website or webpage with information about your film.
Have an open mind and keep looking until you find that core group of fanatical fans who are going to champion and want your film to be successful almost as much as you do.