Created by the team at Conducttr, the integrated storytelling, gaming and marketing platform for content creators.

You can try all the examples in this document.

And of course everything can be created with Conducttr with no or minimal coding.

Signup NOW for a FREE 30 Day Trial http://www.conducttr.com

To share this document with a friend, simply email the word SHARE to training@conducttr.com and include your friend’s email address –

Conducttr will automatically take care of the rest.

Please feel free to share this document widely.

Find a supporting character from your web series or movie story and make them the star of the social media. This leverages your skills as a storyteller to create compelling content that draws the audience in.

Tell their story on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and email.

Make sure you integrate the social media stories and the story in the web series or movie - both in terms of plot and with URLs.

Invite the audience to join a faction or a character's inner circle and send weekly emails that are in-world and build out the story.

Keep the email as email - don't send short stories or use it like a blog.

It can be easier to use email as worldbuilding rather than for plot or subplot content. Use it to stimulate imagination.

Find the hooks inside the email to link back to the web series or movie.

Drive traffic to your site with active calls-to-action on all your print media.

Consider first capturing emails and then send to the web series or movie.

Make the calls-to-action in-world to join a faction or register a vote or opinion.

Use two channels to build a relationship with your audience: an in-world channel from the characters and institutions in the storyworld and an out-of-world channel from the Producer.

In the out-of-world channel, introduce yourself and thank the audience member for subscribing.

Use this channel sparingly or use it to inform about new episodes if you can't do it in world

Personalizing communications not only creates relevance but can create a “wow” moment when you demonstrate how real your storyworld really is.

And don't just add someone's name! Remind them how many points they have or thank them for voting in the last email.

If you‘ve put the audience into storyworld factions, tailor the email from a specific character and relate it to the story events.

If you plan live events, use a drop-down in your signup form to request a location.

Now when you come to screen or exhibit your work you can target emails and SMS to people in local areas.

And you can personalize communications even further with neat localizations referring to local landmarks or local languages.

Provide referral links that fans want to share: eCards, fun or mysterious content.

Make it fun and easy for a fan to strengthen their relationship with someone else. Imagine your content as a social object – it’s a gift from one friend to another. Is your content a gift they want to give?

SMS and phone calls add additional cost but nothing gets attention quite like an SMS.

Sending a call-to-action in an SMS is really useful if you plan to hold live events or screenings to activate the audience on the day to give that final nudge to have them come out.

The same applies for first day sales when your web series or movie comes out on Hulu, Amazon, Netflix and such.

An auto-answer phone message can immediately immerse the audience in your storyworld.

The incoming caller number creates a new entry in your audience database and you can continue the immersion with an auto-callback or auto-SMS reply at a future time or date.

Invite your audience to imagine what it's like to live in your storyworld and have them to share their imaginary lives with you on social media.

Schedule regular calls-to-action either via email or social media that inspire imagination and ask for participation.

Allowing your audience to role play gives them a special place in the storyworld and makes them a stakeholder. Using this approach can generation passionate advocates to help you tell your story and attract larger audiences.

Create an inner circle to listen to opinion and provide exclusive content and insider gossip.

Send special emails to insiders asking for feedback and advice.

When numbers are small, send an alert to yourself and write a personal note. As numbers increase consider automation.

…if this is appropriate to your storyworld.

When you send emails, SMS or social media, invite opinion and conversation.

As the audience responds, automatically count the clicks and comments and award points. At certain point values you can send your audience badges via SMS, email, Twitter, Facebook or in an app or website.

Create a companion app that provides the audience with a personalized digital locker, casual or location-based game or interactive story.

Use the app to allow your audience to enter codes which reward them with content. Codes can be discovered inside the web series or movie or on partner websites & blogs.

An app also allows the audience to manage their own profile and easily see their points and community status.

Build a multi-channel media plan so you know what content is going live and when.

Use a calendar or planner to see what content is being posted when so that you don't have dark periods and social media content is synchronised to your video publishing or event schedule.

Only ask your audience to do one thing at a time but asking them to make a choice is more engaging than just clicking a button.

Choice implies agency and that’s important if you want your audience to feel respected and appreciated.

Learn which of your audience likes to engage the most and tailor your requests so that the least active are asked to do very little while the most engaged are asked to do more.

Watch for phrases and keywords so that when you’re @mentioned you can (automatically) inject your images and videos into the conversation.

Don’t just repurpose content that's posted elsewhere but create a new shared experience with new content.

If your storyworld offers a channel to reach hard-to-reach consumers then think about what you can offer a brand partner. If it’s a new show then it’s not going to be millions of views but you can offer credibility, positioning and insights.

Use an app, like the Conducttr Communicator, to create in-world and out-of-world channels – and give the brand an out-of-world channel to talk directly with consumers. Consider a points system to create a shared loyalty scheme where the most active fans get additional content from you and real-world rewards from the sponsor.

Mobilize your fans to spread the word by asking them to “flock-to-unlock”. That is, invite them to @message a certain twitter account – with or without a special hashtag.

Be sure that every Twitter account only gets counted once or maybe it’s ok to allow multiple tweets per fan.

activity is 80% complete

Invite the audience to search for websites and/or real world places to find words, numbers, quotes and phrases and have them send the answers to you to unlock a piece of the story or compete in a game.

This familiar game doesn’t require lots of content and has the audience creating their own enjoyment which will create a positive sentiment and conversation towards your storyworld.

The style of your web series or movie will determine if this is possible or relevant but having screen characters call the audience to action can be very effective in building your contact list.

Calls to action can be direct as they are with Ruby Skye PI “Help me solve this puzzle! I think this is a clue” or indirect such as a close-up or overlay showing an email or phone number.

Set milestones for a certain number of video views achieved and auto-post prepared content for when you reach that number.

This could be out-of-world or in-world and gives you an opportunity to send something newsworthy.

The Zen of Audience Building

Building an audience takes time and patience but most importantly resonance.

It’s vital that you understand who your web series or movie speaks to. What does it say and with whom does that message resonate?

When you have these answers then offer your creativity as a gift to this community. The more you give, the more you will receive.

Your audience is everywhere, all the time, and so should be your story.

Use your creativity and content to connect to your audience and allow your audience to connect with each other.

As an independent creator you have something more valuable than money. You have creative freedom and authenticity.

Compete on creative, not budget.

Be Remarkable.

Robert Pratten

CEO, Transmedia Storyteller Ltd, makers of Conducttr

@robpratten

http://www.conducttr.com