Month: April 2009

Categories
Business & Marketing

How to network in the new now?

Production has always been a network-based business, except we didn’t say it like that until the new now. Back then it was “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”! Same thing: knowing a lot of people is what networking is about. In fact, one expert suggests that 70% of media positions are filled from within someone’s ‘social’ network.

There are two types of networks in the New Now: face-to-face local networks such as the MCA-I, Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, Shriners, etc; and the online, ‘social media’ world of LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace.

Get involved in your industry

If there is a local chapter of the Media Communication Association – International (MCA-I), join it. You should also consider joining the Digital Video Professionals Association (DVPA) for online resources.

If you’re more focused on Event Videography, the Association of Video Professionals, or the Wedding and Event Videography Association International might be more appropriate.

Don’t just join and do nothing. The people who benefit most from any industry organization are those who contribute. Yes, it is extra work but volunteer for the committee. Help organize programs, make announcements and generally get yourself known as a helpful, knowledgeable professional.

Beyond local organizations, get involved with issues that will affect the industry. Know when there are tax changes that would adversely affect your business; when regulation is going to get in the way or other important issue. Right now, people are concerned about shifts in frequency allocation and the reduction of bands suitable for radio microphones that could lead to increased interference. If you use radio microphones, be involved.

Get involved in your local business groups.

Whatever local business groups there are in your area, you should be in at least one and be involved. You will meet other business people, be introduced to the movers and shakers in the town (a.k.a. influencers)

Social Media

Social media is the phenomena of connecting online with business people and old friends/acquaintances. It includes social networking sites like LinkedIN for business networks, or Facebook and MySpace for personal networks. While there are other social networks, like Plaxo, these three are the primary social and business networks you need to belong to.

Social media also is also used to describe any online site or tool that allows users to interact with other users and visitors. So, if you can leave a comment on a post, vote on content or rearrange the design of a site, then it is ‘social media’.

According to Business Week online, the main reason small business should be using social media is because it’s free:

“The biggest reason to use social media is that it’s free. You can be a significant player online without laying out any cash, and in this economic environment cash is king more than ever. It does take time, though, and in business time is money. But getting up to speed on social media is like learning to ride a bike; it’s difficult and intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it you can get where you want to go quickly—and even enjoy the ride.”

Facebook

You should have a personal profile on Facebook but you should also create a fan group for your company. On Facebook, I’m in groups formed to promote the Final Cut Pro Network and Supermeets; the Boston Final Cut Pro User Group, LA Mixers (Internet Technology and Multimedia); and Goodnight Burbank.

Brett Gaylor used Facebook to promote his documentary, RiP: A Remix Manifesto. They create Facebook events you can ‘attend’ for each of the film’s screenings. They also created an RSS feed that lets you know about the film; created a Twitter channel and had the traditional “keep me posted” box for email addresses.

MySpace

While the momentum seems to be moving away from MySpace toward Facebook, if you can dedicate the time to maintaining two communities there’s no reason not to also have a production presence on MySpace.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is more a service for business connections, so you’ll want to be there and connect to anyone who could help promote your company. It is also very successful at promoting yourself. I have been approached with job offers because of my LinkedIn profile.

Here are some tips to better use LinkedIn to help grow your business:

1. You should link to your public LinkedIn profile in your email signature line.

Change the URL for your public profile at LinkedIn so that it better represents your name. The default for my profile was some combination of numbers and letters that made no sense. Log into your Profile and go to the “Edit Profile” section. At the bottom of your profile is the link to your public profile and a button to edit it. My public profile is now available at http://www.linkedin.com/in/philiphodgetts, which is much easier to remember or share. I could have used a product or company name as well. Your custom URL must contain 5 – 30 alphanumeric characters without spaces, symbols, or special characters.

2. Write reviews and recommendations for different people across different industries or cultures. Spread your name into as many places as possible.

3. Put as much detail as possible into your profile. Keep going until it’s 100% complete according to LinkedIn. Filling in the whole profile lets people know you treat it seriously and so should they.

4. Join LinkedIn groups that make sense for you and your business. I’m currently a member of the Boston Final Cut Pro User group, Digital Media LA (dmla), FCPUG Network Community and Supermeet, Inside Digital Design Radio and TV, Marketing – Video connect, Television Editors Avid and Final Cut Pro, and VOD Connect.

5. Only ask for connections from those you have some real association with. I’ll happily connect with anyone I know in person, online or have met at a conference.

6. Update your status every couple of days because it shows you’re involved and active on the site. I give this advice but do not always update that regularly!

7. Be optimistic and pleasant in anything you write. Being pleasant gets you noticed.

Many thanks to my friend Dean Forss for suggesting most of these tips on how to get more out of LinkedIn. Most would apply to other social networks as well. For more information on using LinkedIn for business can be found in the regular postings of the “I’m on Linked In, now what???” blog.

This is a small excerpt from my new book coming in April: The New Now: growing your production or post production business in a changed and changing world.

Categories
Business & Marketing The Business of Production

Who else is cutting budgets?

In the previous post I talked about cutting production costs, but nowhere did I advocate just paying people less, mostly because I believe that good talent is worth paying well. I do not, however think there’s fairness in an industry where a few make millions while many can’t get their projects off the ground.

So, imagine my surprise when  Fewer Stars, Fewer Risks As Networks Tighten Belts comes up in my news feeds – courtesy of myNAB365 – detailing how the networks are either dropping the pay to well-known talent (10-50% lower than current pay checks) or opting for less-well-known (but good) talent instead. (I will note that my sixth point – of the ten in the book on cutting costs – advised people to “Go for the B-talent” in name, but not quality.)

All is not woe for the talent though, as the article notes:

Big stars such as Kelsey Grammer have taken pay cuts to keep working. And although Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) and Laurence Fishburne (CSI) pull more than $350,000 an episode, second-tier players who routinely got $125,000 an episode not that long ago now are settling for about $80,000.

I know that actors have limited opportunity for exposure, so a hit series can make it harder to get work afterwards, but two seasons at $80,000 a show should set most people up with a very sound financial footing for life!  Maybe the industry is just getting some sense.

The article also talks about filming where there are incentives and tax advantages that make those locations cheaper; shooting digitally instead of on 35mm film*; running shows with fewer producers involved;  and replacing comedy and drama with reality and shooting multi-camera style instead of single camera style, claiming that multi-camera single take is half the price of single camera multi-take production.

* The choice of shooting digital instead of film could also be influenced by the ongoing lack of a contract between the producers and Screen Actor’s Guild. SAG covers TV projects shot on film, while AFTRA, who covers project shot on video or digital, have a contract in place.

The current economic conditions and sudden downturn in advertising expenditure has stressed an industry already undergoing structural change, and accelerated that change, possible taking it further.

I have a lot more to say in a book I’m writing for smaller production and postproduction owners on how to deal with the changing (and changed) conditions and how to continue to grow their businesses, even in these changed economic circumstances, using the tools that have been created by the very changes that are shaking the industry.  Look for it around NAB 09 time.