The IndieFilm Purchase Process

If you want to understand how best to market something, you need to first understand the steps that a customer would take in buying it.  This isn’t just true for film, it’s true for everything any entrepreneur might want to sell.  It’s called the purchase process or purchase cycle. Here’s what it looks like for film.

I’ll start out by saying this is primarily for independent film, and the prioritization is centered around independent films where the customer doesn’t know the creator.   This process is meant to start when they see your film on a platform.  There’s a chance they might have heard of the press or on social media before that point, or that you directly lead them to that link.  If that’s the case, the only thing it really changes is that they’ll be more likely to buy the film in fewer steps due to the relationship you built with that customer to get them there. 

This is more based from my general observations of myself and others.  While I’d LOVE more of a data backed approach to this, in so far as I know none currently exists that’s available to the public.  At least not as of the time I’m writing this.

This blog is focused on VOD content.  The process is similar whether or not the customer has to pay for your movie.  That said, it’s much easier to move your potential customer to the next step and to click the watch button if they don’t have to pay to watch it, because duh. 
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See KeyArt

Steve Lack: Audio
Donald Evans

Ashley P.
Judah J.

Clever Username

Generally, the first interaction with your film will be your thumbnail keyart, or in some cases the cover of your DVD.  If you don’t catch their interest on the thumbnail, they probably won’t move to the next steps in the purchase process. 

That said, there are a few exceptions here related to search filters for whatever VOD platform you’re watching the film on.  There’s a chance the customer will have heard of your film from a review site or general publicity before seeing the key art on the relevant platform, however even if they have it’s not incredibly likely they’ll seek the film out.  However, It might make them more likely to proceed to the next step in the purchase process if they’ve heard of it before randomly seeing it. ​
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This step is also quite important on platforms like youtube or facebook when you’re marketing the film directly to your audience. 

Read Title

Second, if the poster caught the customer’s eye then they’ll read the title.  If the title is catchy, they’ll probably move on to the next step.  If it’s not, they might move on to the genre, but it won’t help the film close overall. 
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Check Genre

This step might be bypassed due to search filters, or other parts of the discovery algorithm of whatever platform your customer is interacting with your content through.  If it’s free to watch, there’s a good chance that the customer will make their decision on this alone.  If they continue on the path to purchase, every step makes it more likely until they either buy/watch the film or don’t. 
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Related: Why Genre is VITAL to Indiefilm Distribution

Check Platform Rating

Some consumers are really invested in what the algorithm of their favorite platforms think they’ll like.  Generally, it’s an early part of their decision as to whether or not they’ll watch a film, even if it’s only something like “we think it’s a 30% match vs a 90% match.  In this instance, it seems like low ratings mean a lot more than high ratings do. 
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Read (short) Synopsis

If they didn’t decide to make watch the film based on the information up until now, they’re read whatever description of the film is native on the site.  It’s important this be exciting and punchy, as it’s getting very close to the point where the customer will decide whether or not to buy your movie. 
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Watch Trailer

If the platform the customer is watching your independent film on offers the ability to watch a teaser clip or trailer, your potential customer may watch it before they watch your independent movie.  Your distributor will probably re-cut it to make it punchy, but they may not if you made it well enough.  That’s what happened with Goodland.  (watch the Trailer)
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Related: How to best COLLABORATE with your distributor to Market your MOVIE

Rotton Tomatoes/IMDb

After the genre, they’ll probably check the star rating for whatever platform they’re using.  If they’re considering buying the content, they may check the tomotatometer or imdv as well.  A lot of platforms have at least one of those metrics native in the display right now.

All of that being said, reviews are still incredibly important, as they’ll help you reach new potential audience members, and if they heard of you before, they’re more likely to get past the first step or two in tis process.

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