Website Owners Can Learn from Innovative Film Production Part I

Social Networking Factors in Film Project's National Spotlight

If jumping into the social networking scene to promote your website still leaves you trembling and confused, take a lesson from innovative film professors at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, just down the road from HIT Web Design.

Last week at the 2010 LDS Film Festival in Orem, Utah, executive producers Jeff Parkin and Jarod Cardon explained how they took their film production called “The Book of Jer3miah” and used social networking to create a buzz that continues to capture the attention of thousands of fans.

Faced with a limited budget—as most small businesses are—Jeff and Jarod made maximum use of free services and features on the Internet to gain followers for their series. For example, some of the characters in the 20-episode series now have a dedicated page on Facebook, and additionally, there are other blogs where fans can “interact” with the characters. According to information on the Jer3miah website, “One of the most groundbreaking aspects of the series is 'The Davenport Papers,' an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). Here, viewers collaborate virtually and in the real world by deciphering clues hidden in webisodes, solving online puzzles, and finding physical evidence on the BYU campus. All this combines to shed greater light on the characters and the mysterious organization pursuing Jeremiah (the main character).”

In less than a year, the series has gained national attention from many important press outlets, including the The New York Times. Now, that's marketing genius.