How can you use data to improve your digital distribution strategy?

Data is a powerful tool for filmmakers who want to optimize their digital distribution strategy. By collecting and analyzing data from various sources, you can gain insights into your audience, your performance, and your opportunities. In this article, we will explore how you can use data to improve your digital distribution strategy in six steps.

1 Identify your goals

Before you dive into data, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your digital distribution. Do you want to increase your revenue, your reach, your reputation, or your impact? Depending on your goals, you will need to focus on different metrics and platforms. For example, if you want to maximize your revenue, you might want to prioritize platforms that offer higher royalties or subscription fees. If you want to expand your reach, you might want to target platforms that have a large and diverse user base.

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2 Find your audience

The next step is to find out who your audience is and where they are. You can use data from various sources, such as social media, surveys, reviews, analytics, and feedback, to understand your audience's demographics, preferences, behaviors, and motivations. You can also segment your audience into different groups based on their characteristics and interests. This will help you tailor your marketing and distribution strategy to each group and increase your chances of connecting with them.

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Tyler M. Reid

Film Entrepreneur | Film & TV Producer | Virtual Production Producer Helping Indie Filmmakers launch their films. Sharing my knowledge to help you find money to make you movie, grow your audience, & earn an income.
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For indie filmmakers, data of your audience is one of your greatest assets. First knowing you actually have an audience and can prove it, will allow for better distribution deals. Taking that deeper, knowing the true demographics of your data, like age, sex, and location will help even further. Especially if you know the geography of your audience, you can put together special screening events in certain cities where your the majority of your audience is. The moment you have an idea for a film, you should begin crafting ways to bring your audience to you and your film through social media platforms. You have all the tools all the major studios do, there are no gatekeepers when you do it yourself. Data is king.

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3 Choose your platforms

Once you have identified your goals and your audience, you can choose the best platforms for your digital distribution. There are many options available, such as video-on-demand (VOD), streaming services, online festivals, and social media. Each platform has its own advantages and disadvantages, such as reach, cost, control, and exposure. You can use data to compare and evaluate different platforms based on your criteria and objectives. You can also use data to optimize your content for each platform, such as format, length, quality, and metadata.

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4 Monitor your performance

After you have launched your digital distribution, you need to monitor your performance and track your results. You can use data to measure how well you are achieving your goals and how your audience is responding to your content. You can use metrics such as views, downloads, ratings, reviews, comments, shares, likes, and conversions to assess your performance. You can also use data to identify your strengths and weaknesses, such as which platforms, segments, and content types are performing better or worse.

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Harshit Ailawadi

Manager Customer and Digital @ KPMG Ireland | Consulting, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation | MBA, Prince2®, SAFe Agilist, CSM
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As it’s said what cannot be measured cannot be managed! Staying true to this statement, putting measurable, specific and actionable KPIs around business processes aids to an intended outcome. Not only that, it shows what lies ahead both favourable and unfavourable outcomes, which in fact helps executives ramp up or down their efforts on a certain goal.

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5 Adjust your strategy

Based on your performance data, you can adjust your strategy accordingly. You can use data to test different hypotheses and experiment with different variables, such as price, promotion, placement, and product. You can also use data to find new opportunities and trends, such as emerging platforms, markets, and niches. You can also use data to improve your content quality and relevance, such as by incorporating feedback, suggestions, and best practices.

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6 Learn from others

The last step is to learn from others who have successfully used data to improve their digital distribution strategy. You can use data to benchmark yourself against your competitors and peers, and learn from their successes and failures. You can also use data to network and collaborate with other filmmakers, distributors, and platforms, and learn from their experiences and insights. You can also use data to stay updated and informed about the latest developments and changes in the digital distribution landscape.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use data to improve your digital distribution strategy?

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1 Identify your goals

2 Find your audience

3 Choose your platforms

4 Monitor your performance

5 Adjust your strategy

6 Learn from others

7 Here’s what else to consider

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