Film marketing gurus faced with the question of what a low-budget filmmaker should do to market their movies say the same thing. Use the internet. They speak the truth. They just don't give you any concrete things to do with the internet. The internet is a vast place and it's easy for your movie to get lost in it.

Don't get overwhelmed by the options, use the following to start you off and build on it.

Web Sites

This is absolutely the first thing you must do for internet movie marketing. Most movies in fact do have a web site but it's on MySpace, Geocities, or some other place with limited features available. Having a web site is only one part, you need to have stuff there people care about and help them understand your movie. So don't rush to make a web site, first come up with what you want to put there to pique interest and keep them coming back.

Free Content

A movie is not enough anymore. You can't just put out a movie and expect the world to care. There are too many movies and too many entertainment options to give yours a try. Instead of hoping you'll hit the zeitgeist right in the gut, create extra fictional content you can give out on your web site and other places online. There are probably scenes you cut from the film you could expand into compelling shorts. You might be able to take the screenwriter's notes and turn them into a short story series. To get people to want to see your movie you can't just put up a trailer (which by definition shows the good parts) and expect them to line up. Give them an idea of what the world is like, get them to love your characters and they might give your movie a chance.

Character Blogs

If you don't have any extra content or are stuck for ideas, let the actors do some of the heavy lifting. Many actors take the time to write back stories and some love to improvise. Put together whatever acting talent you have and see if they could run a character diary of some kind online. Instead of making extra video content, just have them write in first-person about situations in and around the movie. Are there things mentioned in the movie that are never shown? They could talk about it in a blog post. Was there a traumatic incident in a character's life that defines them now? Let them talk about it online. The more people know your characters the more likely they will be interested in your movie.

Permission Marketing

It's easy to get people to come to the site but hard to get them to come back. Once you do get them, collect their contact info and keep in touch with them. When I say keep in touch I don't mean spamming them to buy stuff every week. I mean keep them notified of free content on your site and any news in regards to your production. These people are trusting you and you should take that seriously. Don't rent your list of fans and don't abuse them. Treat them like friends and share stuff with them they want to know about and it will keep your movie in their consciousness.

Viral Marketing

When you create web site content that is free, you have chances of it becoming bookmarked by people on social media sites, passed around to friends, and this could bring you a lot of attention. The more content you have the more chances you have of something hitting a chord and it taking off. This is a microcosm of what filmmakers hope their film will do; go viral. Only this has a much better chance of working because you can create this content cheaply and more often.

Social Groups

An important part of any creative work for an audience is sharing it with friends. There are some people that love movies and don't care what friends think but a lot of people like the communal aspect of movies. Don't neglect the community side of the fan-creator relationship. Give them opportunities to interact with you and each other. Host a forum where they can chat about stuff and let them participate in the filmmaking process. Ultimately you aren't selling a movie, rather the group of people who made it.

Now you know some things you can do with internet marketing. It's easy to start but difficult to master. The important thing is to give it attention and start early. What should be clear by now is that you cannot just do what Hollywood movies do, you need to have your marketing be as remarkable as your movie.