Christian Rodriguez

University of Roehampton

Student ID: ROD18467347

Dissertation (Professional Practice) Portfolio – MCS060L052H

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the social media strategy for the independent documentary film, I am Belmaya. The social media strategy for this film involved the use of various types of posts throughout multiple social media platforms.

The different types of social media posts are separated into the qualitative categories of Emotional Posts, Open Promotion Posts, and Workplace Posts. The social media platforms that are being studied for engagement are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Engagement in this study is understood through the quantitative actions of ‘likes’, ‘comments’, ‘views’, ‘shares’, and ‘retweets’ based on each of the platforms capabilities.

Using the qualitative and quantitative methods of gathering data, the results of this study help to provide an understanding for the vital impact that social media can have on independent documentary films and possible future films through similar methods. The results of this study also allow for knowledge into the relationship between the filmmakers/film and followers through social media.

Viewing the Industry Analysis before the thesis is suggested.

Introduction

Overview of ‘I am Belmaya’ Documentary Film

In order to fully understand the social media strategy and engagement for the I am Belmaya film, it is important to first recognize what the film is about and how it connects with viewers. This documentary film takes place in Nepal and follows the story of a young girl named Belmaya Nepali. Belmaya was born into the lowest societal class system in Nepal, and is also a women in a misogynistic society. Without any of the support needed to receive a proper education, she also had to drop out of school. At the age of 14, she was introduced to photography, and this changed the course of her life forever (I Am Belmaya 2020). Because of where Belmaya lived, she was prohibited from using a camera until she was 21. By then, she was already married with a daughter, but that did not stop her from pursuing her passion with a camera. At the age of 21, “she embarked on a documentary filmmaking training. Her graduation film, Educate Our Daughters, about the importance of education for girls, has been selected for numerous international film festivals” (I Am Belmaya 2020). 

The documentary film, I am Belmaya, was created to share Belmaya’s story with the world, and show how powerful filmmaking can be for an individual, even someone who is uneducated and is seen as an out-cast within society. Along with showing Belmaya’s journey, the film importantly brings awareness to the harsh conditions of living in Nepal, a region of the world that is often forgotten in by more developed societies. Establishing this story is essential for developing a strong and emotional relationship with the potential viewers of this film, and this relationship is valued throughout the use of strategic marketing with social media. 

Filmmakers

Examining the filmmakers of I am Belmaya help give insight into the further discussion of how social media can create a relationship between the film and the followers/viewers of the film. As discussed within the industry analysis, independent documentary films like I am Belmaya, are made up of a small amount of filmmakers, usually with limited financial means. This means that filmmakers must develop a relationship with followers out of necessity — they create awareness for their film through establishing a relationship. The filmmakers for I am Belmaya are Sue Carpenter (director/producer), Christopher Hird (producer/executive producer) and the subject of the film Belmaya Nepali, who is also given credit as co-director (some of her camera shots are used within the film). 

The main filmmaker for this documentary is Sue Carpenter, as she is the individual who traveled to Nepal herself to capture Belmaya’s journey. Not only did she capture the whole journey herself, but the documentary is her idea from development through release. She also has a long personal relationship with the subject of the film, Belmaya Nepali, having known her since before she was 14 years old. This is an important detail because Carpenter also personally runs the I am Belmaya social media accounts (along with interns), meaning she has direct contact with followers and is vital in decided what gets posted onto these accounts. Carpenter’s personal link to the entire making of this documentary is a crucial factor in the social media strategy for this film, specifically since the film is an independent documentary which means that a developed contact with followers is helpful for bringing awareness towards the film and its message.

Marketing on Social Media

As discussed throughout the introduction and industry analysis, establishing a relationship between the film and its followers is necessary to gain awareness. In contrast to large studio financed films, independent documentary films such as I am Belmaya, cannot rely on finance to help with the marketing of the film, thus social media becomes a vital way of having the film be seen. Social media marketing is free, reaches many people at once, and encourages interaction and engagement between followers. The advantage that smaller films have on social media is that they have the ability to establish a bond between themselves and the followers of the film, which can hopefully lead to more followers into the future. This is in large contrast to large studio films who try to reach as many people as possible, independent documentary films try to reach people that are interested and passionate about the topic of the film. This introduction leads into the next section which refers to understanding the approach used on social media for I am Belmaya.

Social Media: overview of Approach

Social Media Platforms Being Used

Throughout the film’s social media marketing, three platforms were used—Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter—these three platforms will also be analyzed for the study. These social platforms are some of the most influential forms of media in the world, and in terms of accessibility, they are completely free to use. As of 2019, Facebook has 2.5 billion total users (Facebook 2020a), Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users (Facebook 2020b), and Twitter has 330 monthly active users (Clement 2019). Users for all these platforms are located around the world, which allows for film marketers to reach all different types of demographics to see which connect with the film the most, ultimately gaining the most financial profit during release. For an independent documentary, the objective for using these platforms is slightly different. The goal is to target people who are interested in the topic of the documentary to the point where they are willing to engage with the content on the platforms and in discussion during their own time. Luckily, due to the features on this platforms, such as the ability to use hashtags, tag profiles, and interact directly with other users, reaching the target audience is simple, even with the large amount of users that each of these platforms have. 

Each of the platforms also have different forms of allowing for engagement which will be covered in more detail during the analysis in the following sections. For all platforms, the ability to like and comment on posts is allowed and Facebook allows for ‘shares’, while Twitter allows for ‘retweets’ (there own form of sharing).

Account Management

For the I am Belmaya social media accounts, the profiles were managed by the director/producer Sue Carpenter and three interns. Having a small group of individuals managing the accounts follows the idea that independent documentaries are made by a small crew. With limited financial budget for marketing, the filmmakers relied solely on themselves to take control of the marketing through social media. By having individuals directly related in the filmmaking process also manage the account, this established what type posts would be made on these social media profiles with varied input from interns. Carpenter’s input into what was posted will be discussed in further detail along with the impact of these posts within the detailed analysis section of the thesis. It is important to note that interns also had influence into what would be designed to be posted onto social media for the film. 

The social media accounts were constantly being managed and viewed during all days of the week, with post being done with final approval from Carpenter on what specific day and time posts would be made. Because of the variance of when posts are made, a direct study and examination of this aspect of the social media content cannot be made without acquiring data that is radically inaccurate, so a better option for this current study is to focus on the type of posts; this can give a more accurate depiction on the impact certain posts made on followers.

Pictures, Videos, and Tweets

The social media posts that were made for all platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) included picture posts and video posts. For Twitter, along with the pictures and videos, tweets were being made throughout the week. During I am Belmaya’s social media presence, there was no decision to make picture posts or video posts for just specific platforms. For example, if a picture post was designed and approved, it would not be limited to Facebook or Instagram or Twitter, it would be posted on all platforms, either at the same moment or at different schedules (this final decision would be made by the director). 

Both Facebook and Instagram would have similar contents being posted as the capabilities allowed within the platforms are related to each other. Twitter had the additional motive and capability of posting simple text posts while having those posts be ‘retweeted’ by those who decided to engage with the content. Overall, the important information is to recognize that the two main sources of content being posted on all three social media platforms were picture posts and video posts, with plain text posts not being the focus. Below is an example for a picture post, video post and text post, respectively (may also view portfolio):

THEORIES & METHODS: ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

The Relationship Between Filmmaker and Followers

As has been discussed throughout the industry analysis and the thesis so far, the relationship between an independent documentary filmmaker and the social media followers is a crucial part of bringing awareness to a film and giving the ultimate social cohesion and insight into a particular topic; for I am Belmaya, this topic was the focused on the difficult life of women in Nepal. When it comes to understanding the importance that a filmmaker has with their followers, the main factors are trustworthiness, credibility, and authenticity because these potential viewers see films that possess an important value which can enrich both their minds and spirits (Chuu et al., 2009) . These factors are what establish a strong relationship on social media between the filmmaker/film, and followers/viewers. 

The three factors—trustworthiness, credibility, and authenticity—are what will be used to have a better understanding into the engagement of the posts made on the I am Belmaya social media accounts. As Hajili (2014) states, “in the context of online communities, trust can facilitate the interaction of individuals.” To follow up on that, the interaction of individuals within the independent documentary community is the most useful way to facilitate discussion about a film’s topic. This is supported by Karlin and Johnson (2011) as they mention that the “media landscape both allows and impels the film’s impact on individual viewers and the broader culture in which they are imbedded.” Based on those claims, it can be argued that today’s modern age of social media interaction can influence the impact a film has on individuals who watch those independent documentaries. Combined the online social media interaction, and depending on the topic, the documentary has the opportunity to complete its “ultimate goal” of social change (Karlin & Johnson 2011).

Based on a survey done focusing on documentary film viewers in Europe, it was mentioned that the most impactful documentaries involved “extraordinary individuals” (Jones 2020). When specifically understanding the relationship between viewers and I am Belmaya, the film has the unique opportunity to connect with viewers to a greater extent because of the specific topic the film covers; the film I am Belmaya, follows an individual who lives a difficult life, ultimately reaching her goals through an incredible journey. This link between watching an individual’s journey in a documentary and having an impact on the viewer, directly reflects the similar idea of following the same film’s campaign on social media and viewing the effects of engagement with those similar individuals. Audiences who view these films see it as a lifestyle, and this creates a different, but stronger relationship when compared to commercial entertainment films (Chuu et al., 2009). This study focuses on which types of posts may have they greatest display of that relationship through social engagement, ultimately leading to greater social awareness for the topics brought up within the film.

Overall, it is important to understand that the social media campaign for an independent documentary film is best understood through the engagement followers have with the content being posted. This social engagement serves as sign as to understand how strong the established relationship that is established through trust, credibility, and authenticity. An in-depth look into this relationship is viewed through the next sections (Qualitative Analysis and Quantitative Analysis). Conclusively, the main task of this examination is to find which types of posts on social media create the most engagement among followers and the possible reasons for that outcome.

Qualitative Analysis: Categorizing Posts

During the I am Belmaya social media campaign, there had been hundreds of posts per social platform, with many forms of engagement for each of the posts. In order to determine whether the social media posts had been successful in creating engagement, the best option was to create different categories for the content being posted. By creating categories for the different social media content, it creates the possibility to recognize trends or patterns that may surface from what has been posted. Being able to extract the information from these patterns allows for the determination of which types of post are more successful in creating engagement between the film account and its followers, specifically for an independent documentary film. The social media content from all accounts has been divided into three categories—emotional posts, open promotion posts, and workplace posts.

Beginning with emotional posts, this category focuses on the more personal content being posted. Examples of these emotional posts include content such as personal stories that talk about Belmaya Nepali (the subject of the film) or Sue Carpenter (the director), inspiring or thought provoking quotes, or posts containing information of Belmaya’s journey after the filming of the documentary. The purpose of these posts are to create discussion on the social platforms, but also with the possibility of discussion outside of these platforms, because the act of sharing this emotional content creates a relationship of trust between the film account and the followers. Below are examples of emotional posts:

The next category of content would be the open promotion posts. The content included in this category are what would be seen as traditional marketing for most films. For example, open promotion posts would include film posters, film trailers, advertisements for film screenings, interviews, and even fundraising announcements. All this content is posted to create awareness for the film through traditional marketing methods. Below are examples of open promotion posts:

The final category of content would be the workplace posts. Workplace posts have the specific tasks of allowing followers to receive updates on the filmmaking process, this can include posts that are focusing on development, production, or post-production of the film. By giving followers the ability to have a “behind-the-scenes” look into the filmmaking process, it creates a sense of authenticity and credibility for the filmmakers, creating a positive relationship for the followers of these social accounts. Below are examples of workplace posts:

It is important to state that there are posts that do overlap into multiple categories. Although this was rarely found throughout the content that was examined, it is still covered within the data collected. In an overview, by having three categories—emotional posts, open promotion posts, and workplace posts—it allows for a more comprehensive understanding into which posts are best for creating engagement from followers for an independent documentary film campaign on social media.

Quantitative Analysis: Understanding Follower Engagement

After dividing the posts into three categories, a qualitative analysis of the study is done in order to determine which type of posts create the most amount of engagement from followers. Within this study, engagement will be determined through the amount of likes, comments, and views (for videos). For Twitter, the amount of retweets will be included and for Facebook, the amount of shares will be included. 

The best way to determine engagement for each of the categories will be through following the process below:

1. Examine all posts and determine which posts go into the proper category.
2. Once posts are categorized, determine how many posts are within each category.
3. After the number of posts are determined per category, each category is then separately analyzed for engagement.
   1. 1. 1. Count the amount of “Likes” on all platforms
         2. Count the amount of “Comments” on all platforms
         3. Count the amount of “Views” on all platforms (videos only)
         4. Count the amount of “Retweets” on Twitter (100 recent tweets)
         5. Count the amount of “Shares” on all Facebook posts
4. Once the amount of engagements per category is quantified, that value is divided by the amount of posts within that specific category. This value will give the average number of engagement per posts for a specific category (see equation below).

Total number of engagements ÷ Total number of posts = Average Engagements per Post

All data will be recorded into charts. An example of the layout for the charts is below: 

(To only view final data, click here, or continue onto the next section.)

Discussion of the results

Understanding the Data

The analysis of engagement from followers was conducted on the social media platforms of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. For Instagram a total of 170 posts were analyzed, for Facebook a total of 156 posts, and Twitter had 100 posts analyzed. This equals to a total amount of 426 posts across all platforms for the I am Belmaya social media accounts. The data collected ranges from April 2017 until July 2020. From the 426 posts that were analyzed, 414 of those posts were able to be categorized into either emotional posts, open promotion posts, or workplace posts (view Chart 1). The remaining 12 posts were categorizing into overlapping posts (view Chart 2). Because of the small amount of posts within the overlapping categories, the data collected from those posts are insufficient to be interpreted correctly, so the discussion of the data will focus on the three main categories containing 414 posts. 

Below is Chart 1, which gives an overall interpretation of the data collected from 414 posts. Emotional posts had a total of 184 posts with 5,114 engagement actions. Open promotion posts had 141 posts with 2,782 engagement actions. Workplace posts had 89 posts with 2,735 engagement actions. When evaluating the average amount of engagement per posts, the category of workplace posts had the highest average with 30.73 engagements per post. The emotional posts category was close behind with 27.8 engagements per post and open promotion posts had the lowest average with 19.73 engagements per post. The average for all posts was 25.68

Based on the data viewed in Chart 1, the results state that based on the average amount of engagements, posts within the workplace category and emotional category would be the best content to post because they are both above the cumulative average. Posting content that was categorized into open promotion would garner the least amount of engagement from followers and was well below the average of all posts. So far, based on these results, it follows the concept that the link between an independent documentary filmmaker and their followers is a crucial relationship when understanding social engagement between the two. As stated earlier within the thesis, emotional posts and workplace posts give the followers a sense of trust, credibility, and authenticity  with the filmmaker, compared to the traditional marketing style as used through the open promotion posts, which is made to create awareness rather than forming a connection with followers. 

As stated, Chart 1 clearly states that both, workplace posts and emotional posts, enhance follower engagement when compared with open promotion posts. Following that data, workplace posts also seem to have a slight edge over emotional posts as well, but it is important to give a detailed analysis to better understand whether the data is completely accurate (view Chart 2). 

Below is Chart 2, which gives the most detailed analysis containing all social media posts categories and engagements. Within this chart, the three main categories are analyzed along with an additional three overlapping categories for posts which include—emotional/open promotion, emotional/workplace, open promotion/workplace. The most important additions for Chart 2 is the detailed information on the engagement actions of likes, comments, views, retweets, and shares. By being able to view the data for each engagement separately, it creates a more accurate understanding into which posts are the most effective for follower engagement. Chart 2 has both the total and average of likes and comments, the two actions of engagement that are the most popular for the social platforms being examined. 

Based on the information within Chart 2, the emotional posts category has the highest average of both likes per post, and comments per post. As stated, these forms of engagement are the most commonly used for the social media platforms, so being able to clearly understand that emotional posts have the best rate of engagements for these actions gives a different, but more accurate representation of which types of posts work best. For the average amount of likes and comments, open promotion posts finish last and second, respectively. For workplace posts, the average for like and comments finishes second and last, respectively.  

The information for Chart 2 seems to give a different depiction from the data given in Chart 1. In Chart 1, data states that posting workplace posts is a better option than emotional posts, but Chart 2 states that this may not be true—why is that? The two main reasons for this disparity is the amount of workplace posts compared to emotional posts (only 89 compared to 184), and the amount of views from workplace posts which is equal to the amount that the emotional posts received. By having a large amount of fewer posts compared to the other two categories, the data for the workplace posts may be inaccurate and show the category in a more favorable outcome when viewing the data. The best way to get a more accurate depiction of the impact of workplace posts would be for the I am Belmaya social media accounts to post more workplace content and review the data and see if there is a change from the current information that was obtained.

The second reason for the favorable data in Chart 1 for workplace posts would be the amount of views this category of content acquired. With only 89 posts, the workplace category was able to have the same amount of views that was seen within the emotional posts category. This was due to a complete outlier within the workplace category. When acquiring data, one video within the workplace category was able to obtain 796 views on Facebook and that single video was able to boost the total amount of views a significant amount, ultimately causing the large view count with a low amount of post. Once again, the best way to know whether the workplace data for views is accurate would be for the I am Belmaya accounts to post more content in the category to confirm the accuracy of the data.

Through the data gathered in Chart 2, it can currently be stated that best post for the I am Belmaya social media accounts to make would be content within the emotional category, but to reaffirm this claim and learn which category would be the least effective, a detailed analysis of each of the platforms was needed. Below are detailed data charts that focus on each social media platform separately. In Chart 3, the focus is on Instagram likes and comments. For Chart 4, the focus is on Facebook likes, comments, and shares. Finally, Chart 5 focuses on Twitter likes, comments, and retweets. By dividing the data for each of the social media platforms, it gives the ability to state which category of posts is best for the I am Belmaya social media accounts.

Emotional posts leads in the average likes for both Instagram and Facebook. Emotional posts also leads in the average amount of comments on Facebook and Twitter, along with the average amount of shares on Facebook. Workplace posts have the highest average amount of comments on Instagram, and highest average amount of likes and retweets on Twitter. Open promotion posts did not lead in any type of engagements throughout all the social media platforms. 

Overall, by examining the results from all data charts, it can be stated that the best option for what should be on the I am Belmaya social media platforms are emotional posts, followed closely behind by workplace posts, and lastly open promotion posts should be the least used type of posts. This statement is supported by data gathered from over 400 posts from the platforms of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter from April 2017 until July 2020.

What Do the Results Indicate?

Based on the data gathered, it can be determined that in order to receive the most engagement from followers, the I am Belmaya social media accounts should post emotional content the most, followed by workplace content, and finally open promotion content the least. These results are important to understand as they reflect and confirm the concept that independent documentaries when marketing must focus on two things, the relationship between the protagonists of the film with followers, and the relationship between the filmmakers and followers (Noschis 2015a). Understandably, independent documentaries still need to follow some traditional marketing methods to create awareness for their film through official methods (film festivals, fundraising, premieres), and this is apparent with the use of open promotion posts, but using other methods for I am Belmaya has been proven to be more effective to create engagement for followers. 

The main reason why emotional posts and workplace posts seem to be more effective for independent documentaries, goes back to understanding the purpose of a documentary in the first place. Documentaries are made in order to create social cohesion and social insight into particular topics (Aufderheide 2007). Individuals who follow independent documentary social media accounts (in this case, I am Belmaya) understand that the goal of the film they are following is to create a topic of discussion for what the film is covering. Because of this, followers of these types of accounts are looking for elements of passion within the [film]” (Noschis 2015a), especially through social media, where direct interaction between filmmaker and follower is possible. The followers are not looking for entertainment, they are looking for informative discussions.

Due to these specific characteristics by the followers of independent documentary film accounts, it would make sense that the most effective type of content on social media are posts that encourage the establishment of trust, credibility, and authenticity with the filmmaker. Those three factors are what emotional and workplace posts create. Where open promotion posts seem to focus on raising awareness of when the film will be released, emotional posts raise awareness about the topic of the film and workplace posts help show followers the progress the film is making to raise those issues through the filmmaking process. 

Using the results collected from the I am Belmaya social media accounts, it can confidently be stated that if an independent documentary would like to have an engaging relationship with followers, then the social media accounts should be posting emotional and workplace content that involves personal stories, thought provoking discussions and behind-the-scenes information. Posting open promotional material is ultimately needed, but should not be the focus of the social media accounts.

Conclusion

Overview of Research

When reviewing the research conducted for this thesis, there was an informative and definitive outcome after the analysis of the social media accounts for I am Belmaya. Having a conclusive outcome is a positive result when conducting any research. Having a conclusive outcome allows for the research to be viewed and applied into other scenarios by other individuals. 

The topic of this research presented a unique opportunity to combine multiple aspects of research in order to find practical data that can be used immediately by filmmakers who are running social media accounts right now. This thesis combined aspects of society, filmmaking, statistics, and media all into a useful assembly of information.

When reviewed, the results gathered from the data supports the research gathered within the industry analysis, and other sections within the thesis. It is important that independent documentary films utilize social media as a way of establishing a strong relationship between themselves and their followers. The data gathered from emotional posts and workplace posts supports this method of social media campaigning. 

Improvements to Be Made

Although the data gathered was enough to make a definitive result about which content would work best, improvements can always be made to further confirm the result, or perhaps find a new outcome altogether. 

In order to have a more accurate representation of data to find what type of posts should be made, the possibility to create more categories for posts a viable option. It would allow for an even more detailed analysis of the posts being made. For example, instead of only using open promotion posts as a category, that category can be divided into subcategories such as one for posters, one for trailers, and one for fundraising. Having the exact information through subcategories would allow for filmmakers to know what to post in greater detail. Though this method of categorization would be helpful, it would be most useful for accounts with a larger amount of posts to extract data from, and also a larger amount of followers (combined, I am Belmaya had less than 1,000 followers through all social accounts).

The final two improvements that possibly could help give a more accurate representation of the data would be using more than 100 tweets to review, and using the same method of categorization from this study on a traditional film account. Adding these two improvements to the research can help confirm the results or even find new results, but once again, these two improvements would work best if the I am Belmaya social media accounts had more followers and posts for a fair and accurate comparison.

Looking Into the Future

Overall, the results from this research can be beneficial for filmmakers to understand and use immediately, especially if these are independent documentary filmmakers. The method of research can also be used on larger accounts that have a higher rate of engagement with their followers. These findings can also be applied for future films once more research is done and more accurate results are discovered. In fact, the I am Belmaya social media accounts should view and apply the findings of this research immediately and for the foreseeable future, even past the release date of the film in order to encourage discussions about the topic of the film—even after it has been released. Ultimately, the motive of a documentary is not to gain profit or just provide entertainment. A documentary provides important discussions about serious topics and the engagement between a filmmaker and followers of their film are important to the insightful foundation of society through the use of media.

 

(To view References, click here.)