How technology can be an asset for your film business

technology-asset-in-film-business

© Frans Van Heerden

When used to its full potential, technology can increase the success of your film business and help it to thrive in our digitally connected world. In many cases, using technology may just be the progression of the processes you already have in place. However, adapting to new ways of doing things can reap rewards, where there are considerable benefits of using new technology for business in general.

If you are wondering how you could make good use of technology for your business, discover some insights into tools you could implement the upgrade your way of working. The ideas below will help you to overcome any fear from technology and show you the potential to help your business succeed, whether you're in film production, VFX or other areas.

These ideas are all simplified to enable you to get started, easily, and painlessly.

Manage projects more easily, efficiently, and effectively

Technology has allowed many business leaders and owners to stay completely on top of their projects by enabling them to track time frames and progress of projects. With web-based and app-based project management tools such as Manymoon, Podio, and Basecamp, you are able to easily and efficiently collaborate with your teams and also provide access to documents online.

Apps Such as Roambi can also read your business data then analyze it for you. It will then produce reports for you to view on your tablet or iPad.

You are also able to project your screens, using phones such a the Galaxy Note line to create a presentation. There's nothing that will make you feel more comfortable, competent, and confident than sitting next to your client and being able to easily make a demonstration of your latest production or a recent case study.

Make good use of productivity applications

Just like a tradesman is known for their tools, so is a businessperson. The positive news for managers and owners in the entertainment business is that using productivity apps that have become powerful through technology can increase business productivity at a much lower cost. All you need is a mobile device such as a mobile phone or tablet and you can install applications that help you achieve huge improvements such as:

All of these applications are different and all have great qualities that could be invaluable to your business. Most of them can be synced to a desktop version so you can track on the go, in the office, or at home on your laptop. It’ll give you the confidence to know that you are keeping top of your business whenever you want or need to.

Benefitting from web payments

Web payment systems are helping businesses thrive through sending and receiving payments online. There are many different payment options that provide flexibility. Web payments have also enabled businesses to bring in clients from new sectors. Many clients prefer to be able to pay for products or services over the internet as they get a certain level of protection from their bank. Not to mention the fact that web payment options enable your clients to use other payment methods to access your services.

Using backup software

There are constantly new reports of hackers and malicious software undermining businesses all over the world. The majority of these businesses have become the victim of a data breach, losing trust from their customers, with damage to their brand reputation. A data breach can be detrimental for any business and it's extremely difficult to recover from.

When you are an owner or executive you need to remain vigilant and make use of enterprise backup software to ensure your business is protected. You should also make sure you are using continuity tools and recovery processes to minimize any risks.

Measure user engagement

This is a massive benefit for medium or small-sized organizations. Google Analytics is a brilliant tool for measuring customer loyalty and engagement. It will provide you with some stats that indicate how engaged and loyal your active user readership is. You can then utilize this to improve and interpret your conversion rates.

If you need to target a specific audience, you can use this to study more in-depth your opt ins and how people are interacting with your content - especially useful for businesses such as media platforms, news sites and others. If you are able to win over your competitor’s client, you are going to increase your business growth - so it's vital to understand how your user is engaging.

Using social media and digital marketing

This is a big one. Social media is used by nearly everyone who has access to the internet. Whether it’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or others, nearly every person who goes online uses at least one of them. This makes it one of your most powerful tools when it comes to promoting your services and products. You need to make sure you use it correctly, but get the strategy right when building an online community.

As well as social media, you have digital marketing. This tends to yield a much better result than traditional advertising where you can target users with more sophisticated tools, yielding much better conversion rates.

Improved customer service

Having fantastic customer service is often the key to business success - and this doesn't just apply for the entertainment industry. Other than selling your service or product, you should think about the whole experience that your customers will gain from you having a good presence online. Technology enables you to provide an online helpdesk, schedule appointments, conduct surveys, provide quotes, and much more. Live chat is one of the biggest features that customers love, and implementing touch points across your Digital platforms can make wonders for conversion rates and sales.

Video content is also a great way to interact with both your clients. For example, you could provide a feature video on your website, Instagram, or Facebook where you show what your business is all about and what you can offer. This can often go a long way to explain better than a written document the differentiators of your service, plus, your potential customers get to see who they may be dealing with and instantly feel like they know you and can relate to you.

Remote working

Without the advances in technology, many businesses that have had to move workers to remote working through Covid-19 wouldn’t have survived. It has enabled many businesses to allow their employees to work from home while staying safe. With more people working from home it has also become apparent that remote working could be something that sticks around for more businesses even as things start to get better - so embracing the various apps and management tools available can make wonders for managing complex projects, working with teams around the world - and keeping on top of things.

Technology is definitely one of the quickest and easiest ways to take your business to the next level - and applying it in a strategic way across your company from your own productivity to how clients interact with you online is a huge opportunity. Whether you run a small business or large corporation, all the technology solutions above will aid your business in adapting to our new connected world - and with that, bring you closer to the people that choose to buy your products or services.

How are you adapting to the technology changes? Share your opinion with us: @filminetwork

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