From this year’s Cannes Film Festival to movie trailers on youtube, there is a fundamental link between online marketing and offline promoting.

With screenings taking place daily, thousands of films compete at Cannes to get some kind of recognition, viewership and prestige. From film school students to Hollywood studios, the self-branding and online marketing tools of the web are vital.

Take a short film screening. How do you get distributors, or potential fans see your movie without an online presence? Do you have a ‘youtube movie’ version of your short film in a trailer format? Don’t forget that most people will want to see a preview of your film from a computer or mobile phone before seeing your film. This was not the case just 2 years ago, but things have changed.

Youtube movies, music videos, and trailers are part of a global search. Youtube is after all the world’s largest video search engine. Make sure you have your trailer of your film on it, with details of your screenings. You can change the description of your youtube video any time, so if you want to tell people of your next screening in ‘the real world’ do so.