There is a growing movement in independent film to incorporate a new position, the Producer of Marketing and Distribution, into a films production team. Filmmaker/author Jon Reiss has coined the term and I believe is responsible for the birth of the position. This is an important step forward for the DIY filmmaker who wants to retain his films rights and control his own destiny through self-marketing. However, there are a few obstacles to overcome for this position to be successful. Here are the marketing responsibilities Jon has listed for the PMD.

What are the qualifications needed for this new position?
To perform the job successfully the PMD will need to posses or have an understanding of the following skill set:

Market researcher

My good friend Cathy Brooks asked my “Power BFF” Nicole Jordan and me to be a guest on her internet radio show, Social Media Hour last week, have a listen if you've got a spare hour. The show was a great opportunity for me to start verbalizing some of the thoughts I’ve been having lately regarding communications strategies, or rather, in many cases, lack thereof.

Too often marketing is approached as an ad-hoc jumble of tactics tossed against the wall in the hopes that one or two pieces will stick. I don't think the current economic situation is helping, people are in panic mode, they want results yesterday and are in such a rush and under so much pressure that they altogether forgo careful planning and strategy development. This panic-induced full on tactical assault just leads to poor ROI at best, if not complete and total disaster.

Social media has fundamentally changed the way that people discover products, services and content. It's no longer simply about the old method of product, price and placement, it's about relevance, value and virality. As the effectiveness of traditional online marketing continues to decline, how can you be sure that your message is not only absorbed, but embraced, passed along and viewed as valuable?

Thoughts have of late been percolating in my mind. Thoughts about how the internet has impacted society, what it's meant so far and where all of this may be heading. The social web has had enormous impact on everything from our social lives, to our professional lives, to how we discover, purchase and discuss products and services. Personally, I love the impact the social web has had on my life, my career and the personal and professional interactions I have. I feel like as a society, prior to the social web, we tended to compartmentalize our lives. There was the "work me" the "social me" the "parent me" and so on. The social web has broken down barriers and given us permission to be human.