It’s been too long! This installment of "Six Tech Tools" is devoted to interesting audience building tools you may not have considered or may not have even heard of…yet. We’re always collecting what we think are exciting new tools for engaging your fans and where we’re seeing a lot of success may surprise you: Just because you’re in movies doesn’t mean 100% of the way you engage your audience has to be about movies. Building a brand—the world of inspiration and storytelling that is your unique optic on the world— extends far beyond moving pictures. So, we’ve put together what we hope is a not-entirely-obvious list of tools you can consider. Most of them are super easy and all of them are really fun to use. But we also want to hear from you! So, leave us your favorites and why in the comments.

 

Note: As people become more reliant on their mobile phones for all day connection, we’re really interested in products that connect artists and audiences mobile to mobile.

 

 

 

1. REX

 

REX is a new social connection platform that encourages you to recommend the stuff you love: books, music, restaurants, plays, movies – you name it. What we love about Rex is that it’s really positive, and it’s really fun to follow the people whose taste you like. Following a creator on Rex is not just to find out what else they watch, but what they read, what restaurants they recommend, what music is inspiring them. And rather than the “Look at meeee!” world sometimes generated by other social media platforms, Rex really focuses everyone attention on what of other’s stuff you love. And you know, we love the social building power of altruism! The REX folks kindly provided an early access code, as they’re still in private BETA. Use the code WELCOME to jump in and try this very attractive interface for yourself.

 

2. Spotify 

 

I know: what? Well, you and all your friends are using Spotify because it’s the ubiquitous streaming music service and whether you like the politics of streaming music or not, it’s where new artists are getting discovered all the time. Rather than assuming that building and engaging your audiences ALWAYS has to be about movies – what about music? Share the playlist you listen to while writing! What were the songs that pumped you up for those early mornings on set? What playlist would your main character put together? Can you create and share the soundtrack of your film?

 

3. Green Inbox

 

This is one of the most exciting additions to the crowdfunding space in a while. Green Inbox helps you turn your social media following (from whom you might on a good day expect a 1% conversion rate) into an effective personal email list (from whom you might get a 20% conversion rate!). We have seen Green Inbox totally turn around flailing campaigns as it really help organize effective outreach. In fact, we like them so much we just launched a partnership with them. If you’re crowdfunding, don’t launch without signing up!

 

 

4. Periscope

 

It’s very simple: using Periscope, you can livestream from anywhere, anytime, and promote it through your twitter network. This tool (powered by Twitter itself) is an excellent way to bring your fans with you wherever you go. You can broadcast your festival Q&A, or even a panel you’re attending. You can share a thought directly from set. These livecasts can be planned and promoted or spontaneous, but Periscope provides a sort of real-time behind-the-scenes capability that represents a new and exciting opportunity for audience access.

 

 

5. Pundit

 

Very new to the marketplace is www.getpundit.com. Pundit allows you to create an audio AMA (“Ask Me Anything”), leveraging your twitter network. It’s an interesting way to create a more personal connection—mobile phone to mobile phone.

 

If live –streaming seems too risky, or you’d like to control the flow of conversation a bit more, AMAs are a wildly popular way for creators to engage with their fans. Pundit brings this AMA experience to the mass market by empowering you to start audio AMAs with your Twitter fans. In essence, the tool creates a fan-sourced interview experience that feels like talk radio but has the scale/engagement of social media. It also filters all of the questions that come your way before you even see them, so the AMA is as focused and organized as possible sans all the spam and nonsense. As an audio platform, you also don't need to worry about your appearance before the camera, so you can concentrate all your effort on spoken word content—that is, truly meaningful answers. It’s podcast meets AMA.

 

 

6. Twitter

I know, I know, it’s obvious. But two of these six tools rely on your twitter community. It’s very “cute” to “not know how to tweet or twit or whatever.” But not only can you use twitter to connect with one another for advice or support, but you can also connect with the influencers who really inspire you. Which also means your audience gets to feel like they can connect directly with you, influencer. Learn to speak in 140 characters. It will improve your editing, we promise!