As you may know, marketing your brand involves strategic planning, time and financial investments, and the right talents to make things happen. However, people today are much more aware and involved with events and trends taking place around them. This makes it even more difficult to get past all that noise on the social Web to reach out to them, let alone keep their attention long enough to listen to what you have to say.

Among many things, social media marketing strategies rely so much on promotions and the quality of the content or product you’re putting out there. And like all industries, Hollywood runs by the same principles—if you’re not visible on every media platform, people won’t know you’re there; if you’re not making compelling content, you’re miles and miles away from carving a niche for yourself.

Because of these similarities, there are a lot of things those of us in the Internet marketing field can learn from Hollywood. Here are some of those and the interesting stories behind them.

Social media marketing success takes time and patience.

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Hollywoodland is full of stories of unknowns who rise up to become massively popular stars. But not everyone is as lucky as Ashton Kutcher, who immediately landed a role in a hit TV show in his first audition soon after moving to LA.

The majority of the cast of The Office were all unknowns who endured dozens of tiny roles before the show hit it off big.

Actors like Jayma Mays, Michael Emerson, Melissa McCarthy and Colin Farrell spent years playing bit roles, patiently slaving away at auditions, and bagging pilot episodes that didn’t even get aired. And now they’re some of the most recognizable faces on TV and on the big screen.

Some campaigns may work and bring success to your brand, others may fail. But don’t let that break your spirit. Let it all pour on, learn as much as you can to perfect their craft, and aim to succeed. Sooner or later you’re bound to hit online marketing gold.

Internet marketing isn’t free, but hey, it’s an investment!

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Budget seems to be of no concern to production studios. With movies that take millions to produce, Hollywood will always have something that’ll get you excited to line up at the cinema (or at least wait for the DVD to be released).

A lot of the expenses go to the cast and crew, locations, equipment, props, marketing, and post-production work like CGI, editing and sound engineering. All these are necessary in making a high-quality film that may promise to give a lasting impression on the viewers, and provide a great movie experience.

While most of the social media services offer free sign-ups, a bulk of the actual social media campaigns aren’t, and may even require a large investment to successfully implement. And we’re not just talking about the monetary kind; strategies can cost a large amount of your time, and a fraction of your sanity. But then again, they’re called investments for a reason—all thrown in to create an engrossing experience for your followers, and forge a lasting relationship with them built on trust.

Learn to combat detractors and trolls.

In 2007, author Chistopher Hitchens declared that “women aren’t funny.” That’s even after I Love Lucy, Carol Burnett and a long string of comediennes on Saturday Night Live have been raking in laughter for years…and then Bridesmaids happened.

A knee-slapper starring six women (headlined by the awesome duo of Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph) wasn’t exactly what everyone expected, but it was a massive hit. It greatly contributed in changing the way film and production companies viewed women in comedy, shattering that glass ceiling in the comedy biz nobody admitted that existed.

And because of the success of the movie, people are now paying more attention, not only to these comedic geniuses. It also helps give women an equal footing in the comedic circuits. People are even looking for more of what these women can offer–from old TV appearances, to upcoming projects.

Detractors and trolls will always be there on message boards, and your own blog or social profiles’ comment sections. Don’t let their incessant negative chatter (and sometimes name-calling) get in the way of achieving your brand’s goals. All you can do is do your best in communicating your brand, and creating meaningful campaigns that can bring your brand to rockstar status.

Tags: Hollywood, Media, Movies, Social Media Lessons, social media marketing