As the global film production community prepares to descend onto Hollywood again for the annual AFCI Global Locations and Production Show, it seems to be an appropriate time to discuss a question that I'm frequently asked by both colleagues and film commissioners alike.

I've been quite fortunate to have been invited on a number of FAM or “Familiarization” tours over the years, and can speak from experience regarding one of the most important aspects of the trip, the selection process in determining which attendees to invite. I've discussed incentives, and possible locations and itinerary in other posts so will concentrate on invitees here.

In today's 24 hour a day media marketplace, it has become much more important to cut through all the noise to reach your target audience.

We've seen a rise in the importance of influencers in crafting an organization's marketing campaign, and there's no place where word-of-mouth advertising is more valuable than Hollywood, where we work with fast talking agents and witness sleight of hand camera tricks on a daily basis, so recommendations from our colleagues with first hand experience weighs so much more than a slick marketing campaign.

For film commissioners looking for whom to invite, my first piece of advice would be to stalk your candidates on google and social media. Do they have a significant entertainment industry following? Do they post stories about the entertainment industry or is their feed filled with posts about cats, their kids, or Farmville? Have they worked on or are looking to film a project that your region might be perfect for? The exposure that can be gained from a professional savvy in social media can be a valuable cost multiplier, reaching many more individuals through first hand LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram plugs for your region by a source they trust.

For entertainment professionals looking for more FAM opportunities, the first question you should be asking yourself is what value do you offer the film commission? Just having an impressive resume isn't enough these days. You need to be able to offer the most value for their limited marketing dollars as possible. Does a director you've worked with in the past have a project in development that the region might be right for? Do you frequently blog about popular film locations or the advantages of film tourism? Are you active on instagram posting photos of unusual scouting destinations that you seek out on your own time? Are you an active member of trade organizations and committed to putting together your fellow members with useful contacts and information? The film commissions need to reach as many potential filmmakers as possible, so a introvert who never shares their images or information limits the marketing exposure and makes for a poor candidate, regardless of the length of their resume.

When asking for or giving recommendations of invitees, make sure you're not just getting a close knit group of friends within the same social circles, increasing the chance of overlap and limiting the potential reach. As I mentioned before, some of the best FAM tours I’ve been on have included a mixed group of different professionals representing different jobs, experience levels, and regions in which we were able to discuss what we were looking at and why.

The objective of a FAM tour isn't about getting a free vacation for you and your friends, but to help promote the region to industry influencers who have a say in what makes a good location and will share with others who might have an active project that couldn't make the trip. The best FAM tours are like a good dinner party, an intersection of different social circles that encourages participants to talk with strangers and view their surroundings in a different light, rather than to talk only within their well established cliques and confirm each other's biases.

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