If you love a school kid, you know this is a big summer at the movies: the next installments of Harry Potter, Cars, and Kung Fu Panda are all on the agenda. And, to get ready, my 5-year-old has viewed online trailers and accessed interactive features for Cars 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2 about a gazillion times (that’s probably only a slight exaggeration!). How did I first find out about these marketing pieces? Through friends who shared the content on Facebook.

Hollywood has fast become a master at using video to build buzz on social media. Chris Schreiber from social video advertising company Sharethrough shares business lessons gleaned from Tinsel Town’s use of video. One of his tips is to “Mix it up.” Social platforms allow movies (and brands) to break out of the 30-second spot mentality. He cites the Kung Fu Panda 2 YouTube channel, a super-cute use of branded social that’s garnered millions of views (including I-don’t-know-how-many from my own little Ninja.) The channel includes videos and interviews as well as share buttons for Facebook and Twitter, show time information, and links to official trailers.

It’s true that movie trailers come in at the high end of the entertainment scale, but the point is that Hollywood has figured out how to use relevant multimedia content to engage consumers in an entertaining and shareable way.

Time to brainstorm: what kind of multimedia content will engage your audiences and make them want to share on social networks?