Marketing Tips
Put Your Campaign Link in the Campaign Video
Your video is likely to be embedded all over the web – with almost half of the video views outside of your campaign page. Have TWO VERSIONS of your video, one with the link to your crowdfunding campaign embedded in the video and one without. The “clean” version will go on the crowdfunding site itself and the embedded one on the web (YouTube, Facebook or another video media friendly placement.
Create an Update Calendar BEFORE You Launch Campaign
Crowdfunding campaign updates are delivered via email and Facebook to all of your backers. It is important to maintain a steady flow of updates to keep your supporters involved throughout your entire campaign. Create a list of update-worthy talking points, and start drafting some of the copy to make your campaign updates much easier to manage.
Here are a few sample milestones to send updates about:
- Reaching 50% of funding goal
- Getting 100 project backers
- Talk about one or more of your campaign contributors (with their permission)
- Addition of new rewards
Updates can be in the form of videos, images, or text. Addition of visuals are the most engaging, but a mix of all types of content is useful. At the end of most updates, encourage your backers to comment on your campaign.
Communicate with the RIGHT Language
Running a successful crowdfunding campaign will require support from your friends, family and many new community connections. Communicating with your potential backers, and activating your niche community is easier when you are conscious of your wording. Rather than asking people for ‘help’ – try using words like ‘include’ or ‘join our team’ instead. This is particularly helpful when reaching out to bloggers you don't know personally. Although you technically are still asking for help, offer value in exchange for their support. For example, you may explain that you want to include [the blogger, the facebook user] on your team – and would gladly promote their blog through your channels.
OFFLINE Social Networking
There is no doubt that crowdfunding is made possible by the internet and digital marketing. Being proficient on social media will help you drive traffic and spread awareness about your campaign. However, you should not underestimate the power of offline networking.
This is particularly important when your project is localized through our platform. Your project will be displayed to and supported by your local geographic community. The best networking you can do is with the current supporters and partners of your efforts and through meeting other community-minded people in your area.
If you can find people in your area who are passionate about your project, face-to-face communication can mean the difference between a one-time contribution and a brand ambassador. Don’t get stuck at your computer all day. Diversify your campaign marketing by attending local events and meeting potential supports / investors in person!
Withhold a Few Perks/Rewards UNTIL the End
Although you can modify, remove, or replace the perks during your campaign – once a perk is claimed (by one person), it is locked in! Withholding a few rewards to the end adds new momentum to the campaign. You could add a new reward each week – which is certainly worthy of a campaign update.
When a campaign is just beginning, some of your backers will likely contribute a small amount ($2-10) just to show support. As you gain momentum and get closer to your funding goal, those people who were ‘just showing support’ will realize that your project is really happening. At which point, an update about a ‘limited edition t-shirt’ or similar item might be enough to garner a second contribution!
Twitter & Tweets
Share on Twitter 1x Per Day
Share your campaign on Twitter and increase your word count by adding a personal message. Tell your supporters about your cause, why you need their involvement and how their contributions will support your common goal. A tweet is like a short Facebook status update. The difference is that every tweet arrives at every follower’s feed, unlike the filter of Facebook.
Create Engaging Tweets
Make sure to create an engaging twitter post! You should use words that you think will make an impact on your followers. A standard tweet with a call to action is “Support our #fundraising efforts -- add some compelling details of your cause to this tweet to catch follower’s attention. Keep it simple – tweets with less than 100 characters have a 17% higher rate of engagement than longer tweets do.
Search Keywords & Interact
Go to Twitter Search and find out if there is any conversation about a cause or project similar to yours. What people are saying about it can help you join or start a conversation to reach more people.
Follow Relevant People
Twitter is about connecting to people and building your own community. To reach out to as many people as possible you should start following people you know, people in your neighborhood, non-profit organizations and community related to your project. Twitter can help you find people you know by scanning your email address book.
Increase Visibility With Hashtags
Make sure to include relevant and popular hashtags! You can certainly have a hashtag that enables anyone to find your project easily, however, using relevant hashtags can get you engaged in a different Twitter community where members can then tweet and retweet your campaign several times a day. It allows you to maximize the promotion of your campaign to its fullest potential possible. You can widen your audience without having to do it all by yourself!
Include Shortend Links & Images
People love to look at pictures, so include photographs in your tweets whenever possible. Twitter adds every photo you share to a photo gallery. The first six appear on your profile page. Take advantage of this feature to tell a visual story of your project. Be sure to let people know when the link is a photo by adding [PIC] before the image.
Request Retweets
Are you looking for more retweets? Just ask your followers. A tweet’s retweet rate increases 12 times when you ask followers for a retweet. Asking followers to retweet using the whole word “Retweet” (instead of the short and casual “RT”) increases retweet rates by 23 times.