Promotional Tool-Kit

Transcription

1 1 Promotional Tool-Kit The benefits of crowdfunding go way beyond just raising funds, but also gaining validation for your idea, marketing and promotion, and all the data you can get from the process. Dana Ringelmann, Founder and COO of IndieGoGo

2 2 Pre-Launch Steps R Account: The R account (UT gift account) will be the account we will transfer your funds into once your project s campaign is completed. If you do not have an account, please let us know. Target Audience: Who are the key people you would like to reach? You can start by asking what field is your project concentrated in Engineering, Music, Architecture, etc. The more defined your target audience is, the easier it will be to find those who will be passionate about your project. Campaign Video A good campaign video is essential in a crowdfunding campaign, however that doesn t mean it has to be too fancy. You can use your own camera, iphone, or even a webcam to create a video on your own. Just make sure you cover the three key items: Who you are, what your project is, and a direct ask for support. Timing is also key, so be sure to keep your video under one minute long. If you need assistance, our team will be happy to help you create your video. Create Promotional Ideas Before even beginning your campaign, it s important to come up with promotional ideas to keep you driven and focused throughout the campaign. The rest of this promotional tool-kit will help you plan your promotion and marketing techniques so that your project may gain support and ultimately become fullyfunded!

3 3 Key Players 25 Key Contacts In order to have a successful campaign, you must think of the people in your inner circles that you can see supporting your cause. Your family, friends, and even professors are a good place to start! Try to gather all of their addresses so that you may personally ask them to support your project NAME

4 4 Build Your Team Most projects have more than one person involved whether it s a group of students, a group of faculty, or even a mixture. Make sure you recognize everyone that is involved with your project and will benefit from the raised funds. These are the individuals that should help you promote, market, and fundraise for your project Name

5 5 During the Campaign Contact Your 25 Contacts The first thing you should do is contact the 25 people that you know will support your project. Send them each a personal , phone call, or direct message on social media. Be conversational and if they have questions, be sure to answer them in a timely manner. The sooner you reach out to them, the more quickly your project will gain support and the more prepared your contacts will be to make their first gift. Create Micro-Goals Schedule how much you would like to raise each day or week. You don t have to publicize these microgoals to the public, but make them internally so that you and your team do not get overwhelmed working towards the same large goal from the beginning. Raising $200 the first week is a lot more reachable than raising your total goal of $1,000. Some helpful tips: 1. 85% of successful crowdfunding campaigns receive at least one donation their first day* 2. Most successful campaigns raise 30% of their goal in under 2 weeks* 3. Fundraising slows in the middle of a campaign* *Statistics gathered from IndieGoGo.com Post on ALL Social Media Accounts Make sure you post about your campaign frequently and always provide a link to your project s VOLstarter page on all of your social media accounts. It may even be beneficial to do a countdown to the launch so that your followers can know when they can start giving. See Social Media Tips to discover creative ways you can utilize your accounts. Be Adaptive You may have your campaign planned out to a T before your project goes live, however it is important to understand that crowdfunding is very fluid. Be sure that you are willing to adapt your key messages, goals, and strategies to how well or how poorly your campaign is doing. Asking and listening to feedback from your friends and family will help you tailor to your target audience and hopefully see the best results! Plan out your messages* Planning out your messages throughout your campaign allows you to be more creative and interesting on social media. One week you may focus entirely on your project s team and why they are passionate about the project you are fundraising for. Another week you may focus entirely on facts/statistics about your project that will be interesting to your audience. The more creative and prepared the content is, the more you will draw people in. *Please use the Promotional Calendar on page 8 to plan out your messages each week.

6 6 Social Media Tips Facebook Change your profile picture to something relevant to your project and include the link to your project s VOLstarter page in the picture s description. Post campaign updates about your project s progress at least three times a week on your personal profile. Create Conversational posts ask for feedback and post questions so that you are engaging your audience. When posting, try your best to always use a picture or video. People tend to like, share, and engage better with these types of posts over regular text. Keep text short, simple and easy to understand. Always include a direct link to your project s VOLstarter page. Post challenges on your page let s raise $100 by 12 pm tonight! Twitter Change your profile picture to something relevant to your project and include your project s VOLstarter link in your Twitter bio. Use hashtags that are popular or trending to continue raising awareness of your campaign. (Ex. #crowdfunding, #VOLstarter, #VolsGiveWednesday, #VOLS) ALWAYS include your project s link when tweeting about it. There are many URL shorteners out there you can use such as Ask for retweets to help spread your messages. (Ex. Please Retweet!) Tweet at or direct message users that may have a keen interest in your project this can be an individual, organization, or even a local or famous celebrity! Continue gaining followers by following other users and engaging with them throughout the campaign. Be persistent, but not annoying - Space your tweets out to be at least an hour apart. Challenge people throughout the campaign to support your project and constantly tweet updates about your progress.

7 7 Social Media Tips Cont. Instagram Change your profile picture to something relevant to your project and place your project s VOLstarter link in your Instagram bio. Post infographics that portray your campaigns progress - 40% complete, $100 raised, etc. Post pictures that are relevant to your project and direct followers to make a gift. Follow others on Instagram who may be interested in your project and/or are in your campaign s Target Audience. Use popular and relatable hashtags and always include #VOLstarter. (See Twitter for some popular crowdfunding hashtags) Include a tiny link to your project s campaign in each picture s description or direct followers to click the link in your bio. Post short video clips of your team members expressing why they are passionate about your project and pictures of your team working together on the project. LinkedIn Find businesses and influencers that may be interested in your project. Message them on Linkedin about your campaign and see if they will be interested in supporting your project. Post a blog post in regards to your campaign sharing details about your project and your campaign s video. Share your project s VOLstarter link as an update on your LinkedIn feed and include 1-2 sentences with a direct ask.

8 8 VOLstarter Week # Week Theme: Weekly $ Goal: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday