The simple answer to this is yes. (Assuming, of course, you aren’t Alan Sugar with a plethora of investors willing to sell their granny to invest in your business.) The more considered answer is yes, along with other factors, as well.
Crowdfunding is, by definition, “the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.” The key part of this statement is “from a large number of people.”
The fact remains that the quickest, simplest, and cheapest way of reaching that “large number of people” is by using social media. Caution needs to be used with the words social media though.
Social media doesn’t mean launching a campaign and politely asking for a little bit of money from a lot of people, and then, as the clock starts ticking, demanding a little bit of money from a lot of people. (And then, as the alarm starts ringing, begging, pleading, and threatening a lot of people for a little bit of money.) Nope. That isn’t using social media to raise money for your campaign. It is using social media to stalk your nearest and dearest friends and family. It is using social media to embarrass colleagues and clients into helping you. It is using social media to potentially damage your reputation and your pride, whilst actually achieving nothing.
So how should you use social media?
Get yourself known. Way before you launch, your campaign, a good 6 to 12 months before, start to establish a social media presence. If you haven’t already set yourself up on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ (all the platforms you feel both appropriate to your business idea and comfortable using). Don’t mention your idea yet. Just work on building up a following. Join Facebook groups, Twitter conversations, and Google+ circles relevant to your background, interests, and business idea. Get yourself known. Impart knowledge. Build credibility and make friends. People like to help friends.
Tease your audience. Over time, start to slowly allude to your idea. Drop in little nuggets of information without hitting people over the head with it. See if there are any events or groups taking place that tie in with your idea and get involved. For example, if your campaign is going to be funding a children’s book, give readings at libraries, local schools, literature events, etc.
Pre-launch. By now, people know who you are. You have extended your network beyond friends, family, colleagues, and ex-colleagues. Your network should now include people you have never met, have never spoken to, and probably never will. Now, it’s time to tell people exactly what your idea is, how your campaign will work, what the rewards will be, and when you are launching. If you can, get some local press coverage. People love to get behind a local cause. You want people to be eagerly waiting for the campaign to launch, ready with credit cards in hand.
Launch. Choose your launch day carefully. Research the best time to launch and clear your itinerary. Stock up on supplies — you won’t be leaving the house for 48 hours. Get some friends over, and offer food and treats as a bribe to get them not to leave the house for 48 hours. Now work your social media contacts and their social media contacts. Numbers follow numbers. If you can demonstrate demand for your campaign, people will confidently follow.
Maintain momentum. Don’t plan any holidays, house moves, or operations. Keep at it for the entire campaign. Don’t bombard people with requests for money, though. Just maintain contact. This could be by sharing articles of interest, by asking for opinions on your project (for example, the children’s book cover image). Make people feel valued and involved.
A final boost. As the deadline approaches, if you haven’t reached the target then, yes, of course, you will need to crank up the requests for funding. But do this with dignity. Remember, if your campaign isn’t successful, you will still have to associate with a lot of the people who have made pledges.
Keep in touch. Hopefully you have followed the above advice, hit or exceeded target, and are now busy getting your project off the ground. Now, here is a very important piece of advice: don’t forget your supporters. They have handed over their hard earned cash to you, so you can launch your business idea. Thank them. Update them and involve them. Yes, successful crowdfunding campaigns do hinge on a strong social media campaign, but your business idea can soon unravel if you upset your supporters, especially people that don’t actually know you. They will soon start to doubt you and your credibility if, once they hand their money over, they never hear from you again.
So good luck. Used carefully and with consideration, social media can be the most effective tool you will need to fund a successful crowdfunding campaign. Use it ineffectively, and you will very publicly highlight your flaws.
Before I close this article, I want to come back to an earlier point I made. That is, social media, whilst vital, is just one factor that affects a crowdfunding campaign’s success or failure. The idea you are seeking backing for is, of course, key. I want to leave you with one of the quirkier ideas I have stumbled across: a Kickstarter campaign to fund the building and launch of a Tardis into space to mark Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary. The campaign had raised £88,880 against a target of £33,000. It’s not difficult to see why this campaign smashed its target. The idea is creative and completely original. It has an obvious audience. They formed relationships with all the key Doctor Who fan bases. They embraced all the social media channels. And they had fun. If you are interested in the launch then visit www.tardisinorbit.com and watch this space (pardon the pun).
Guest Post Written by Social Solution's Clare Sidebottom for Crowdsourcing.org