Digital Marketing for Crowdfunding Campaigns

Once you’ve crafted a strong, compelling crowdfunding project, how do you market that campaign, and on what platforms will determine your success or failure?

So where do you start? How do you know what tools to use?

But first, what is this crowdfunding magic?

Glad you asked…

This guide goes over the essentials of crowdfunding and most importantly, how to market your project online to reach your desired amount.

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular way to fundraise for a specific cause, project, or business venture.

One of the leading crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter has raised over $6 billion with over 200,000 projects successfully funded since 2009.

What makes this form of fundraising so effective is the hundreds, and thousands of people you can reach through digital marketing platforms, such as social media. Furthermore, the one(s) you select, will determine your success.

Crowdfunding can be a lucrative way to fundraise, in which hundreds, even thousands of small investors contribute towards a project. Whether the project is a cause, film, invention, business venture, etc.

It is an increasingly popular and effective way to fundraise, with more than $34 billion contributed to support projects across crowdfunding platforms, globally.

Although the truth is, many crowdfunding projects fail to see the contributions they ask for, even when the project seems thoroughly planned and marketed.

In fact, less than 25% of all crowdfunding projects succeed to reach their contribution goal.

While there are many crowdfunding platforms to choose from, they all have their differences, including:

- Project Types

- Minimum Fund Amounts

- Contribution Fees

- Processing Periods

Crowdfunding Platforms

With one of the largest crowdfunding platforms being Kickstarter, there are additional options you may want to consider depending on the logistics and type of project you have.

Here are some of the most common crowdfunding platforms.

• Kickstarter
• Indiegogo
• Patreon
• Gofundme
• CircleUp
• SeedInvest Technology
• Mightycause
• StartEngine
• ChainRaise*

*ChainRaise is a revolutionary investment platform that pairs the benefits of crowdfunding with next-gen technology, enabling investors to invest and liquidate assets via the blockchain. 

Most Effective Digital Marketing Channels to Drive Traffic to the Crowdfund

Certain crowdfunding platforms have “boosting” options that will increase your project’s exposure on their platform (Making your project show up more often). While this is a paid approach, this helps to expose your project more frequently to the millions of contributors on these crowdfunding platforms.

First, if you have a marketing budget for your campaign, consider paid advertising options. Whether they be through the crowdfunding platform itself or on social media platforms.

Public Relations

You should strongly consider hiring a PR agency that specializes in your niche. They can help get you placements in key publications, media spotlights, and other opportunities to get in front of potential investors. Make sure your agency has a background specific to your industry. For example, if you are a real estate focused startup, hire a PR firm that specializes in real estate to help secure promotions in real estate magazines, online publications, and more. 

Social Media

Some of the most successful crowdfunding projects have managed to succeed with the free tools of social media.

To ensure success for the campaign is to make sure you’re digitally marketing with the proper platforms and tools.

Note: More than half the world’s population uses social media. 

Therefore, it is no trivial step to understand which set of channels to utilize for your crowdfunding campaign.

• Facebook

Of course, the largest social network is Facebook. With nearly 2.89 billion monthly active users, this platform should be highly considered for any serious crowdfunding campaign.

• Instagram

One of the more visually engaging social media platforms comes Instagram, with 1.38 billion active users. Since the network is so visual, projects that are more lifestyle-oriented tend to better compete. Nonetheless, a sure platform to demonstrate the vision of your brand or product. Which makes Instagram a worthy tool from which to launch your campaign.

• TikTok

One billion active users on this platform scrolling through dozens of videos and content in minutes makes TikTok one of the ideal platforms to engage and build viral awareness and exposure.

Note: The majority of TikTok users are 10-19 years old, while only 18% of them are over 50. Keep this in mind when you’re deciding what platforms to utilize.

• Twitter

Twitter sits around the 400 million mark with its users. While Twitter’s engagement can be infamous in its engagement, some real awareness can be generated through strategic hashtags.

• Youtube

One of the most engaging sites on the internet and one of the best, cost-effective advertising platforms is YouTube. Creating videos to promote or advertise proves to be effective on this vast network. Read more detail about branding and campaigning on YouTube.

• Reddit

This platform with nearly 430 million monthly active users and over 130,000 active communities, is the 6th most popular social media site.

Note: Most of the Reddit audience is made up of millennials. See more about marketing your brand on Reddit.

• LinkedIn

This network is better suited for crowdfunding business-oriented ventures, as opposed to art projects, causes, films, etc. But, this platform still holds the spot for the world’s largest professional network.

All the above platforms are effective channels to market your crowdfunding project, and not to mention- FREE. Depending on the type of project, and your target audience, you may want to use one of them, a set of them, or even all of the social media channels. It is best to have a strategic mix of digital marketing channels to boost the exposure and effectiveness of your crowdfunding campaign.

If you need a team to help run your marketing campaign for you, we are experienced professionals with proven results.