This document discusses using digital marketing and social media to build a network and engage community support for crowdfunding campaigns. It recommends crafting a compelling story, building social media followings through consistent branded messaging and shareable content, engaging supporters as stakeholders through meaningful perks and updates, and boosting campaigns through email lists, media outreach, social advertising, and stakeholders' networks. The goal is to drive people to the main crowdfunding campaign page to find the story, learn how to help, and share it with others.

1. Digital Marketing
for Building Your
Crowdfunding Network
Tactics for Engaging Community
Aliza Sherman!
@alizasherman!

2. 1. Overview of Social Media
2. Crowdfunding Elements
3. Social Media Meets Crowdfunding
4. The Importance of Storytelling
5. Building Your Following
6. Engaging Your Community
7. Boosting Your Campaign

3. A brief history
of crowdfunding

4. Crowdfunding!
!
Crowdsourcing!
!
Social Networks!
!
Web!
Internet!
!

5. Overview of
Social Media

6. Overview of Social Media
Online tools that make it easy to
publish content online and share it.
Accounts are basically profiles with
connections (friends, fans, followers)
and a publishing platform.

7. Popular Types of Social Media
Social Networks
Video Sharing
Image Sharing
Blogs
Location-based

8. Mobile Social Media
Mobile access to social networks and
social media tools changes everything.

9. Crowdfunding
Elements

10. Crowdfunding Elements
Crowdfunding requires:
A campaign – What you are asking
for, why you’re asking, what you’ll do.
A platform – The tool you use to
manage your campaign.
An audience – Who you’re asking.

11. Crowdfunding Parts
A crowdfunding campaign contains:
Story – The informative sales tool.
Video – The emotional sales tool.
Perks – Carefully constructed list of
benefits for each level of investment.
Updates – Informing and engaging
investors.

12. Social Media
Meets Crowdfunding

13. Social Media & Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding evolved out of
crowdsourcing which came into
existence because of the Internet and
our ability to connect to many people
through social networks.
Without social media connections, it
can be more challenging to put a
crowdfunding campaign into motion.

14. Social Media Helps Crowdfunding

15. Not Just Social Media
Don’t put all your eggs in the social
media basket. Social media can be a
key driver of awareness for your
crowdfunding campaign with the
potential for greater and greater reach.
But while social media is an essential
part of a successful crowdfunding
campaign, it isn’t the only part.

16. The Importance
Of Storytelling

17. 4. The Importance of Storytelling
A strong crowdfunding campaign story
incorporates:
² The Idea/Need
² The Team
² The Vision
² The Challenge
² The Rewards

18. And Emotion

19. The Idea/Need
² What is the idea you have or the
need of your community or
business?
² Why is it important?
² Why should anyone care?
Idea/Need

20. The Team
² Who are the key players in the
project?
² What are their credentials?
² Why should anyone trust
your team?
Team
Idea/Need

21. The Vision
² What is your vision for the outcome
of the project?
² How do you plan to get to
that outcome?
² How can others help you
get there?
Vision
Team
Idea/Need

22. The Challenge
² What is the greatest challenge you
must overcome?
² How will you address that
challenge head on?
² How will you empower
others to help you meet
the challenge?
Challenge
Vision
Team
Idea/Need

23. The Rewards
² What good will come of this project?
² What ways will you reward
your investors?
Rewards
Challenge
² How will you sustain the
project after funding runs out?
Vision
Team
Idea/Need

25. Building
Your Following

27. !
!
!
!
"I'd rather have 100 followers
who care than 1000 fans who
ignore me.” -- @alizasherman

28. Facebook
1. Brand your Facebook Page.
2. Share to your personal profile.
3. Create share-worthy content.
4. Develop an editorial calendar.

29. Branding - Consistency

30. Shareworthy content?
1. Visual
2. Relevant to your target
3. Clear and easy to understand
4. Strikes a chord

31. Visual

32. Relevant

33. An Editorial Calendar
1. Start with key dates
2. Craft clear calls to action
3. Target specific audiences
4. Schedule in regular updates
5. Increase frequency and urgency as
deadline approaches
6. Build in opportunities to announce
milestones

34. Schedule Thoughtfully

35. Twitter
1. Brand your Twitter page.
2. Properly craft your tweets.
3. Use inline images and link to video.
4. Develop an editorial calendar.

36. Branding - Consistency

37. Twitter inline images

38. Twitter inline images

39. Video in the Twitterstream

40. LinkedIn
1. Build up your contacts.
2. Message your personal contacts.
3. Update your news feed.
4. Develop an editorial calendar

41. LinkedIn Updates

42. Engaging
Your Community

43. Engaging Your Community
Use a combination of tools to get and
keep the attention of investors.
Make them stakeholders. Get them to
invest more than just their money.
Provide them with content and images
they can use to share your campaign.

44. Don’t Underestimate Perks
Variety of levels (donation tiers).
Meaningful options.
Limited offers.
Tangible rewards.
Deliver.

45. Don’t Underestimate Updates
Build enthusiasm.
Announce milestones.
Encourage sharing.
Be consistent.

46. Boosting
Your Campaign

47. Tools to Boost Your Campaign
1. Your email list
2. Your media list
3. Your social networks
4. Your stakeholders’ contacts
5. Advertising

48. Email List
Use a 3rd party email software to reach
potential supporters. Use your
crowdfunding platform’s communications
tool to reach actual supporters.
Friendly Robust
MailChimp Vertical Response
Emma Infusionsoft

49. Media List
Engage your local, regional, statewide
and even national media.
Relationships & referrals
Press releases
PitchEngine ($20 each)
Wire Services

50. Social Networks
Use the tools where you’ll reach more of
the right people quickly.

51. Stakeholders Contacts
Mine your own contacts for their contacts.
Don’t just look to individuals but also:
Organizations
Agencies
Civic Clubs
Publications

52. Advertising
Traditional ads may be out of your budget,
but social media advertising on Facebook
and Twitter can help you:
1. Build your followings
2. Boost awareness of your campaign
3. Target key audiences
4. Provide shareable content

53. Ads on Facebook

54. Boost a Facebook Post

55. Twitter Ads

56. Drive them to 1 main place
Direct people to your campaign page.
Messages should lead to the main place
where people can:
Find your story.
See how to help.
Share.
Your social networks should consistently
lead to your campaign.

57. One way of thinking:!
!
Your Idea!
!
Your Team!
!
Your Story!
Your Need!
!
Their money & !
word of mouth!
!

58. Another way of thinking:!
!
Their Ability to Help!
!
! !Get
! !Funding!
!
Their Idea!
!
Their Buy-In!
!
Their Enthusiasm!
$
$
$
$
$
$

59. Questions
?
?
?
?
?
?

60. Thank you.!
!
!
!
!
!
aliza@mediaegg.com!
@alizasherman!