Successful campaigns require passion, a clear vision and a strategic plan that can be executed. Most activity and traction usually happens at the beginning and end of a campaign, which makes sense as people love both new things and deadlines.
To ensure your campaign is a success, you cannot just focus on the start of the campaign and the end of it though. You need to be working towards your goals throughout. Here are some tips on ways to increase the effectiveness and chances of your funding campaign.
Prepare Your Emails and Messages – Make sure that you have emails written specifically for the beginning, middle and end of a campaign, so that it remains active and builds momentum. Remember, you can invite your initial contacts through the Shadow Foundr platform by just uploading your email list and sending them an invitation to your campaign. The link is unique to you and if people invest via this link, then they will be deemed your introductions and incur just a 2% fee.
Develop a Content Plan – It is important to put a full content plan in place so that you are not only emailing prospective investors, but also showing thought leadership within your sector, through the content that you post on social and the mainstream media. Think about the problem you are solving and how it might relate to current news and events. That way you will people beyond your own audience.
Write Your FAQ List – When a project does take off it can be overwhelming trying to respond to everyone in good time. An FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list is key here and will save you a lot of time and effort throughout your campaign. Send the list out as a pre-written email, which will not only save you more time and effort, but also continue to build your momentum and give you another opportunity to engage with your potential investors.
Decide Which Social Media Platforms are Relevant – There is no point wasting time on every social media platform, as each one generally appeals to a different type of audience. Decide who your audience is first of all, then work out which platforms they use. From there you can work out your messaging and tone and even use the analytic tools the platforms provide, to see how your content is performing and decide where your efforts are best spent.
Tailor Your Message to Each Platform – Every platform is different… they each have different audiences they speak to and different ways they speak to their audience. This is why it is important not to have a “cut and paste” type approach to your social media content. And this is where analytics come in to their own, allowing you to identify what type of content produces the most engagement on each channel.
Reach Out to Influencers – Social media influencers are typically people who are experts or respected within their field and have large social media followings. Used correctly, they can really help get the message out about your campaign. The key is identifying who these influencers might be, which is not as difficult as you might think. By using analytics from email marketing or social media platforms, you can identify people within your network who have a large following. Once you have identified who these influencers might be, you just need to reach out to them to see if they would be willing to promote your campaign.
Look for a Niche – In parallel with searching for possible influencers, look for groups on platforms that might be empathetic with your project and hence your fundraising campaign. Many of the successful projects target a specific, narrow audience that might be focused on a specific product, service, or problem that you are solving. If you can find these groups and you can show them the common ground that exists between you and them, they can be a great source of potential support and investment.
It is important that you consider all of your marketing options and also plan your campaign out in detail from the outset.
By planning ahead, building your list of targets and devising a full content plan, you will be able to maintain momentum throughout your funding campaign and give yourself the best chance of achieving your fund raise target.
