Top 5 Tips for Digital Marketing Success when Crowd-sourced Funding
BY MIKE ATKINSON - SOCIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER GLIDE AGENCY
Posting on social media is familiar to most of us. But how does it work when you’re trying to raise hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars from a crowd, including many that may not know your business yet?
In today’s digital landscape, social advertising is an essential tool for most businesses, but in a time-constrained crowd investment campaign with a make or break minimum target to fund your startup goals, it’s a must-have in your campaign toolkit.
Getting it right can make all the difference in magnitudes, and seriously change the outlook for any startup.
With more than 55 successful crowd-sourced funding campaigns worth over $45 million, Glide Agency is among Australia’s most experienced, and understands more than most that success starts long before hitting the ‘boost’ button!
In this Expert Insights article, they share the Top 5 Essentials for Digital Marketing Success when Crowd-sourced Funding.
However, before you dive into running a social advertising campaign for your equity crowdfunding campaign, it’s crucial to understand the essentials of what you need to get started.
With 100% of our equity crowdfunding clients funded, here’s what we share with them at Glide Agency to help maximise campaign effectiveness, with all the essential elements in place before the campaign gets rolling.
Make sure your brand is in good shape
Whether you aim to be perceived as a brand that is fun, traditional, purpose-driven or all of the above, your branding should align with the right values to attract your target audience and potential investors. This will establish a cohesive identity across all the touchpoints in an advertising campaign such as your website, landing page, social media, investor video and campaign graphics.
Consistency across these platforms ensures that your campaign maintains a strong and memorable presence, creating a solid foundation for building trust, connecting with your investors, and showing your own commitment to investing in the success of your brand.
In a fast-paced and highly competitive market, people form impressions of your business within seconds. A well-crafted brand can make a lasting impact and a strong belief in your business.
Create messaging that connects
In an equity crowdfunding campaign, messaging is more than just having a unique selling proposition (USP) it’s about effectively communicating that USP to your audience in a clear and concise manner, encapsulating the essence of your brand to resonate with your desired audience.
This message will serve as the foundation for creating compelling ad copy that will captivate and inspire potential investors. Crafted with precision, your ad copy should create a powerful emotional connection, conveying not just the financial opportunity but also the transformative impact your venture will have, instilling confidence and excitement in potential investors.
People want to invest in brands that engage and complement their values , so ensuring your messaging remains cohesive, engaging and impactful, leads to stronger connections with investors that are aligned with your brand.
Be creative with your video assets
Video plays a significant role in social advertising because it has rapidly become one of the most effective mediums to capture attention and evoke emotion. On average, people watch 17 hours of online video content each week1and more than 9 out 10 people report wanting to see more videos from brands in 20232.
Beyond having your 3 minute investor pitch video ready, it’s also essential to have shorter edits of 60 seconds and less, in various orientations, to cater to different audiences on various platforms.
TikTok may not necessarily be the best platform to advertise your campaign on, but its popularity has influenced audience expectations around video and other platforms have embraced the vertical format to cater to this appeal.
Your investor video is also only the beginning of the video assets you should have. If you are crowdfunding a physical product you should have videos that highlight the product in detail, showcasing different angles and features. If you are crowdfunding a service, you should have a variety of videos showing how that service works in the real world.
To further enhance authenticity, you should also incorporate user-generated content (UGC), using your real team and real customers in your videos. UGC style videos give your audience a glimpse into the real experiences and interactions with your product or brand, fostering trust and relatability.
While stock videography can be used as a last resort, relying solely on these assets can undermine authenticity and hinder your audience’s trust and understanding.
Share tangible social proof
Social proof is a powerful tool in building trust and credibility for your equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign. Testimonials, reviews, awards, and other forms of social proof will play a vital role in influencing potential investors.
People naturally trust the opinions and experiences of others, making social proof a valuable asset in any kind of advertising campaign. In an equity crowdfunding campaign it is especially useful for converting previously
interested individuals (who you connected with in the Expression of Interest phase), into actual investors when your offer officially opens.
By presenting them with social proof in the form of success stories or testimonials, you reinforce their initial interest, provide credibility and foster a sense of trust. This creates the final, necessary push to convert them into investors.
Set your budget for success
Finally, while money may be a sensitive topic, it is crucial to address the importance of allocating a sufficient budget for your advertising campaign. A substantial budget will allow you to maximise your campaign’s reach, increasing the number of audiences you can target and ensure you have the capacity to properly optimise your campaign.
Without a sufficient budget, your advertising campaign may be cut short before you reach your investment target. The specific budget required will vary depending on factors such as your country and chosen advertising platforms.
In Australia, a general rule of thumb is to allocate approximately 5% of your target raise amount for advertising expenses.
This budget should cover both media spend and management fees.
By setting aside an appropriate budget, you can ensure that your campaign receives the necessary resources to effectively promote your offering and engage with your target audience.
With so much at stake, it pays to set your campaign up for success, and invest in getting it right so you can find your crowd, and successfully win them over to help you achieve your fundraising and business goals.
