Launching a fundraising campaign is no longer an exceptional event. Whether for personal, social, or business purposes, crowdfunding is now a widespread and consolidated practice.
Digital and technology, in general, have certainly played a fundamental role in widening the scope of crowdfunding, so much so that anyone can now launch a fundraising campaign for any purpose.
However, not all campaigns are successful, and it is precisely from those that achieve their objectives that lessons can be drawn that can be applied to more traditional marketing.
Although different in their methods and aims, successful crowdfunding campaigns all seem to share some common traits. Let’s see what they are.
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Authenticity
Being authentic is the basis for the success of any crowdfunding campaign. The public is unforgiving and any form, however small, of dishonesty, is unacceptable.
Whether you are raising money for a personal cause or you have launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to support your business, you cannot help but have to reward the trust of your investors.
Similarly, and this is the lesson, traditional companies cannot afford to disappoint their consumers’ expectations today.
Every company and every entrepreneur must be sure to make promises that they know they can keep: the relationship with the customer (or investor) runs on the fine line of trust, without which it will be impossible to re-establish a relationship and you will have to be prepared to face wider consequences than just a one-to-one relationship.
In the same way that our customers can become our first ambassadors, negative judgments and reviews will also irretrievably compromise future relationships.
Telling stories that connects
Why would someone decide to invest their savings in us?
Whether it’s for a cause or an investment, when someone decides to join a crowdfunding campaign it’s because they feel they share a cause, a shared purpose. It means feeling part of a story.
Storytelling is precisely the ability of companies to tell the stories behind their products and to tell what the product will do for their customer. While I’m telling the story of my product, I’m also talking about you, I’m letting you in on my story so that we can write it together.
Creating a story means creating involvement, and if we think of equity crowdfunding, this involvement is so strong that it does not remain only at an ideal level, but is translated into a concrete commitment that transforms the investor into a real partner who enters into our project, into our story, to build a common path.
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Using social media
Launching a crowdfunding campaign without using social media? Not a chance.
Social media has become an integral part of our lives and any communication or promotional activity must include the use of these platforms.
The important thing is to be aware that the use of social media cannot be left to improvisation.
That’s why it’s important to have a thorough knowledge of the characteristics of each platform, to select only those that are most suitable for our messages and to adapt our communication to the unique features of each one.
Creating quality visual content and drawing up a punctual and well-structured editorial calendar will be fundamental to achieving our objectives of amplifying the message and, above all, engaging our audience.
Creating value
Before asking, you gotta give.
Crowdfunding is not just about asking, it can and should also be about reciprocity. Many start-ups decide, for example, to grant special benefits to their investors on the purchase of their products, or they may decide to create and distribute training content that can be useful to their target audience.
Reciprocity marketing creates relationships and distributes value. We are not talking about gadgets or a Christmas card. Creating value means engaging our audience by distributing products or content that can be a real advantage for those who come into contact with the company and, at the same time, represent tangible proof of the quality of the products and the company method.
Engagement and participation
Feeling part of something: this is the keystone that crowdfunding uses to engage its investors
Sharing a project, an ideal or a bigger picture triggers a sense of participation and the desire to be called upon to make a contribution.
Traditional companies can also learn this great lesson and facilitate the involvement of their customers through surveys, asking for feedback on their products and asking what their needs and expectations are.
Creating and publishing reports on corporate social responsibility or on the evolution of a project are other ways to make customers feel involved in something bigger that can make a purpose recognisable.
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