www.crowdshare.asia www.andrewchow.sg

1. Special
Entrepreneurs’DigestISSUE67MayJune2016
20
Crowdfunding started as a means for start-ups to
raise funds back in 2008. It is an alternative to
venture capitalist investment. SMEs can now adopt
the same model for raising of equity through share
allocation or other ownership arrangement. You
need the crowd to be effective in raising funds.
Crowdfunding is more of an art than a science; it is
about getting the right people involved at the right
time. So what are the key success factors for a
typical crowdfunding campaign?
Show your passion through a compelling
video. Video is the future of content in
social media. It has all the elements of
sight, sound and story telling that can make your
pitch technically compelling. The crucial factors of
consideration when you produce a video is having
one single key message. Narrate it with two different
voices, preferably one man and one woman. It should
not be more than three minutes long and should
have at least four storyboard scenes. Once it is
done, syndicate them over five platforms. The social
version on Facebook, the viral version on YouTube, a
high-resolution copy on Vimeo, the business one on
SlideShare and a condensed version on Instagram.
Use the same hashtags throughout the platforms.
Sell “WHY you want to do this” first
instead of “WHO are you". In your
campaign synopsis or your video, you
will be required to give a campaign overview. Many
enterprises will share who they are, what they want
to do, how they will execute the plan and lastly,
share about the reason behind the project. Try a new
approach for your next campaign: begin your pitch
by sharing WHY you want to do this campaign, share
what you can do and how it will solve the challenges
you just shared. Lastly, tell the audience something
about your enterprise and how to connect with you.
Assemble your A-Team. Your campaign
will be more convincing if you have a team
managing the project. Every A-Team of a
crowdfunding campaign has at least three members,
each having a unique role: Manager, Mechanic
and the Marketer. If you are an author using a
crowdfunding campaign, you will be the mechanic,
your publisher will be your manager and your editor
will be the marketer. If you are a singer launching an
album, you will be the mechanic, your lyric writer will
be the manager and your recording company will be
the marketer. Where possible, have one member on
your team who has previous crowdfunding experience
and the track record.
10 Key Success Factors for
any Crowdfunding Campaign
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2. Special
Entrepreneurs’DigestISSUE67MayJune2016
21
Social media alone is NOT enough. Social
media may be a lifestyle communication
tool now but an integrated media strategy
which includes paid, owned and earned media is
necessary. Activate your owned media (Website,
Facebook, Twitter) some time before the campaign
begins. Activate paid media (banner advertising,
Facebook ads, etc) only if the campaign is performing
below expectations once it begins. Your earned
media (blogger reviews, likes, comments and shares)
should always continue throughout the campaign.
The use of public relations is also necessary in order
to create the mindshare. Send out a press release
with a specific story to the press. It can be about the
creators, the beneficiary or the company behind it. If
you are pitching for a radio interview, always send in
the questions instead of your talking points. Once it
is approved, you can then prepare the long and short
version of the answers.
Nurture your crowd to become your
ambassadors in your ongoing campaign.
Prepare emails to thank every backer and
encourage them to spread the word to their friends.
Make it easy for them to tell your story from their
social media platforms or emails. Announce the
backers with their permission, on your social media
channels to honour them. Keep them updated weekly
on the progress of your campaign. Be transparent
in the use of funds by sharing how the funds will
be used. When there is no crowd, there will be no
funding. A crowdfunding campaign, like any other
marketing campaign, needs strategic planning and
meticulous implementation to succeed.
Build traction for the campaign
early. Connect with at least 20 best
associates and friends to support your
campaign. Gather them to support the campaign
before its official launch. This will ensure that
once the campaign is launched there will already
be overwhelming support. Other backers will
then be more encouraged to support once they
see sizeable funds raised on Day 1. Devote 10%
of the funds raised on advertising the campaign
to ensure the momentum. Cross promote your
video with other channel owners on YouTube
and prepare a list of keywords for bloggers when
they write about you. Do A/B testing when
you purchase Facebook ads. Leave nothing to
chance and activate all the networks you have to
ensure success and support throughout.
Recruit different people for different
roles. There are many elements in
making something viral on social
media. Much of virality has to do with how
much other people do to help your content gain
visibility. A normal supporter may just give you
a “like” to show marginal support. A backer may
give a comment to show encouragement. Your
advocate may do both and share your content
them on their timeline and platforms. Your
ambassador may consistently create their own
personalised content to lead others to support
your campaign. Recruiting different people for
different levels of commitment is the art of
social media.
Every tier of reward should give
a different customer experience.
Your crowdfunding campaign should
offer no more than seven levels of rewards. Any
campaign with more than seven tiers tends to
be confusing to some backers. When options are
in abundance, decision making is difficult. Be
creative in your reward design and create some
unusual rewards such as a special dinner with
the founders or a VIP invite for your soft launch -
the bottom line is to be as unique as possible to
make the campaign exciting. Most crowdfunding
sites will display the tiers in ascending order. If
possible, present your reward tiers in descending
order. People normally choose the lowest or
cheapest tier without browsing the rest. Doing
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3. Special
Entrepreneurs’DigestISSUE67MayJune2016
22
Andrew Chow is an associate consultant with d’Oz International Pte Ltd. He
is also a leading Social Media & Public Relations Strategist, Entrepreneur
and Speaker. He is the Founder of Ideas & Andrew. Andrew has traveled
across Asia, delivering workshops and keynote where he enlightens top
level professionals on how to leverage social channels for business results.
His success and influence has netted him several entrepreneurial awards
as well as countless appearances in the media. Andrew is a game changer
in today's entrepreneurial world with his thought-provoking approach.
Andrew Chow
Associate Trainer
d’Oz International Pte Ltd
it in descending order will ensure backers go
through the entire list and make a final decision.
Never make any promise you cannot
keep. When the public offers you their
funds, they are doing it because there
is a promise of your brand essence. They put
their trust in you. Typically, a campaign should
last no more than ten weeks. Once it ends, you
should take no more than ten months to fulfill
your promise of rewards unless you made it
clear that the delivery will take longer. Delivering
your promise late may be detrimental to your
future campaign success. State in your campaign
synopsis that there is an alternate use of the fund
raised should you decide not to follow through
with the project. An example would be to channel
funds to charity or some other worthy cause.
Measure your success rate from Day
1. Progress of the campaign must be
monitored daily. Statistically, the lowest
three tiers of your campaign should provide 70%
of the funding. The top 20% of your backers will
normally give you 80% of the funding. 65% of the
funds should be obtained by the middle of the
campaign duration. Base the campaign in the
country of your origin for a start.
Crowdfunding campaigns are in essence a form
of Integrated Marketing. Some companies may
adopt it for market receptivity testing, lead
generation or corporate social responsibility (CSR)
initiatives. Whatever your reason for leveraging
on crowdfunding campaigns, these ten success
factors still apply. E
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