Crowdfunding has become a widely popular tool for nonprofits and startups to utilize in raising capital for their organizations. Through online marketing, many of these individuals are able to leverage social media platforms in order to build a strong and collective support through family members, friends, businesses, and other people willing to help you reach your financial goals. Unlike traditional approaches where you would need to pitch an overall business plan and strategies to a limited yet wealthy pool of investors and institutions, crowdfunding sites allows organizations to meet their financial goals in an easy and timely manner.
As great as these sites are, it is important that you are able to create a strong and marketable platform for your users. Just creating a site and writing a few sentences is not enough to gain traction, let alone for a nonprofit organization. Think about the brand of your organization. Ask yourself what you want them to take away when they see your organization’s profile page. These overarching questions will allow you frame your crowdfunding site in a more engaging way. Just because you are not meeting with these people does not mean you cannot engage with them on an emotional level.
To help you with this, I have tailored four vital tips in improving your crowdfunding campaigns. Be sure to optimize these areas.
Image Friendly and Interface Layout
When it comes to the landing page of your crowdfunding site, you want to make sure you have a combination of strong and attractive images and background color that brands the mission and identity of your nonprofit organization. Make sure your images are high quality and representative of what you want to showcase. In addition, be cautious of using extreme colors. You want to make sure the overall interface with your crowdfunding profile is easy on the eye. This will keep potential donors more on your page.
Featured Media
To establish a stronger emotional appeal, try creating a multimedia video presentation. Stay between the two-to-five minute marker. This will allow your viewers to understand your nonprofits goals and what they can do to help. In addition, try and play to the emotional side of your organization. People tend to donate mostly because of sentiment and connection than to the overall program itself.
The Balance of Information
On your page, you want to make sure you meet a balance of the amount of content you are putting on your page. First and foremost, you are still selling a pitch. Make sure your language is tailored in having your visitors ‘donate.’ Also provide a strong background of your organization and its mission. Lastly, make sure they understand where the money is going. Many donors have a sense of pride knowing they are giving to an organization that can help benefit the lives of other people. Showcase what you plan to do and how their efforts will help impact an individual. This type of emotional appeal can make a huge difference later on in reaching your fundraising goals.
Social Media Marketing
Remember, these campaigns require a strong amount of marketing effort on your end. Make sure you feature your crowdfunding campaign throughout a variety of social media platforms. Understand that some will allow for better viewing and traffic. Try and leverage Facebook and Twitter since both have a high concentration of engagement for these particular campaigns. Lastly, make sure you schedule this multiple times with a new message. The more organic and sincere you are, the better.