Info From The Vine: Crowdfunding and Social Media

Crowdfunding, is the process of raising funds online for your cause, project or idea. SignVine is the crowdfunding solution designed specifically for the Sign Industry to assist non-profit organizations purchase message signs.

What crowfunding is not: it's is not a magic pipeline tied to the credit card accounts of anonymous people whose benevolence is telling them to send you money. Sure, there may be a few random visitors who can’t help but swipe their Visa card, but crowdfunding campaigns are best supported by grassroots marketing efforts and Social Media.

Social media is where you can spread your story to people who might be interested if they only knew about your project! They can’t fund what they don’t know!

Here are a few ways social media marketing can help your campaign.

Blog:
It’s free, it’s informative and you’re ready one right now. A blog will help you tell the story, document each aspect of your progress and encourages feedback and meaningful communication with your suppporters.

Facebook:
Create a Facebook page if you do nothing else! Name your page clearly and simply and encourage your followers to “spread the word”. Get those “likes” and covet that exposure and those referrals. Direct FB visitors to look at your Crowdfunding page on your host server and your website. Use pictures and “light” posts to make it fun!

Twitter:
Tweeting is not just for the birds! It’s also a great way to promote your campaign. With Twitter you can interest a national audience. The more people interested in your campaign on Twitter and the more people talking about it the more visitors you will have to your donation page. Tweet often and target key people if possible.

Participate:
Social media is a dialogue, not a monologue. You must respond and participate in a timely manner. The entire social media experience is part of your brand so keep it professional, keep it light, and act with a sense of urgency. Once started you must keep the process flowing. Most campaigns only run 60-90 days and that is a very short duration that will pass before you know it!

- Mike Prongue
  Campaign Director for the Non Profit SignVine
  michael@signvine.org
  www.signvine.org