The sole aim for most crowdfunding campaigns is to attract backers to support you and help fund your project. But how do you attract backers to your project and how do you convince them to support you? In this blog, we’ll explain 7 different ways you can use video content to enhance your campaign and convince those who are sat on the fence to get off and back your project.
Launching a Kickstarter campaign is exhilarating and challenging all at the same time. Particularly if you are launching your first project. Many campaign founders have lots of questions buzzing around their head – ‘what should I do first?’, ‘how will I attract people to support me?’, ‘how do I make a video’?, ‘what should I say on my campaign page?’ and many many more.
When you find yourself in this situation it’s easy to get overwhelmed and start focusing on the wrong things. Instead what we suggest is to clear your head, stay calm and plan out a simple step by step structure to approach each area of your campaign. Only moving onto the next step once the previous is complete.
Of all the different areas that make up a crowdfunding campaign, how you attract backers to your campaign and then convince them to support you is probably the most important area to focus on.
There are multiple marketing strategies that you can implement but which ones will resonate the most with your audience and attract them to support you? Well, if we take a step back first, the most important thing you should do is to build a strong relationship with your audience and that means building trust. Whatever marketing strategies you use, coming across as personal, likeable and trustworthy are a must when it comes to convincing people to support you.
In today’s digital world video is by far the best way to promote your message online and attract interest in your project. Using video is great because it allows you to showcase yourself, your team and your product in a personal and visual manner, which helps to build a trust relationship with your audience.
Here are 7 different types of video content you can create to attract backers to support your crowdfunding campaign.
1. The campaign video
These days, the campaign video comes hand in hand with a crowdfunding campaign. It’s highly unlikely you will find a Kickstarter campaign without a video. The reason being campaigns with a video are more likely to successfully reach their funding goals.
We always recommend to our clients when creating their video to feature ‘a face of the brand’. This is really important when it comes to engaging with an audience, as it instantly allows the viewer to nurture a relationship and relate with you and your message.
2. Unboxing videos
An unboxing video is exactly what it sounds like – a product in its box being unboxed. If you are launching a new product an unboxing video is a great way to show your product in a favourable light to prospective buyers. Viewers get a good idea of what the product is like and what they will receive when they buy your product.
An unboxing video is normally a ‘no frills’ video, shot in 1 take, with either a recorded voice explaining what is in the box or no sound at all. These are very easy to make and if you upload the video to places like Youtube with the right type of keyworded video title, you can attract extra traffic to your campaign.
3. Customer & Influencer Testimonials
There are is no better way to endorse your product than with a video referral. Most people’s buying decisions are based on the recommendations they receive. Using a customer or influencer testimonial that showcases your product favourably is highly recommend and will go along way to building trust with potential backers.
The more raw these videos feel the better as they won’t come across staged or made up. Simply get some past customers, early adopters or influencers in your niche to test your product and give an honest review of what they thought.
4. Behind the scenes videos
Behind the scene, videos are a great way to connect with your audience and show what life is like when creating a product and launching it to the world. Use your smartphone (if it has a good camera) to capture the daily goings-on of you, your team and all the things that are going into making your campaign. Your audience will see how much hard work and commitment you are putting in and this will help to nurture a relationship on a personal level. Showing your personal and vulnerable side is a great way to connect with audiences online.
5. Social media videos
Use video on your social media platform to build awareness about your product and campaign. You can upload all types of video content, just remember to make content that is suitable for your audience and the particular platform you release it on. For example video on Facebook is best shown in a square format, rather than a 16:9 format. The reason being you get more retail space in the Facebook news feed. On Instagram, you can only upload Instagram stories that are 15secs or less. Create content that is personable, informative, educational, and funny (if you can).
6. Campaign updates
Campaign updates are exactly that, updates about the status of your campaign. Use campaign updates to inform your crowd about the progress of the campaign before and after you have launched. You can build a direct relationship by speaking directly to people and ask them to help out by sharing and spreading the word about the campaign.
7. Meet the team
Introduce yourself and the team to your backers, let them know what you do, what makes you tick and what your likes and dislikes are. Anything goes really. Use these videos to give insight into the lives of those who work in the company and show people you are normal human beings just like they are!
Ok, that’s your lot for now. Hopefully, the points above will get you thinking about what you can do and how you can use video content to attract more backers to support your campaign. Remember it’s all about building trust!
If you require help with your Kickstarter video production or would like some advice on how to launch your crowdfunding campaign, then contact us and schedule a free crowdfunding strategy call. We’d love to hear more about your plans. Speak soon!
