Using Instagram to promote your crowdfunding campaign can be a smart move when trying to build awareness of your project and a strong community of followers. Despite this, many owners steer clear of using this channel and focus on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn only.
This may be because they are seen as more effective ways to deliver the nuance and complexity of your campaign to potential high-net-worth investors, through longer text-based posts. It might also be because when crowdfunding campaigns are in their earliest stages, you might have very few visual assets to support a robust Instagram presence.
While there’s some truth in these assumptions, it’s clear that a strategic Instagram marketing plan can help you to engage with a huge number of users who could become integral to your community going forward. It does require more consideration of presentation and visual quality, but a few best practices and tips can help you achieve a lot on this platform in a relatively short space of time.
1. Set Up a Good Base
There are a few basic things every Instagram campaign needs to be effective, whether you’re crowdfunding or trying to make actual sales through your account
- A perfectly crafted bio – The short blurb about your campaign or product needs to be both concise and compelling. It’s also smart to include a suitable link to other pages or locations where people can keep learning about you and your mission. This could be a Facebook page, pre-launch website, crowdfunding page and video, or a link tree account where you can keep all your links in one place.
- Regular posts – When visitors land on your page, they’ll expect to see it populated with a decent collection of posts, with recent additions to show people that you’re currently active.
- Highlights that tell a story – Once you’ve uploaded a few great stories about your project, feature highlights on your account so that new users can quickly learn about your story and get involved. Ultimately, Instagram stories are just as important as standard posts today and making sure they are accessible for your users even after 24 hours is the best way to maximise impact.
As a crowdfunding video production company, we believe in the power of video. If you’re launching an Instagram campaign, we may be able to help you make the most of your video content for all your promotion activities.
2. A Diverse and Strategic Post Flow
In addition to seeing great posts from you, variation in your type and style is important too. People don’t want to see the same posts again and again. To vary posts, consider using a combination of the following to mix things up:
- Photos of your team with real quotes
- Photos of your products
- Candid behind the scenes action
- Videos as well as photos
- Collection of photos, not just single uploads
- A balanced visual presentation with consistent branding
3. Maximise the Power of Captions
Instagram is a visual-first platform, but it’s captions that will truly get people to commit to your cause. They’re a powerful stage in a typical user’s conversion journey, and having content that educates and engages with users is key to building on the initial engagement you receive.
Each caption should channel traffic to specific locations where you can continue to interact with your future customers. This requires smart calls to actions that request your followers to complete some sort of action after viewing your post, such as sharing, commenting, and liking, or visiting other pieces of the published content.
4. Engage with Users Directly
People will ask some great questions in comments and while replying to them can be time-consuming and tedious, it’s an amazing way to build trust with users. By engaging with people on your Instagram account, you can start to connect with them in a more direct way.
Some users may be on the fence about committing, and if you’re able to answer comments in a quick and friendly manner, you can convert followers who simply need some reassurance before they make their pledge.
Don’t worry if you sometimes receive negative comments or feedback. Showing users that you are able to remain cordial, polite and helpful is what really matters. Everyone can view your comments and responses, so it’s best to address these issues directly and in a respectable way.
5. Create Great Instagram Stories
Creating great Instagram stories is a true art. Whether it’s short videos or photos, they give people a quick snapshot of what you’ve got going on, from your daily activities to snippets of your promotional video content.
When crowdfunding, so much relies on being genuine and establishing close connections with a community. Stories are a great way to invite people in to build trust between your brand and a future community who are invested in what you’re doing.
More Social Media Crowdfunding Tips
Get in touch with us to learn more about how you can maximise the impact of your crowdfunding campaign. We’re a crowdfunding video production company that can help you produce engaging, educational and attention-grabbing content, but we also draw from a deep well of marketing experience in helping our clients get the most from their campaigns.