So you own a business… or maybe you are just starting out. Whatever phase of business you are at, most of us have in common one thing- we must have financing. I am sure you have been exploring your options: financing it yourself, Angel Investing, bank lending options, charge cards, borrowing from a friend or loved ones member… you’ll find methods to get it done.
But have you investigated Kickstarter or crowdfunding in general? It may or may not be for you (depending on your organization, etc) but it is worth investigating. Kickstarter is a financing platform for people with project ideas. An individual puts together a page about their project- what it is, what they are aiming to fulfill, how much cash they will need to raise, etc. If the project is authorized, it goes live and others are able to see it.
Consumers view the project and if they decide to “invest” in it is creation they are able to make a donation. Funding is all or nothing- so if the amount needed is raised, the individual that created the project will get the funds. If support comes up short, money does not exchange hands. This creates security for both the project owner and the investors. You do not have to attempt to build a product without enough money; and purchasers do not put money into a venture that may 0r may not be completed.
So why would I propose this style of fundraising?
1.) The all or nothing concept – there is an ability to fundraise the money you must have and possibly more. If you do not, no damage done. You do not owe anyone anything
2.) The visibility – having possibly 100s of people knowledgeable of your project before it is even built and having “pre-orders”
3.) Control – compared borrowing money, you don’t pay back the funding you receive. The backers through Kickstarter traditionally are given “rewards” for a variety of monetary contributions. So the finances are yours to develop your project. However, understand that money earned through “crowdfunding” can be subjected to taxes
4.) Input – once you fund-raise and build this community around your project, you now have people with a authentic concern in seeing your project succeed- and possibly are already thinking about acquiring it. Go to them for suggestions, with your options, etc. Discover what they would like to see included!
Of course there are many other crowdfunding site out there besides Kickstarter. Take a look at the different outlets, compare them and get going! What do you have to lose?…
If you’re serious about Facebook marketing, you need to be on top of the trends. So many people are on Facebook, which is why you need to use it for marketing purposes. You can easily create a simple but effective marketing campaign on Facebook simply by using the advice provided to you here.
Talk with fans regularly to see what they want. Take note of things posted on your page. Many businessmen that are successful have received great marketing ideas that work from the general public. Remember that customers are the lifeblood of your company. If they desert you, you are toast.
Having contests and giveaways can really broaden your Facebook audience, so make sure to take full advantage. Provide discounts and prizes to those who give your page a “like.” Follow through with your prizes and discounts, or you will lose customers.
Any content published online should be linked to your Facebook page. If you write a blog, make sure that new posts appear on Facebook. Link up your Twitter account so that your Tweets appear on your Facebook wall, too.
Don’t let spammers overtake your Facebook page. There are filters you can use when you edit your page which help you to monitor your page, even when you’re not around. Any approved person can access the page with these tools if they know the password.
Consider Facebook as one way to share information. It’s not all about chatting it up with your friends; it’s also a great place to share content too. Don’t neglect this powerful marketing tool. Use Facebook to promote your blogs from other channels. This will increase your traffic and profit in the long run.
You will be able to put your fans email addresses on a list that will reach them using the ‘custom audiences’ feature. This is a good way to improve your conversion ratio and reduce what you spend to develop your campaign.
Consider Facebook carefully when choosing a platform for marketing on social media. Facebook is a great networking site, but there are plenty of others that reach out to different demographics. Do sufficient research on your targets to understand which of the social media channels they use prior to beginning a campaign.
A good way to convert visitors to your page into followers is to hide content from non-fans. Casual visitors will turn into followers in order to gain access to the fans-only content. Exercise good judgement in the amount of content you provide behind a fans-only area, because it will impact your SEO.
You should definitely focus on finding a personality for your brand. If your posts are boring, they will assume your brand is, too. Be certain all your advertising stays professional, even those ads that are skirting the borders of being “edgy” or “trendy.”
Instead of having the mindset that Facebook is ineffective, you should figure out what it can do to help you. There are many people on Facebook now, it is not just a place …