My deck from a Social Media Week London event that took place on Tuesday 25th September at Hoxton Apprentice 16 Hoxton Square London.
On the panel discussion were Tom Davies from Seedrs, an online platform for investing seed capital, and Jaques Kotze from Digital Spin whose company has successfully raised capital through Seedrs. Despite our differences we were able to explore best practice in running a successful campaign and what the culture industries and tech industries are learning from one another in achieving their funding goals
1. Social Media Week London #SMWLdn
CROWDFUNDING
Success is Sweetest When Shared
@stuiewood
#sweetfund
Thanks to @Seedrs
Thanks to Hoxton Apprentice @Hoxton_app
2. AIMS OF SESSION
Raise money but also create advocacy for your
project/brand
Develop networks
People invest in passion
Plan and invest in an excellent campaign
Offer unique perks
Find the right crowdfunding site for your project
3. ABOUT ME
STUART WOOD MUSIC AT HOXTON WORKS
#sweetfund
@stuiewood
stuartwoodmusic.com
4. TYPES OF CROWDFUNDING
1. Peer to Peer – lending type fund – you pay it back
2.Equity based where you sell shares or parts of shares
to armchair dragons. Regulated by FSA.
@seedrs best UK example
1. The reward model made most famous by Kickstarter
where you offer treats or perks in return for a donation
to help fund your project.
5. NOT ONLY ABOUT RAISING MONEY!
Raising awareness about you and…
..Your project
Reaching out to INFLUENCERS
Expanding online and offline networks
ENGAGEMENT
6. “CAN’T JUST SET IT AND FORGET IT – IT’S HARD
WORK!”
“This isn’t a one off activity. This isn’t about getting the
money in the bank and then forgetting about it. It’s
really important foundation stone in the future of your
business”
MichelleRodger
Bloomvc.com
@bloomvc
7. TELL YOUR STORY IN AN UTTERLY COMPELLING WAY
•Funders need to understand
•Why is it important to you, why it matters
•How they can be a part of the journey
•The crowd will decide which project they want
to back
8. CAMPAIGNS THAT GET FUNDED:
Sell themselves the best
Offer the best rewards
Communicate the best
Competition is healthy!#SweetFund
9. CASE STUDY – THE MASK OF JOY
A 30 day campaign to raise £3K for four costumes for a pop-up show
13. WERQIN IT!
You need to be on it every day
Respond to people who are commenting
Emailing
Talk aboutitat events
Thank funders on an ongoing basis
Keep them involved in the process
19. REWARDS – PERKS – MAKE THEM GOOD!
Funders involved initially on an emotional level
Making a promise – no money leaves their account
They get the rewards once the project has been successful
See who’s backed you - you have their email address.
Important to keep in touch with them throughout the project
Can be add to your mailchimp if they agree
20. THE BENEFIT OF A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN
Testing the market
Demonstrate market appetite
Public Engagement
See your demographic
Establishing loyalty early on
People sign up to your mailing list
They are so keen to use your service that they are
paying you to start your business.
Media profile and the opportunity to build brand
Building a wider audience
Expanding your social media networks
Increasing your ability to pre-sell
21. TAKE AWAYS
Aim to be oversubscribed.
Don’t sit back – you need to work hard with community
engagement
Warm everyone up before and have an engagement strategy
in place
Make sure the rewards have unique offers that you only get
from you.
Be honest – you can’t hide in social media
Don’t spam people – Twitter / FB / Linkedin but be careful
Don’t do anything illegal
Embed the project on your blog or anywhere. – this is really
useful
Make sure the platforms link to social media
Making sure people understand what the concept is
Main points I wanted raise to create some best practice for Crowdfunding.
Composer for media and performance. Studio in Hoxton St
It’s like the traditional model where you go to some investors, they take some equity in your company - Funding circleKivaEquity based where you sell shares or parts of shares to armchair dragons. They are regulated by the FSA
Going to start with the reward model – which is me – then we will look a little at the Equity based model – Seedrs and hear from Jaques and his company Digital Spin. The real challenge is to reach out beyond friends and family
Encourage and compel people to back you and start your project or business.
Public Engagement – Live Street Theatre – style pop up performances
Let the campaign inform you – let your network be your advocates
Please leave your card or leave your email in the book