Before You Hit Record: 4 Critical Considerations for Your Crowdfunding Video Marketing Strategy
Before You Hit Record: 4 Critical Considerations for Your Crowdfunding Video Marketing Strategy
You've got that brilliant crowdfunding idea, and you know a stellar video is your campaign's lifeline. But simply making a great video isn't enough. To truly succeed, your video needs to be part of a larger, well-orchestrated video marketing strategy. It's about getting the right video in front of the right people at the right time, turning viewers into passionate backers.
Before you even finalize your script or book a crowdfunding video production company, take a strategic pause. Here are 4 crucial things to consider that will lay the foundation for a video marketing strategy designed to elevate your crowdfunding campaign:
1. Who Exactly Are Your Backers (and Where Do They Live Online)?
This is paramount. Don't just think "everyone who likes cool stuff." Get granular.
Demographics & Psychographics: Are they early adopters, budget-conscious consumers, hobbyists, or social impact investors? What are their age ranges, interests, and values?
Platform Preference: Are they spending hours on TikTok, Browse LinkedIn, hanging out in niche forums, or watching long-form content on YouTube? Your primary Indiegogo video production piece might be 3 minutes, but you'll need shorter cuts optimized for each platform where your audience congregates. Knowing this dictates your distribution plan and what kind of supporting video content you'll need.
Motivation: Why would they back your project? Is it for the innovation, the community, the specific problem solved, or the exclusive perks? Your video strategy needs to speak directly to these motivations.
Without a deep understanding of your audience, your amazing video might just be shouting into the void.
2. What's Your Pre-Launch, Launch, and Post-Launch Video Plan?
Your video marketing isn't a one-and-done event. It's a journey that unfolds in distinct phases:
Pre-Launch Hype (Building Anticipation): This phase is all about teasing and building an email list. Think short, intriguing snippets, "behind-the-scenes" glimpses, or even mini-interviews with your team members showing their passion. These are perfect for social media teasers and initial outreach. The goal is to generate buzz and get people excited for launch day.
Launch Day Blitz (The Main Event): Your primary Kickstarter video takes center stage here. It needs to be prominently featured on your campaign page and pushed heavily across all your channels. Consider a live Q&A session on social media to build real-time engagement and answer immediate questions.
Mid-Campaign Engagement (Sustaining Momentum): The middle of a campaign can see a dip. Keep the energy high with new video content. This could include updated product demonstrations based on early feedback, "stretch goal" reveals, interviews with satisfied beta testers, or showcasing new use-cases for your product.
Post-Campaign "Thank You" & Updates: Even after funding, video remains vital. Use it to thank backers, provide progress updates, and keep them engaged as you move towards fulfillment. This builds trust for future projects.
A comprehensive crowdfunding video production agency can help you map out these different video assets and integrate them seamlessly into your broader marketing calendar.
3. What's Your Budget & How Will It Impact Production Quality/Volume?
Let's talk brass tacks. Your budget isn't just about the main video; it's about your entire video marketing ecosystem.
Main Campaign Video: This is your big investment. How much can you realistically allocate to ensure it's compelling, professional, and trustworthy? Remember, perceived production quality directly correlates with perceived project viability in many backers' eyes.
Supporting Content: Will you have the resources (time, skill, budget) to create additional short videos for social media, animated explainers, or update videos during the campaign?
DIY vs. Professional: While some initial teaser content can be DIY, for the core campaign video, a professional touch often translates directly to higher conversions. A video production Orange County company can discuss various package options to fit different budget levels, advising on where to invest for maximum impact.
Return on Investment (ROI): Frame your video budget as an investment. How much more likely are you to hit your goal (and potentially beyond) with a high-quality, strategically deployed video?
4. How Will You Measure Success and Adapt Your Strategy?
Video marketing isn't just about creating content; it's about creating effective content. You need metrics to guide your efforts.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): What will you track? Video views, completion rates, click-through rates (to your Kickstarter page), conversion rates from video viewers to pledges, social shares, and comments.
A/B Testing: Can you test different video thumbnails, intro hooks, or calls to action to see what resonates most?
Audience Feedback: Pay close attention to comments on your video and social channels. Are people asking for more information on a specific feature? Are they confused about a particular aspect? Use this feedback to inform future video updates or FAQs.
Platform Analytics: Leverage the analytics provided by Kickstarter, YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms to understand how your video content is performing.
By thoughtfully considering these four strategic pillars before you even hit record, you'll ensure your crowdfunding video is not just a creative piece, but a powerful engine driving pledges and turning your groundbreaking idea into a funded reality.
Once you’ve established a clear goal, figure out which relevant metrics you should track. Number of video views is a metric that is often used mistakenly as a “success” stand-in (“Look, Ma, a bajilion views!”), but we’ll be the first to tell you there is no “one metric to rule them all” in online video.
Sometimes, your metrics will be cut and dry — how many sales resulted directly from the link in the video? Other times, you will have to measure success more qualitatively — how has sentiment around my brand changed after people view this video? Some really good metrics are likes and comments. People who actually take time to leave you a thoughtful comment are rare.
#2. Who is your audience?
Having a clear goal in mind will help you identify your core audience. Our advice is this: envision your audience as a single person and build an identity around that person. Is it a creative type who values production quality and technique? A businessperson who just wants the bottom line upfront? A teenager with a limited attention span who is looking for a quick laugh? By envisioning your audience, you can put parameters around your video needs and start budgeting time and money for your idea.
We love how Intelligentsia coffee speaks to its coffee connoisseur customers:
#3. How long do you want your video to be?
You’ll need to decide if long-form video (longer than 10 minutes) or short-form (shorter than 10 minutes) is the best way to communicate your creative vision and achieve your goal. While there are no hard and fast rules, there are some best practices you should keep in mind if you’re creating a marketing video. Advertisements should be as short as possible, and no longer than 30 seconds. A campaign video (like a crowdfunding video) should be anywhere from 90 seconds to three minutes long.
We always encourage brands to stop interrupting videos with ads and start creating audience-worthy videos themselves. Long-form branded videos are better at engaging customers on a deeper level than any video advertisement ever could. The Lincoln Motor Company, for instance, has commissioned a number of short films for their #InTheMoment and #HelloAgain campaigns that have captivated Internet viewers beyond their typical consumer base.
#4. What’s your budget?
FYI: the length of your video production is directly tied to how much it will cost to create the video, and should be reflected in your budget.
If you’re filming your own video with your own video production crew — great! When building out your budget, make sure you account for the standard equipment and labor costs, along with things you might not anticipate like insurance and transportation. Plan as much as possible in advance, but be wary that surprise costs always arise, no matter how fine-tuned your inner planner may be.
If you’re hiring someone to create a video for you, you have the option of going with (in order of least to most expensive) an independent creator, a small to midsize agency, or a global agency. Unlike your budget, the price tag may not directly correspond to the quality: your video could be just as great if it’s made by an independent filmmaker as by a professional agency. So how should you choose who to hire? Lucky for you, we already wrote about that.
No matter your budget, your business video has the potential to be original, creative, and fresh. It should never be just another generic brand video.
This is in a new realm and has been growing substantially. We are getting a lot of crowdfunding video production inquiries these days. Launching a product or service or motion picture is becoming easier and easier. I fully suggest hiring the "Crowdfunding Marketing Company" along with your production company and making sure everyone is on the same page in the meeting. This goes a long way when figuring out crowdfunding pre production scripting and concepts.
Once you’ve answered these four brain-bending questions, you should have a great foundation for your biz vid strategy. And if you ever need more help, the Vimeo community is famous for being super helpful with advice and critiques — find these excellent, Vimeo-loving people onFacebook, Twitter, orLinkedIn and join in the convo!
This article was originally published on the Vimeo blog.
