Crowdfunding campaign is so much more than just raising funds. It is a good opportunity to introduce and promote your brand. Therefore it should also be regarded as a marketing and communication campaign - together with a marketing plan, communication strategy, fixed goals and persistent implementation of those during the campaign.
 
●      Pitch
 
Pitching means that you introduce your product or a service by marketing an investment opportunity to your potential investors. While preparing it, turn to some basic principles – a pitch should be well prepared, convincing and attractive because it is the first thing that attracts attention to your campaign. It is worthwhile testing on your friends and acquaintances - collect different feedback about your pitch and think – would You, yourself, invest into that project after the first impression?

●      Big network - big success
 
It is wise to start drawing attention to your product or service before the beginning of the campaign. The bigger the crowd, i.e. your fans, the better the campaign. To increase the number of your fans and engage them in your campaign you can choose from multitude of activities- start a newsletter (if you haven’t already), participate on fairs and conferences, start a social media campaign, organise webinars etc.
 
In case you are lacking loyal supporters in the beginning, it may help if you find a celebrity or an expert of the field, who agrees to promote your project- either as an investor, an advisor, a mentor or a spokesperson.  Increase your network, because experience shows that a major part of funding comes through friends and friends’ friends.
 
●      Mobilize the three F-s
 
Ensuring the success of your crowdfunding campaign is about mobilizing your support systems, or the so called three F-s: friends, family and fools. Fundwise is your fourth F. A lot of investors follow campaigns to see how much somebody is investing. Before starting the campaign you could find out who in your family, among friends, colleagues, clients, partners etc. could be potential investors, they would be interested to be among the first ones. So, let them know about your plans already before the campaign is launched.  If you manage to engage investors already during first days, the successful start attracts more investors and the campaign will have more chances to succeed. Engage the first investors also to spread the word about your campaign, they are profiting from your success as well and you both win.

●      Be open and transparent

Keep your investors and potential supporters updated - both when the news are good or bad.
Communicate on regular basis and bring your field into the focus on campaign forums, in your own communication channels (newsletters, blogs), in social media- this shows your company as reliable and trustworthy.  Keep your investors informed about important issues also after the campaign. Do it with reasonable intervals, for example a quarterly newsletter or a report is enough.
 
●      Social media
 
Every product or service needs an appropriate social media campaign and/or  adapting your marketing, also internal marketing activities to a specific platform. In general, Twitter is not very popular in Estonia, LinkedIn is also more of an international channel - so you could concentrate on your company’s Facebook page, homepage, newsletter and blogs.
 
Depending on your company and your marketing budget you can also consider promotion banners on Facebook, Youtube or why not even on Instagram. It all depends, of course, on the special needs of your company.
 
During the campaign we recommend to post at least once a day on Facebook, also use sponsored posting and attract your own fans, as well as target your potential investors (creating a campaign and managing it is really convenient on Facebook platform).
 
●      Media

There is no more powerful and usually free channel to promote yourself than the media. Journalists today have a lot of work and it might be naïve to believe that they find your company among others. So, do not hesitate to call or write to everyone you think of as a right contact. Maybe you already know some journalists, a blogger or someone who could be interested to write about your company or help in some way.  Try to find different angles, how to make your story interesting- maybe the founder of the company has come from a different field, made a big change in his/her life? Maybe the product or a service is so innovative that it is attracting national news? Bigger publishers in Estonia have also thematic webs, where it is worth while speading the word about your project.  

For example, Äripäev has 11 theme webs: www.sekretär.ee, www.raamatupidaja.ee, www.tööstusuudised.ee, www.kaubandus.ee, www.best-marketing.ee, www.põllumajandus.ee, www.ehitusuudised.ee, www.ituudised.ee, www.logistikauudised.ee, www.kinnisvarauudised.ee, www.bestsales.ee

You can also offer your topics to the Russian-speaking audience, that option sometimes is neglected. For example Russian Postimees/ Den za Dnjom http://rus.postimees.ee/, Russian Delfi http://rus.delfi.ee/, Radio 4, Russian Äripäev / Delovõje Vedomosti http://dv.ee/ , ETV+ morning program etc. You can also offer a ready-made story to journalists, which might be appreciated- provided that it is not just a cheesy and simplistic advertising. In case your company already has bigger plans or news to communicate, you can think of a press release or even a press conference. In case your company has been promoted in media, TV or radio news, include these on your campaign page as accomplishments. Marketing strategy should be solid and implemented in regular terms.

Marketing is not a universal  “one size fits all”.  Depending on your company needs, maybe it is most suitable for you to promote the company on social media (blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) or maybe telemarketing, networking -conferences or direct PR activities.  Of course, bear in mind that if you promote yourself only in one channel, it may not bring 100% success, so use different channels and combine according to your company’s needs.

Notwithstanding the marketing channel, be consistent and keep your existing and potential investors updated about your company’s activities.  It is useful to send newsletters to investors and using a more personal touch with investors to be, of course, be sensitive to their needs there too. There are some who want to meet you in person, to have a look at your factory, cafeteria, team etc. Several successful campaigns have used exactly that element. For example, our electric bike producer Ööbik opened their production premises and organised a meeting with their team on a certain weekday during the whole campaign period. Siidrikoda invited investors to an autumn organic fair NOP, they also invited them to taste their products after the campaign as well.

What concerns social media networks, you do not have to cover all of them. Choose the networks where your fans and investors are most active. Every network has its aim: LinkedIn is good for making contacts, posting your blog articles etc. Through Twitter you can inform a lot of people at the same time (although, as mentioned before this channel is not so popular in Estonia). Whichever channel you may use do it regularly and with clear messages. 

Useful articles about marketing:
 
https://www.krowdster.co/blog/the-1-reason-why-crowdfunding-campaigns-fail.html
 
http://blog.hootsuite.com/the-difference-between-marketing-to-an-audience-and-building-a-community/