Need to get over that financing hurdle? Facebook, Twitter, and just about everything online, is re-shaping the way we interact with each other – Now crowdfunding presents an exciting new platform for aspiring artists, philanthropists, and start-ups to finance their projects.  The ever-growing social media landscape is the driving force behind crowdfunding’s ability to generate finances to start and grow your business. Micro-lending and peer-to-peer lending were the earliest examples of “social financing”.

What is Crowdfunding?

Crowd funding is a platform which allows regular people to display their ideas by using the power of social media and video outlets such as Youtube to pitch their projects to a large pool of micro-investors.  Where a substantial investor would have been needed in the past, crowd funding makes it possible for individuals to leverage the masses to reach their investment goals. Whether you garner enough support or not, depends on your approach.

The real power of crowdfunding lies in the ability to expose large groups of investors to to new creative projects, ventures and/or business opportunities. Writers, independent film makers and entrepreneurs looking for seed money can take advantage of crowdfunding to get their business off the ground and/or to revive an existing business. Crowdfunding is also becoming an effective way to finance non-profit enterprises.

CAMPAIGN TIPS:

Tip 1: Understand Your Options

Check out as many sites as possible to find one best suited for your project. As listed below, certain sites are geared towards a particular niche or type of campaign. Would you like to raise as much money as possible by a certain date? Or would it be an all or nothing campaign; meaning your investors wouldn’t be charged if the entire campaign goal wasn’t met? Check your options out and decide what is best. Here are some good examples:

Kickstarter – Crowdfunding for creative projects

Crowdtilt – Crowdfunding for ANYTHING

Angellist – A funding site for angel investors

Indiegogo – Similar to Kickstarter, for creative projects

Appbackr – Crowdfunding for apps

Tip 2: Create a Campaign That Attracts Press

Whether it’s your product or an engaging video that goes viral, get creative and outline ways you can attract some press. Once you’ve outlined your campaign, leverage the power of social media to garner support for your project.  See our post on “Going Viral”

Tip 3: Engage With the Community

Be sure to provide regular updates, answer any questions, and ask questions. Engaging and showing progress will ensure them that they made the right choice by supporting your cause and may prompt them to give positive “word of mouth”.marketing.

Tip 4: Promote Like No Tomorrow

People like stories; so tell a great one. Media outlets are hungry for news and your press release can add more fans and drive people to your campaign site. Tweet about it, write blog posts about it and add a signature line to all your emails with a link to your project. This not only gets you seen by people, but also builds back-links for search engine results.

Tip 5: Don’t ask for charity; What’s in it for them?

Realize the difference between a well thought-out; and engaging campaign vs just flat out asking for help. Although people could probably sympathize with your struggling  band, remember to offer enticing rewards for investing their hard-earned money.  Get creative with your gifts and offers; make your potential investors feel like they’re supporting a movement, rather than just forking over money.

In addition to aggregating funds to financing your project and ideas, your able to engage directly with your target market, tweek your strategies, and learn from your mistakes. Kickstarter was reported to have collected over $40million and funding over 20,000 projects just 2 years after launching in April of 2009.

 See more business advice for ‘Start Up Fundamentals’

Small business owners often find themselves looking to established companies as models for marketing and strategy examples.  Two things to consider here are: 1) What is your marketing budget? 2) What stage is your business in?

Your business decisions & objectives should be in line with the stage of your business- If your business is just starting off and/or have a limited budget, then you might want to look into more cost effective ways to promote your business.

The following are 9 cost effective tips to alternative marketing:

• Utilize New Business Tools - In a world exploding with new ways to grow your business, sites like BizSaves tests out the most innovative and effective business tools out there and makes it easier to try. BizSaves offers a wide range of deals on business tools such as targeted sales leads,text message marketing, web analytics and even an online spokesperson for your site.

• Develop Your 20 second speech  - Whether in the elevator, or at a networking event, you will need that 15-20 second sales pitch that quickly hooks in your audience; this form of marketing is termed as your elevator pitch.  Practicing and perfecting your pitch will result in you being more confident, informative and effective in swaying your audience to action.

• Business Cards - Business cards for your business; business cards for your employees. Business cards are fundamental to business, yet people often limit their business to one card; usually for the business, or high ranking positions.  If your smart, you’ll utilize your employees as free advertising.  Who else better to promote your business, then the people that know your business the most?

• Get Active - If you want to be successful in marketing your company, then you need to be active in the clubs and organizations that would be interested in what you do. Join the local chamber of commerce and become active in their functions. If you sell books, then ask to be a library volunteer to help get out among the people in your area that read. Sites such as meetup.com and linked in, are great social outlets that allow individuals to connect with their desired target market.

• Build Your Sales Team - Help people…HELP YOU!  In other words, build affiliate partnerships with influential players that could drive traffic to your business. For example: If your a restaurant, create relationships with hotel concierges, tour guides, and office managers.  If your in the product business, create as many reseller partnerships as possible.

• Know Your Competition - Establish who your competitors are; and see what effective marketing they are executing; note any inefficiencies. Do any marketing channels exist which have been untapped within your industry?

• Benchmarking Through Social Media - In today’s world, developing your social presence is fundamental. Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin are 3 major players in the social game; each serving a unique purpose. Benchmarking is marketing strategy of identifying industry leaders and undertake such activities that establish you as a direct competitor such as: tweeting, strategic mentions and wall posts. This is particularly effective for start-ups and/or less established brands.

• Ask Your Customers - When talking to customers, ask them how they heard about your business.  Instead of wasting precious marketing dollars to something that doesn’t produce customers, your able to pin point what is effective and what isn’t. If you have a site, install an after purchase questionnaire.  For traditional “brick and mortar” businesses, place comment cards which they could turn in to win a prize.

• The Power of “Thank You” -  Get into a regular regimen of thanking people. Even more powerful, is the “follow up thank you”.  As a business, you might be thanking people on a daily basis; at times wholeheartedly and at other times because it’s protocol. Whether its in person, through email, or a gift, making someone feel appreciated and important will strengthen your business relationship and give you more reasons to thank them in the future.

Business Advice for New Yorkers

When you’re going into business in New York, New York you are going head to head with some of the stiffest competition in the world. Not just your fellow retailers either; the New York City consumer is one who can’t be fooled, doesn’t mess around, and isn’t playing games. Even if you pull the wool over a New Yorkers eye once, it won’t happen again. The retailers are also blood thirsty too. So for New Yorkers there is a fair amount of business study one needs to do but for this piece we’ll just start with the four things every business owner needs to know who’s thinking about opening up shop along the Rialto.

Business Advice Quality Begets Quality

Business Advice: Quality Begets Quality: Of course the first piece of advice anyone going into business in New York City needs to know is you get what you give. Put more eloquently quality begets quality. If you are looking for the couture customer; the customer with lots of power and lots of influence and plenty of money, then you need to project that out into the world.

Don’t think that you need to “be” someone to get that customer with tons of cash either; you just need to be selling something which that customer wants. Do you think that Kate Spade was anyone of any importance when she began making her very expensive pocketbooks in her downtown shop? But her bags are certainly something of a mid-range to upper-class status symbol now. She’s no Prada but she’s also not Wal-Mart. As a frame of reference though the type of product you put out into the world equals the kind of customer you are going to attract. If you’ve got the wrong customer in your store you might want to turn the mirror back.

Business Advice Cheaters Never Prosper

Business Advice: Cheaters Never Prosper: This is sort of a no-brainer but if you get a bad rep in this town you’re going to have to own it. It’s not going to help you to do wrong by a pack of customers and then think you can come back to town and everything’s all peachy. Some of the most sage business advice anyone can offer a New York city business owner is don’t come to town and try to do wrong or if you do don’t think that you can come back around and do the same thing twice. New Yorkers will ride you out on a rail.

Business Advice The Internet is Your Friend

Business Advice: The Internet is Your Friend: Many big box retailers and mega chains are scared to death of the Internet in most of the world. But in a big city like New York, the Internet is your friend. There are no humongous chain stores (sans Macy’s and Lord & Taylor) in Manhattan. The closest are some of the larger clothing retailers, cosmetics stores, area grocers, and pharmacies. That’s it. So if you’re coming to town and you’ve got your own unique spin you should use the Internet to your advantage. Everyone in the city has their Internet in their pocket and they are always online. So if you want to run a special 6 hour sale and you want to post it on your Facebook page, that’s totally something that can work for you. Maybe not right away but give it some time, build some chatter, and engage with your customers online; they will still shop with you if you have something worthy to sell them and every New Yorker loves the next big thing and a deal.

Business Advice Throw Everything You Thought You Knew About Business Out the Window

Business Advice: Throw Everything You Thought You Knew About Business Out the Window: Finally some of the best advice any business owner in New York City could use is take whatever you thought you knew about business and set it aside. New York City is not like anywhere else; in a way living in New York and working in New York is a bit of a crapshoot. You never know what you’re going to get and even when you think you’re plugging in the right answers you could keep getting error messages. Some of the best business people and businesses in the world have failed miserably in the Big Apple; even as they have flourished elsewhere. So don’t take it too personally. And don’t be afraid. This is your life and if you believe that you should be doing business in New York City than you should do it. That’s the best business advice any New York can have. Be like Mike. Just do it.