Narek is an author and consultant and blogs about Crowdfunding at http://thecrowdfundingformula.com/index.php/about/
Today he has dropped by to talk about Crowdfunding videos.
Best Crowdfunding Videos: The Formula for Success
What
makes the best Crowdfunding videos the best, and how do you go about creating a
cinematographic masterpiece for your crowdfunding campaign? I get a lot of
questions about crowdfunding videos and what they should look like, and I’m constantly
fielding requests to comment on videos people create for their campaigns. So,
to save my inbox from the onslaught (and help out those who are too shy to
ask), I thought it was high time I wrote an article on the results of my
research of 206 successful crowdfunding campaigns.
Top tips for creating irresistible
crowdfunding videos
Be realistic
You
don’t
need to be a crowdfunding genius to work out that video is an important element
of your campaign. In fact, it’s probably the most important. Showing is always far
more effective than telling — and
a film is much easier to click on than a lengthy paragraph is to read — so if you can
afford to, hire a professional.
If
money’s
tight and you need to shoot your video yourself, then it’s time to enlist
the help of someone with an iPhone or iPad. Don’t despair! It might sound low
budget, but you can shoot a good quality video with either, in fact, if they’d been around in
the 70’s
George Lucas might have used one and Star Wars would have looked very different
(dash cam on the Millennium Falcon, anyone?).
Be personable
Creating
anything new is an incredibly personal experience. People like people (mostly),
so make sure your video tells your story. The story behind who you are as a
creator and why you started your mission. Honesty enables your backers
to fall in love with your story, play a role in it and get behind your
campaign. I feel like it’s all I ever say but…people
fund people, not ideas, missions or projects. You have to be likable, or backers
won’t
hand over their money.
Keep it short
We
want to get information about your idea quickly, not devote a whole afternoon
to it. The best Kickstarter videos are all under three minutes, so follow their
example and keep it short!
Structure your video
When
it comes to crowdfunding videos, there are tons of ‘listicles’ (articles that take
the form of lists) out there parroting rule after rule after rule. Ignore them.
In my experience, the most successful videos on Kickstarter follow a similar
structure.
•
Introduction: This is brief, just a few words.
•
Problem: Discuss (briefly!) what problem you are
trying to solve, and why your contemporaries haven’t managed it yet.
•
Solution: This is the part where you talk about your
motivation — and a
little about your product. Viewers want to know why you decided to solve the
problem and how your solution will help them (people might like people, but
they also like products that make life easier).
•
Team: Introduce your team. They should come
across as capable and professional, people you’d trust with your hard earned cash.
•
Technology: How are you going to solve your problem
and what technology are you going to use? Remember what I said about honesty?
Yep, well this is the part where you make your plans transparent, just not too
techy.
•
Outcomes: Now
you can really talk about your product! Introduce backers to the final
design.
•
Call
to Action: Don’t let your crowdfunding video fizzle out.
Capitalize on all the interest you’ve built up during your video and end on a call to action — something that encourages potential backers
to act straight away. Try to make them feel like part of your team, an integral
member who’s
instrumental to its success.
Don’t beg
You
want to inspire your audience. Avoid asking directly for ‘help’ or ‘donations,’ instead ask them to
contribute, to become a partner. Together, you can make something spectacular.
Consider the splash
The
front page of your video (the bit backers see before they click play) is called
the splash, and it’s
important. Make sure the first frame of your video is an image that will
encourage a click. Expressive, beautiful, mysterious and (unsurprisingly) sexy are
the big winners in this game.
Choose music to inspire
I don’t care how good your idea, video or product is,
if you introduce it to me over the dulcet tones of heavy metal, I’m not going to invest.
All the best
crowdfunding videos have background music that has spirit and leaves an
impression (although I should point out they don’t dominate the finished video). A quick
search for ‘inspirational
music’ on
marmosetmusic.com is usually all it
takes to find the perfect track.
Analyzing One of My favorite Kickstarter videos: Elevation Dock for
iPhone
Now,
I would generally advise people to stick to the structure above. However, some
campaigns (and campaigners) are built to break the mold. Here’s a quick breakdown
of my favorite Kickstarter video.
1. Problem
So
all those things I said about sticking to the rules? Yep, Casey broke some. His
video started with a simple and effective explanation of the problem. In fact,
he devoted a whole 27 seconds to demonstrating just how widespread a problem it
is, showing us a ton of poorly designed iPhone docks. He knows a huge proportion of his audience will sympathize
with his experience, and he’s compelling them
to keep watching. You’ll also notice these first 27
seconds are accompanied by a somewhat anxious backing track — fast, shrill notes building to a climax.
2. Solution
The
28th second, that’s
where it all changes. That shrill music gives way to inspiring, deliberate
beats; the camera pans confidently around a new dock, and it’s almost a relief
to see the iPhone sitting snugly having spent half a minute watching it
jumping all over the place. The atmosphere change gives the new dock the real ‘wow’ factor. Gone is the
hand clumsily disconnecting the phone from the docks, now the iPhone is removed
in one swift, confident motion.
3. Introduction
In
my defense, I said early on that he did it all wrong (except that, in this
context, it was right). Now comes the introduction, the personal element. Casey
underlines why he
decided to create this product, and it’s a reason that will resonate with everyone who’s kept watching up
until this point — frustration.
Then he jumps to…
4. Expected Outcome
Now
Casey shows us what he hopes to achieve and the features his product will
incorporate. He highlights why his product is different from his competitors
and he makes it obvious that he has the solution to a problem many people are
experiencing.
5. Team
There
was no team in this video. Casey was the frontman (never an easy job), but he
does talk about ‘we,’ so we the audience
know there’s
a team working behind the scenes.
6. Technology
Casey tells us what technology and materials he
will use to produce the dock and then we get to see him in a factory. We’re building a
picture of him as a capable guy who’s happy to get his hands dirty. In short, we’re starting to
trust that he knows what he’s doing. And just in case we weren’t? He highlights
the quality of his product by letting us know that this is the same technology
Apple uses. Clever, since Apple fans are a) his target market and b) love
absolutely anything related to the brand.
7. Outcome
Now,
the real outcome. We get a nice succinct description of the new dock and its
features, a refresher on why it’s head and shoulders above the competition (cue
frustrated, jittering hand once again popping into shot to emphasize the
problem). Oh, and a nice little name drop because ‘Jeff thinks it’s great’ (Jeff’s the VP of Apple,
for those of you who didn’t know).
8. Call to action
Casey
finishes his work, washes his hands (because that’s what a guy you can trust
would do) and then tells us how excited he is. He’s trying to kinder a similar
excitement in his audience. If he succeeds, we’re that much more likely to
help him out.
Just
to emphasize how Apple friendly the new dock is, the video ends with a
demonstration of how well the dock works with other Apple products — because what
self-respecting Apple enthusiast owns only an iPhone?
To sum up
So
what’s the reason why I love this
Kickstarter campaign video so much? Because Casey knows his audience. He’s targeting Apple owners exclusively, and he’s made sure to mirror that brand’s established video presentation style. He’s evoking similar feelings in his audience as they’d experience watching Apple unveil its latest product.
Oh,
and he raised $25,000 in the first two hours after launch. By the time his
campaign closed, a total of 12,500 people had chosen to back the Elevation
dock, and Casey and his film raised a cool $1.5 million in the process.
Which
is why I think Casey and his team deserve the accolade for Best Kickstarter
Video, but the crowdfunding world moves quickly. Who’s to say that, in a few short
months, I won’t
be sitting here writing an article about that brilliant video you’ve just made? After
all, success
has a formula — you
only need to discover it.
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