KickstarterForum.org

Hello. My name is Rocky and I'm currently trying to gain exposure for my brand and product pre-Kickstarter. Ive been doing a lot of reading on how to use twitter and other social media platforms to help build a buzz and I have a good understanding of the "theory" behind it but I have some questions.

What kind of approach should be taken when communicating with people?

Should you come right out and ask for help spreading the word/ask for retweets etc?

Would it be a good idea to go beyond simple tweeting at people who have shown a strong interest and direct message them asking to help get the word out or is this asking too much?

Any tips or advice on how to communicate with people would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure others on this forum might have similar questions. Social media marketing can seem pretty daunting at first!

Thanks

Hey Rocky. Some thoughts:

"What kind of approach should be taken when communicating with people?"

It depends on the person and what your goal is. I'll give you an example. I wanted to connect with this one entrepreneur who had sold his company for a good chunk of change and had also founded a previous company I worked at at the time. I had been following him on twitter for a few months. He tweeted something about how he hated how people used the term "peeps." I sent him a picture of the peeps marshmellow candy via twitter mention and was like "These guys like it.". He sent a mention back saying "haha you made my day."

I then emailed him saying glad you liked the picture on twitter, my name is ___ I'm used to work at ____, I was wondering if you had a few minutes to talk. Would love to pick your brain on ____, and it lead to a nice call.

I had a small connection to the person but needed a reason to reach out. My goal was to learn from them via a call.

Personally, I always notice people who tweet my articles and mention me or retweet my tweets on a regular basis or reply to things I tweet out with comments. Over time, I get to recognize their name/profile image. If they use the same name or profile image in their email when they contact me or mention they have been following me on twitter for a while, I'm more likely to reply to their email.

It also depends on what your goal is or what you want from them.

"Should you come right out and ask for help spreading the word/ask for retweets etc?"

You can. Some accounts like mine (@Kickstartforum, @crowdfundingpr_, @crowdcrux, @sbriggman), I'll retweet campaigns on a regular basis, but that's because this is my industry. If you're going after an influencer who is not familiar with Kickstarter, they might register it in their brain as spam or a plead for help and ignore it. Most people on twitter are hyper-aware of their industry's news, so if, for example, the influencer blogs about wearable tech, you might tweet "Loved your article on ___ Think this Kickstarter campaign is going to transform the wearable tech industry. Thoughts?" and see if they reply. Obviously, may need to get the characters down if it doesn't fit.

It comes down to trial and error, but always try to personalize and connect the pitch with what the individual is doing or working on. It's hard to sell directly on social media, unless you have an established following. Use it as a way to get influencers to reply to an email, a DM, or retweet you.

If at all possible, support what the influencer is doing in some small way. By retweeting them actively or commenting on their articles, you'll increase the chances they will notice you. It's kind of like buying a girl a drink at the bar. They feel more compelled to listen to what you have to say.

I would also mix it up. See if you get responses asking for a retweet. If you don't, change it up.

Would it be a good idea to go beyond simple tweeting at people who have shown a strong interest and direct message them asking to help get the word out or is this asking too much?

This is just me, but I would always try to move the conversation beyond twitter. Try to use the twitter conversation to get their email address where you can then have a larger convo.

Give them a specific way to help your campaign and why they should. If possible, do things for them before you ask something of them (goes back to sharing their content or commenting on their stuff). You can also say if they aren't comfortable sharing, is there anyone they could introduce you to who might be a good fit for the campaign or writes about your topic.

I'm not an expert on social media, though I do use it a lot. Like most things, it comes down to trial and error. I invite others to provide advice.

Resources:
How to market your campaign using twitter: http://www.crowdcrux.com/marketing-your ... g-twitter/
Social media guide for first time entrepreneurs: http://www.salvadorbriggman.com/first-t ... ial-media/
Also love these blogs related to social media: http://www.crowdcrux.com/blogs-to-read- ... -campaign/

Hi Salvador, great response! You've answered my questions well.

Thank you!

Hi Rocky, we follow you on twitter and also I think Michael will post something about you on Facebook very soon!

Good luck with your campaign.

Also, thank you very much Salvador, a very, but very very useful answer!

Hey everyone. I have never used Twitter, and would like to use it for my webshop. I am wondering if I should pay for the enterprise option or just do a regular name. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I get asked to retweet ad-type things all the time. What I do is look at the past 10-20 tweets from that person and if all of them are "Hey, have you seen my great new math game? Check it out: www.MathGameLink.com" then I ignore them. Sometimes if I have time, I'll tweet back and tell them they need a relationship with me before trying to take it to 3rd base.

So I say the same to you: connect with folks on twitter. Do what Salvador does and comment on tweets.

1. Identify the tweople you want to target.
2. Follow them officially.
3. Follow them closely (like watch their tweets a lot).
4. Comment as a human on their tweets and RT their stuff.
5. Do all this beginning at least a month before you ask them for anything.
6. When you DO ask them to share, connect it with something you previously shared together on twitter.

Example:

Target:
It bugs me when people have spinach in their teeth.

You:
Are you sure it's spinach? Could be kale - that's pretty popular now with the hippies.

Target:
Good point!

You (5 weeks later):
Hey @Target - I'm working on this project. I can't say it gets spinach out of people's teeth, but it is good for math learning! www.MathGameLink.com #cleanteethisntmathlearning

Okay - so that's a pretty terrible example, but I think it gets the point across.

Let me know if I've added confusion or if this helps.

@mathfour - Thanks for sharing some great tips! I would also add - Use the same profile image across all social media accounts and forums. This way, people will begin to recognize your face on the web.

3rd base, Kale, and Hippies touched upon in one post....@MathFour you have gone beyond explaining, and I appreciate it very much.

Thanks for the tips! I am surely learning that being on twitter is a full time job.

But I think I am maybe on it too much as I am now dreaming about @ and #'s!!!

@onesuit Twitter is just one marketing channel - if you see it as a full-time job then perhaps you are missing out on more valuable channels.

The general consensus is that winning campaigns are successful, because creators have aligned family and friends to act in unison at the start of the campaign to give it the initial push. Yes PR and Social Media are important tools, but a few phone calls and personalised emails will probably be a more fruitful use of your time and energy.

In business there is a theorem - Pareto's 80/20 rule - that 80% of your revenue will come from 20% of your customers.

In marketing terms that means concentrate on keeping the 20% happy and satisfied before all else.

Below is an example of a marketing funnel for a bridal shop - the marketing energy should be focussed on brides who have bought (a fantastic source of referrals); then prospects who have had contact with the shop.......



I view social media as a shout to the top of the funnel - suspects and the universe - important yes, but secondary if you haven't fully exhausted the bottom of the funnel.

Here is a good article on crowdcrux about concentrating on known contacts

http://www.crowdcrux.com/biggest-factor-achieving-crowdfunding-success/

Cheers,

Andy