When putting together your crowdfunding campaign, it’s important to take advantage of opportunities that help raise awareness of your product. However, not every resource or opportunity available works for a crowdfunding project. Take traditional pay-per-click (PPC) models, including Google AdWords, for example; they will not help you reach your goals, and here is why:
The “Want Now” Factor
There is an unmistakable sense of immediacy when a user conducts a search on Google or Bing. Users are typically searching for a product or service that is available at the click of a mouse, but the nature of crowdfunding means that a Kickstarter or Indiegogo product cannot satisfy the “want it now” factor that drives many searches.
When you are running a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, your product is not available for immediate sale. While using Google AdWords or other PPC ads may get some visitors to click on your website, disappointment will likely follow when they realize that your product is not actually for sale, and that you are running a fundraising campaign.
Google’s Solicitation Rule
In addition to the immediacy problem, there is another reason not to use Google AdWords to drum up support and backers for your crowdfunding project.
Google has a very strict policy regarding which businesses they permit to solicit funds. The search engine does not allow “solicitation of funds or donations by people or organizations who are not politicians, political parties or tax-exempt charities.” Even if your product is not intended for profit, the fact is, you are soliciting funds on a Kickstarter or Indiegogo page. As a result, most, if not all, crowdfunding campaigns would fall under the “restricted businesses” policy that Google so carefully outlines on its website.
Using Facebook Ads as an Alternative
Just because Google AdWords and PPC are not good strategies for your crowdfunding campaign, that does not mean that you are out of paid advertising options.
Facebook continues to be the most widely-used social media platform for engagement, and it is a great alternative if you want to advertise to a targeted group of consumers likely to be interested in your product.
Facebook Ads can help you find an audience that is already warm to the concept of crowdfunding through companies such as Kickstarter. So, placing ads that drive users to your campaign page will not be met with the same skepticism as with a search engine strategy.
Interested in learning more about how to use paid ads to successfully drive traffic to your crowdfunding page? Contact us today!
