Let’s face it, when someone is saying something about you (good or bad), you want to know about it.
When it comes to running your crowdfunding campaign, knowing who is writing or talking about you can sometimes mean the difference between funding and not funding.
It allows you to make corrections, provide extra content, get more promotion, and make new connections.
It will also allow you to establish credibility by knowing and promoting which outlets have covered your project.
If you haven’t already, you might also want to check out three of my other blogs:
- How to send a crowdfunding promotion email that works
- Making crowdfunding promotion easy: how to build a press kit
- How to write and send a press release for your crowdfunding project
Obviously if you haven’t been telling people about your crowdfunding project, it’s not likely they will be talking about it. This blog will concentrate on helping you find the blogs, news articles, stories and online conversations about your project – which means you need to get the word out first.
I’m going to concentrate on two platforms: Google and Twitter. But before you can do much, you’re going to need to know your keywords and search terms.
Keywords and search terms
There are a bunch of words you can probably choose from. The best keywords are ones where, if someone has written them down in that order, there is a really good chance they are talking about you.
Let’s use the Loving in Limbo Kickstarter project as an example.
Potential keywords include:
- Loving in Limbo
- Susan Parker
- Hap Cameron
- Mandy Cameron
- #lovinginlimbo
- #alittlelove
- Kickstarter
- Documentary
- Film
Now, the first 7 keywords in that list are nice and specific to the project. They include the name of the project itself, the names of the stars and director, and two hashtags used in the campaign.
The last 3 keywords are not so good. While they are all related to the project, they are not specifically ABOUT the project. Searches returning these results could be about anything, and that’s just going to be annoying.
Mindmap some keywords for your project.
Remember to include people’s names, the name of your project, and anything unique about it.
Now you have your keywords, it’s time to set up your searches.
Google Alerts
Did you know that Google will send you an email whenever it finds new content related to a particular keyword?
It’s called Google Alerts.
Set up an alert for each of your keywords.
Type in your keyword. This will bring up a list of the articles already out there for you.
Click ‘Show More Options’
Change the “How Many” category to “All Results”.
Click “Create Alert”.
Repeat for each of your keywords.
Doing this means that whenever a new article or blog appears online with your keywords, you’ll be sent an email.
This will allow you to stay on top of your publicity. It provides content for your updates and social media posts.
It also allows you to send an email, or leave a quick comment to thank the author for the publicity, creating a networking and crowd-building opportunity.
Twitter searches
Twitter is a place people can say things. Sometimes they’re having a conversation, and sometimes they’re just shouting into a bucket.
Either way, the great thing about Twitter is that it totally breaks down social barriers. You are able to approach your favourite film maker, YouTuber or journalist. Sometimes that works out in your favour.
So it’s pretty good to see who’s talking about you.
There are two ways to do Twitter Searches. They are both pretty clunky, but one is definitely better than the other.
Twitter recommend that you do it on web twitter like this. But that means you have to be proactive in checking them.
Twitter searches are best used on a client like Tweetdeck. Tweetdeck allows you to monitor and segment your Twitter feed. It is a Chrome extension. If you use Chrome as your browser, you can download Tweetdeck here.
Set up Twitter searches for your keywords
Click the ‘Search’ button on the upper left side of the window (it looks like a magnifying glass).
Type in your search. Press enter, and click “Add Column”
Optional: Set up alerts (this could be a pop up window, a sound, or both)
This will mean you’re proactively alerted to any conversation. If you’re on your computer, you’ll be told there is a tweet. This is why I like TweetDeck more than “Native Twitter” – I don’t have to remember to check it every day.
Click the button in the top right of the column (lines and circles). Drop down ‘Alerts’ and choose the alerts you’d like.
Repeat for each of your keywords.
Twitter is real-time. It allows you to really engage with the people who care about your project, as well as solicit new pledges to your campaign.
You can retweet, favourite or reply to tweets. You can use the platform to answer questions, find new followers, and spread the word.
The easiest way to do this is to follow and interact with the people who are already talking about your project. Knowing who cares is half the battle.
What do you do with this info?
Retweet it, post it in updates, use it as fodder for your social media feeds, and use it to build credibility.
The Coolest Cooler project did a great job using the press it generated to build credibility by building an “As Seen In” image.
This meant that when people landed on the page they could see which media outlets had covered the project.
Keeping on top of who is talking to, and about you means you can make the most of the “easy sells” and track which media coverage works best to build your crowd.
