This document explains #TheBayLights, a regional crowdfunding project to fund The Bay Lights project that can be an extension of the current The Bay Lights campaign ending mid August 2014.

Execution

Campaign is run on its own domain name

The campaign is run on the Open Crowdtilt crowdfunding platform, and this explainer details a Phase II type of crowdfunding campaign that can be developed now for “launch” as an extension after the first campaign expires.

Unlike using “one and done” Kickstarter, the advantage of running a campaign on its own domain is in giving project creators the ability to provide fundraising continuity in the form of serial campaigns.

Mechanics of Engagement

Beyond the current success in raising over $200,000 thus far in the campaign, the #TheBayLights can spur donor engagement by 1) massive national exposure of the hashtag #TheBayLights on social media across 80 cities in California, and 2) garnering advocacy support from arts institutions and arts media to engage donors at the localized or affinity level where conversion happens.

Hashtags are powerful viral brands that create massive exposure

The #BayLights campaign will leverage the hashtag #TheBayLights to create viral exposure. Hashtags are the brand, and in aggregate they become instantly recognizable by arts enthusiasts, especially when hundreds of advocates are using and promoting the same hashtag. We have demonstrated The Breaking News Network’s ability to create viral buzz around a charity-based hashtag by reaching over 30 million in a single day using hashtag amplification.

Building the advocate networks to engage local arts enthusiasts towards donation

The Advocate Network is a marketing concept built around the idea that having individuals, groups and organizations genuinely support a cause or brand using social media is far more persuasive and trustworthy than any other marketing method.

BNN Funding has developed three ways to engage backers through local advocacy by leveraging the 400 city news feeds of The Breaking News Network (“BNN”), the largest hyperlocal media network devoted to community good. First, the BNN can authorize arts institutions nationwide, the arts media and other TheBayLights supporters for its hashtag amplification program, and will automatically retweet their tweets on BNN city feeds when they add the hashtag #TheBayLights or the hashtag of their city, like #Stockton. Second, the BNN can potentially massively publicize #TheBayLights via its own network of 350 US and Canadian cities using social media with a localized reach of over 600,000. Third, through BNN Funding coordination, the Twitter feed @thebaylights itself will be able to communicate with arts institution and arts media via social media for endorsement of #TheBayLights because it potentially may be a project aligned with their interests.

Localized marketing is critical for donor engagement

The unique feature of the #TheBayLights campaign is its ability to drive down the message hyperlocally, where word of mouth marketing can truly happen at the friends and family level. People generally make contributions when the same values are shared, when they are personally affected by the mission of the cause, or when acting upon personal requests from people or groups close to them.

According to recent research by BuzzFeed’s Jon Steinberg and StumbleUpon’s Jack Krawczyk:

Our data show that online sharing, even at viral scale, takes place through many small groups, not via the single status post or tweet of a few influencers. While influential people may be able to reach a wide audience, their impact is short-lived. Content goes viral when it spreads beyond a particular sphere of influence and spreads across the social web via ordinary people sharing with their friends.

Localized advocate networks, like the one being contemplated to include local arts institutions, are genuine and sustainable. Once established, a network of arts institutions can be tapped over and over again to support serial crowdfunding campaigns.

Why localized fundraising is more effective than Kickstarter

First, launching campaigns on Kickstarter or other portals get little or no active marketing support from the portal beyond a possible “featured project” placement. An anecdotal 2012 study of where Kickstarter backers come from by Suw Charman Anderson (Forbes) concludes that 85-88% of contributions are sourced directly from the project creators’ own networks and social media marketing.

On my own project, I was getting very little traffic from Kickstarter itself, most of it was coming from external links from places like Twitter. […]

The key lessons I’d draw from this little exploration into Kickstarter stats are:

- Your highest quality supporters will come from your networks, not Kickstarter, even with their new friends list.

- You and your fellow creators must develop personal networks before you start fundraising.

- You should understand which communities your project will appeal to and how you’ll reach those communities.

- And for an extra bump, focus your project so that it will appeal even more to those communities.