How We Achieved 1,341,181 Social Reach on Launch Using Thunderclap
Two weeks ago the Boost Linguistics team released the Boost Editor. To promote the launch we selected 5 different methods. A Thunderclap campaign destined to control #contentmarketing on Twitter during Content Marketing World 2017 was one of the 5.
1.34million seemed impossible for a company with a social media following of less than 400. We set out to reach a golden goal of 1million, an actually achievable goal of 500k, and the fall back goal of 250k.
In this post, I’ll explain how we blew past our once unobtainable goal and achieved a social reach of over 1.34million on Twitter and Facebook using Thunderclap.
Thunderclap
First, we’ll need to understand Thunderclap and how it works. Thunderclap.com is a website with core principles very similar to GoFundMe and Kickstarter.
A user creates a campaign and has a goal to reach. The goal is to receive a certain number of supporters on a campaign. In order for someone to support a campaign they must allow Thunderclap to send a pre-written Tweet, Facebook post, or Tumblr post when the campaign ends. Instead of crowd funding money, Thunderclap allows supporters to dedicate their social following to a campaign.
There are two key metrics to every campaign. First, the number of supporters. You must reach the minimum number of supporters, or the message will not be sent. Second, the total number of social reach. If a new backer has 500 followers on Twitter, the total social reach on a campaign will increase by 500. There is no limit or requirement on this.
Getting Started
The Boost team has done a Thunderclap in the past. While we didn’t hit our goal of 100 supporters, we managed to scrape together a 160k social reach and control every post on the live Twitter feed board for 2 hours during a conference. With a strong belief in the impact TC can have, we we’re very excited to run a campaign for the Boost Editor launch.
The first thing you must do is prepare all of the information for the TC campaign.
Here is the list of what you’ll need:
- A concise campaign title.
- Category (select from a list)
- Message — This is the message that supporters will send out at the end of the campaign. It can include hashtags. Here is our message,
@Boost-ling has released #contentmarketing’s best-kept secret — craft engaging content faster than ever http://bit.ly/boostinvite
- Message Link. This is the link in the tweet that supporters will be sending out. Consider using a bitly link to track the clicks on your link when the campaign launches.
- A start and end date for the campaign. Campaigns can last from 30–60 days.
- Supporter goal. 100, 250, or 500+. Pick the one you are confident you can reach.
- A campaign image. Make this big and beautiful. It is among the first things a visitor will see. Ideal size (1200x627)
- Your story. Take this opportunity to tell the story of your campaign. If its something close to your heart, be honest and use emotion to gain supporters. The Boost Editor can help with this, it will analyze your story for emotion and offer word changes to improve it.
- Your email.
Here is our page and story.
We’ve all been there — endlessly searching for words that will engage the audience. Whatever you’re editing, the Boost Editor will optimize your language for the emotions that drive audience engagement.
How does it work?
Using AI, the Boost Editor analyzes your writing for the five base emotions: joy, sadness, anger, anxiety, and disgust. After you know what emotions your writing elicits naturally, the Boost Editor will suggest word changes to optimize your writing to elicit the emotion of your choice.
To receive free access:
Help us get the word out — backers of this Thunderclap will receive extended free access to the Boost Editor when it drops on 9/6(as well as our undying love and appreciation).
Thank you for all the support!
Boost Team
Getting Backers
There are many methods for promoting your Thunderclap. TONS of research has been done on how to promote an Indiegogo campaign, and many of those methods also work for TC promotion. Below are the methods we used to reach our goal and achieve a large social reach.
Social Media
We posted regularly on our personal social media accounts and from the Boost Linguistics accounts as well. The post included a link to the TC and a small caption about the campaign.
This doesn't return much support, so direct outreach was needed.
Direct Outreach
We used email, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to ask for support. Each message was a personalized version of a template message.
The template we used:
{their name},
{personal message based on relationship}
I have one small favor if you don’t mind.
Can you please support my team’s Thunderclap campaign with a single Tweet?
We’re launching the Boost Editor on September 6th, in hopes of helping content marketers everywhere save time editing. You can support us here: www.bit.ly/supportboost
If not, no worries. I still appreciate our connection and {personal message}. Thank you so so much!
-{your name}
Things to notice about the template:
- We didn’t use the word startup.
- Clear and concise message.
- One single ask.
- Quick explanation of TC.
- Bitly to track a click if they don’t respond.
- Shows appreciation for them even if a “no” response.
- Overall tone, 61% Joyful, no other emotions present.
Ask people close to you — friends and family. These are the people who have been with us from the start. With a quick explanation of TC, they were happy to support our campaign.
Ask connections in the business world. Do you have a giant stack of business cards? The Boost team has a relationship with all of the people behind these cards so we decided to ask them to support our campaign. Most were very happy to.
Do not forget about the connections you’ve made on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Many of the people we have never met in person, but have spoken to on social media were happy to support our campaign. You never know who is willing to support, so it’s advantageous to ask everyone.
Ask influencers. This is not easy and will have the lowest success rate of any other method. Do not get discouraged by this fact. Influencers are industry specific, which is great for a product launch, and they will increase social reach more than other types of supporters. Our largest supporter was Ted Rubin with over 500k followers on Twitter.
We had relationships with some influencers and others were cold outreach. There were 3 different responses we received from influencers.
1.The “Sorry I cannot.” Joe Pulizzi. It is very important to maintain composure after a no. I politely thanked him and told him I appreciate his work. In return he offered me a significant discount on CMWorld 2017 and I established a meaningful connection with him.
2. “Sounds interesting, can you explain more?” Steve Rayson. How often does an influencer ask you to talk about your business? Not often. This was my favorite response because it led to a conversation and began a relationship with those who asked. If they agree with your cause, they’ll likely support the TC.
3.The “Yes-DONE!”. Influencers that I had a warm connection with were happy to support the campaign and did so right away. Dan Tyre even sent out a Tweet saying that he supported it.
Ask local Initiatives. Every city has industry specific organizations that promote local efforts. For us, it was the startup scene in Philadelphia. We reached out to organizations like Startup PHL and the individual members of the initiatives. Some of these organizations we’re pushing 5k+ followers, and because we are a Philly startup, they were happy to support us.
If there is any subset I did not cover, I encourage you to ask them too. It could be a roaring success.
Social Ads
We did not attempt to run ads to promote our campaign. I believe this method would work for on Facebook, Twitter, and even LinkedIn if you’re willing to spend the cash. For non-profits this may be well worth the time to attract new donors.
You Will Hear Many NOs
During outreach, you’ll be asking hundreds of people to support your campaign. Some of them will be easy to ask, others… not so much.
In any situation you cannot get discouraged because this is a marathon that requires the ability to endure hardships. Frustration can come in the blink of an eye, but you must remain composed and treat everyone with the utmost respect. Their social media is a reflection of their interests, and they have no obligation to support you.
Don’t force people, if they say no at first. Don’t jump to any conclusions. They might not be familiar with Thunderclap. Take the extra time to ask. If they’re confused or stuck, let them know support is free, that it requires minimal effort, and they can alter the prewritten post to whatever they desire.
Maintaining the Campaign
It is important to update the campaign as you go. For us, that was pushing updates and interacting with supporters.
No matter who you were. From someone with 1 social reach to someone with 600k, we personally thanked each person for their support.
At the end of each week we pushed updates to the TC campaign. These updates were graphics with a fun fact and a small caption thanking everyone for their support. This is incredibly easy to do and lets people know you appreciate their support. It also has the potential to attract more supporters.
One week in and we’re already 10% of the way there — thank you for your support 🙏
We are incredibly excited to get the Boost Editor into the hands of writers everywhere.
We’re going to start unveiling the Boost Editor in the coming weeks so please be sure to follow us @boost_ling and please please please share this campaign — http://bit.ly/supportboost — to get the word out!
- The Boost Team
Lessons Learned
In this post we have covered what Thunderclap is, how it works, and how to run a successful campaign. With only 30 days on the clock, this little Philadelphia startup achieved something phenomenal, and you can too.
Take the methods listed above and apply them to your own campaign. When genius strikes and you devise a new method of promotion, pay it forward so others can replicate the success.
If you have more questions or want to chat about Thunderclap promotion, reach out to me @jefnwk on Twitter.
