According to BusinessTech, over 3.8 million South Africans use Instagram.
With over 1 Billion users globally, Instagram allows you to reach a wide audience of supporters through sharing beautiful photos, engaging videos and trending hashtags.
In this guide, we will discuss the power of sharing your crowdfunding campaign on Instagram and share practical tips you can use to promote your cause.
Why use Instagram to share your crowdfunding campaign?
- Instagram boasts 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook, According to ecommerceCEO
- 60% of Instagram users use the platform once a day, according to Sprout Social
Before posting on Instagram, consider these key factors:
Put your crowdfunding campaign link In your bio
Whether you are creating posts, stories or IGTV videos to promote your campaign, it’s important to give your followers a call to action to donate to your campaign.
How to post a link in your Instagram Bio
When posting on Instagram, direct your audience to click on the link in your bio for more information and to make a donation!
When to post on Instagram
According to Hubspot, the best time to post on Instagram is between 2pm-3pm. There is also an increase in engagements on Thursdays 5am, 11am and between 3pm-4pm.
Quintly also states that interactions are 22.29% higher on Saturday and Sunday.
Please note: You can post your campaign on any day, see what works the best for you! We recommend sharing your campaign at least 2/3 times a week across your social media platforms for the best possible result.
Visual content
Photos and videos are the language on Instagram, you will need to upload visual content in order to create a post with a caption.
Photo
Instagram images get on average, 23% more engagement than Facebook images, according to Business of Apps.
Post hi-quality photos that tell your crowdfunding story. Avoid shocking or graphic content, as this might discourage Instagram users engaging with your content.
Video
Video posts get up to 38% more engagements than image posts, according to Mention.
Post short, informative videos on your Instagram timeline to introduce the aim and importance of your crowdfunding campaign and direct users to your campaign link in your bio.
For videos longer than 60 seconds, you will need to upload your video to IGTV (more information below)
Writing your Instagram post caption
Keep your message short and specific
While you have more than 2000 characters at your disposal when writing your post caption, Sprout Social, suggests 138-150 characters will get you the most engagement (shares, likes, comments)
If you want to ensure that your full caption is visible and is not cut off by the “see more” tab, keep your post within 125 characters.
What information should your post include?
To introduce your crowdfunding campaign, make sure you answer the following questions in your post.
- Who are you raising funds for? (name, age, location)
- Why are they in need of funds? (what has lead you to crowdfunding?)
- What will funds raised be used for? (in a tangible way mention how funds will be used, for example “We are raising funds to purchase 100 pairs of shoes for 50 children”
- Where can people make a donation? (Direct your audience to click on the link in your bio to make a donation to support your cause)
Take a look at this example below:https://www.instagram.com/p/B_MV0BgJhBk/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12&wp=500&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.backabuddy.co.za&rp=%2Fnews%2Fsharing-your-crowdfunding-campaign-on-instagram%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A14821.220000041649%2C%22ls%22%3A9928.710000007413%2C%22le%22%3A9972.820000024512%7D
#Hashtags
Make use of hashtags to make your post more discoverable – this will allow you to reach more people who are interested in your topic.
Instagram allows users to post 30 hashtags in a single caption, to avoid your post looking like spam, it’s recommended to use no more than 10 relevant hashtags in your post.
Even including one hashtag in your post can increase your engagement by 12.6% according to PR Daily.
Creating a hashtag
To Create a hashtag, simply type # and your keyword in your post caption.
Popular hashtags to use when sharing your crowdfunding campaign
#crowdfunding #backabuddy #crowdfundingcampaign #fundraising #support #donate #crowdfund #funding #charity #crowdfundingproject #payitforward #donation.
Include specific/trending hashtags that relate to your cause:
- Your need: #cancertreatment #universityfees #rugbytour #masksformedics
- Location: #capetown #southafrica #mzansi #sa
- Events: #comrades #marathon #ironman #midmarmile #birthday
- Social issues: #covid19 #lockdown #blacklivesmatter #womensupportingwomen #animalrights
- Organisations: #backabuddy #smilefoundation #spca #giftofthegivers
- Institutions: #UCT #witkoppenclinic #unisa
- Awareness days: #mandeladay #givingtuesday #christmas #worldclubfootday
Mention Instagram users in your post
When creating a post, Instagram allows users to mention/tag other users and influencers, their location, organisations and businesses. This will notify other users to view and interact with your post.
Location is key
By tagging your area location in your Instagram post can increase your engagement by 79% according to PR Daily.
Research also shows that crowdfunding campaigns are typically supported locally – be sure to let Instagram users know where you are from!
Not sure what to say? Use this template:
We have created a crowdfunding campaign on @backabuddy to raise funds [to/for]. Funds raised will allow us to [positive impact]. Click on the link in my bio to make a donation. #crowdfunding #backabuddy #donations #fundraising #southafrica
Include:
- Other relevant/trending hashtags
- Tag your location
- Tag Instagram users/organizations that relate to your cause
Post multiple images/videos
By creating a carousel on Instagram, you can post up to 10 images to tell your crowdfunding story and increase engagement.
Make use of these Facebook tools to promote your crowdfunding campaign
Direct Message
Make use of Instagram’s direct message option to reach out to close friends and family, influencers and organisations who might be interested in supporting your cause.
With Instagram Direct, you can send messages, photos and videos to one or more people. Messages won’t appear in Feed, search or your profile.
Instagram Stories
Posting stories is a great way to create awareness about your campaign, share updates and ensure your campaign maintains momentum.
Instagram stories are typically about 15 seconds long and stay on your profile for only 24 hours.
Why post Instagram stories to share your crowdfunding campaign?
- According to The Mobile Media Lab, Instagram stories receive 2-3 times more engagement than regular posts.
- According to Social Media Today Instagram stories boast over 300 million active daily users.
Before posting a story on Instagram, consider these key factors:
- Place your text toward the center and bottom of the screen and keep your message short and clear.
- Mention other Instagram users and organizations in your story, to allow your story to be re-posted.
- Use 1 or 2 relevant Hashtags on your Instagram story to increase your visibility.
- Save your story to your highlight reel, so your campaign updates can be viewed longer than 24 hours.
Share your Instagram story to Facebook
Add your story to your highlights
IGTV
With the introduction of IGTV, Instagram users can post 10 minute long videos and increase their visibility by appearing on the “Explore” tab on the platform.
Need advice for putting together your video? Read Our Guide.
GO Live on Instagram
Instagram now allows users to post 60 minute live videos. Just like Facebook live, your followers will be notified when you’re live and will be able to interact with you in real-time.
Sharing live videos is a great way to introduce your campaign, share campaign updates and milestones, conduct short interviews and provide additional information about your project.
We hope you enjoyed our tips for sharing your crowdfunding campaign on Instagram!
While Instagram is a great tool to use to reach a wider audience, it should not be used in isolation.
Take a look at our other social media guidelines below