Can I tell you a secret? But don't tell anyone! The secret to a successful campaign is giving public shout-outs to contributors. Read this blog post to learn why it is a sure way to promote your campaign and keep contributions coming. To leverage the power of social networking with your public thank you's, they should:

Add your social media supporter on social media
Tag the contributor (@full name) in the post
Include a personal message
Link to your campaign
Post only 1-2 times per day, minimum 3 hours apart

However, repeating the same type of “public thank you” can be a little boring and annoying, so it’s important to be creative and vary your messages. For example, you can add media, such as videos and pictures, and you can promote your rewards. Below, I’ve compiled the types of public thank you's you can do. Make sure to pick and choose the ones you like and keep things fun and exciting.

1. Public but heart-felt shout-out

This one is a personal favourite. For some reason I get emotional when I get a contribution so I let that show in the public thank you. This is how I do it: I go on Facebook, open up the status update box, say thank you, tag my contributor, and then I proceed to let my emotions run publicly, professing how much the contributor and their support means to me.

2. Picture and a tag

This one is my most popular public thank you. Find a picture of yourself and your supporter. Post it on Facebook and tag them in it. The picture can be fun or it can bring back some memories shared by you and your contributor. And then add a personal message along with the link to your campaign.

3. Video and a tag

Posting a public shoutout with a video is probably one of the best ways to share your campaign and increase contributions. A video gives an added personal touch to your thank you. It shows everyone that you are truly grateful for the support, which will entice others to contribute and join your campaign. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram add the video directly on the platform to maximize your reach.

4. Re-group and tag

Sometimes the amount of contributions you receive can be overwhelming, making it difficult to give each person a public thank you. There's a solution: with some smart “re-grouping” you might be able to reach each and every contributor. The best way to do this is to find commonalities among your contributors. In my case, I had many contributors from my mom’s bank branch. So I gave a shoutout to the entire bank branch - mentioning all the contributors.

5. Share your reward

A great way to show your appreciation as well as showcase your campaign is by sharing the rewards you are giving out to contributors. For example, if you sent a postcard to your contributor, make sure to take a picture of it and post it (with a tag). Other supporters will see it and might want to contribute as well. In the example below, my colleague Joe, got himself a 6 week workout program as well as a diet plan.

6. Sponsor shout-out

This is an important one and if done well, it can bring in a lot of funds. Giving a public shout-out to a sponsor is even more important than a regular contributor. The first reason is because they have spent more money to sponsor your campaign - which is around 500$ typically. Secondly, a sponsor is actually looking to gain some exposure and branding unlike your neighbour or classmate. Taking this into consideration, make sure that you are giving the company sponsor the public recognition they deserve. This means uploading an image of their logo as well as tagging their corporate Facebook/Twitter/Instagram.

Below is an example of my corporate sponsorship shout-out. Right Blue Labs supported my campaign and I had to make sure to give them the exposure and recognition they deserve.

Conclusion

I hope you feel inspired to go and thank your contributors in new and creative ways! If you have any other ideas or find something that really works for you, please share with us at