It has been proven time and again that numbers don’t lie. For whatever reason, even the truly sceptical can be appeased when a verdict is proven by something quantifiable and calculable. Enter the case studies, research, and exploratory committees that provide those much-needed numbers useful for driving a point home on the efficacy of Kickstarter video production.
7,196 projects on Kickstarter – arguably one of the best crowdfunding campaign platforms – were analysed in terms of video usage (whether or not the campaign included a pitch video) and success rate (whether or not the project reached its “funding goal”). Once the numbers were crunched, there were definitely notable – if not interesting – patterns.
SUCCESS RATE: REACHING THE FUNDING GOAL
85% Percentage of crowdfunding projects more likely to achieve their funding goal if they include a Kickstarter video in their campaign.
26% Percentage of crowdfunding campaigns without a video that reach their funding goal.
48% Percentage of crowdfunding campaigns with videos that reach their funding goal.
What Does This Mean?
To simplify the data – out of 100 crowdfunding campaigns that didn’t use video, 26 of them reached their funding goal, whereas 48 projects – out of another 100 – that did include a video got to their goal.
Suffice to say that, despite all the obvious benefits, crowdfunding projects aren’t a sure win. They will receive funding when marketed and hosted well enough, but whether or not they get the amount they need is still a matter of legwork and strategy.
A research study of 100,000 crowdfunding projects revealed some solidly-backed tips for launching a successful campaign; things like keeping the campaign at 30 days max, giving additional perks to the intended audience after launch, regular updates, and so on. The data also mentioned that campaigns with pitch videos raised 4 times more funds than those without.
Even if you’re solidly against Kickstarter video production (for whatever reason), you have to admit that the odds are pretty favorable for them.
PROJECT CATEGORIES: SPECIFIC SECTORS?
25 Categories significantly benefited from having a video. Only projects that reached their funding goal – with video and without – were taken into account, and the percentages matched.
120% Increased chance for funding once a project under any of the 25 categories included a Kickstarter video production in their campaign.
What Does This Mean?
Projects that fell under certain categories – specifically, 25 categories all in all – had a significant 120% increased chance of receiving funding if they included explainer videos or pitch videos in their campaign. Among those 25 categories were Food, Fiction, Comics, Video Games, Journalism, Technology, and Publishing.
Perhaps the most notable category is Radio & Podcast; 100% of projects-with-video under this category reached their funding goal.
NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS
85% increase in conversion rate when your project uses video.
3.04 average length of Kickstarter video – in minutes
$87 average pledge amount
150,000 completed Kickstarter campaigns
THE VERDICT?
There are countless reasons why it’s worth including Kickstarter video production in your project budget, but we feel the numbers speak loud enough. Whatever the reason may be behind a video’s success – emotionally appealing, engaging, aesthetically appeasing – the fact is that it works.
