Jumping the Fence: How Consumer Sentiment on Social Media Changes after Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has helped thousands of entrepreneurs to finance their innovative products by engaging with large numbers of potential investors. The most effective way for fundraisers to engage with potential backers, is through social media. If used in the right way, social media can enable fundraisers to raise awareness of their campaign, engage with potential investors, and will ultimately have a positive impact on a crowdfunding campaign. Through social media, fundraisers are able to gauge how the public feels about their product or company, which is the main focus of this study. This study brings together research around organisational and marketing image, suggesting that as consumers invest, they move from external consumers to investors that are within the boundary of the company. This brings into question whether consumer sentiment towards the company changes after fundraising, as they become stakeholders. Thus, we use social media to investigate the public sentiment towards a company during different stages of their equity crowdfunding campaign.