Crafting Compelling Nonprofit Videos: A Step-by-Step Guide
Mission-driven organizations need effective video content to generate meaningful support, and research indicates that 57% of viewers who watch nonprofit videos will go on to donate. It’s no secret.
What exactly makes a good nonprofit video?
1. If you put a great video production strategy in place and establish a process for creating video content regularly, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your fundraising goals, building brand awareness, and fostering stronger relationships with your donors.
2. Whether you’re launching a new video production strategy or revamping your existing processes, keep these five things in mind when creating the best nonprofit video content possible.
1. Narrowly-focused videos perform best:
Use nonprofit videos to promote a fundraising campaign, increase brand awareness, or fulfill any other needs of your organization. To make the most impact, focus each video on one specific purpose. This way, viewers will understand the purpose of the video and will know exactly how they can support your nonprofit after the video is over.
Start by asking yourself, “What is the purpose of my video?” Then, consider how these types of nonprofit videos will help you reach your goals.
What Are The Different Types of Nonprofit Videos?
- When choosing which video to use, consider your audience and what you want to effectively communicate about your campaign or project.
- · You can use an organizational video to introduce yourself, your mission, and why you deserve support. This can help increase overall brand awareness.
- · Utilize an explainer video to effectively communicate your nonprofit’s activities to the audience. If your mission addresses a challenging problem or involves complex daily operations, an explainer video can take viewers on a deeper dive into the details of your work.
- · People who support your nonprofit can use a testimonial video to affirm the impact of your organization in their own words. This type of video typically evokes an emotional response from viewers and helps them become more invested in your cause.
- · These testimonials have incredibly powerful effects, partly due to the emotional impact they can have. Writing about your nonprofit’s impact is just one of many ways to tell your story.
- · Understanding how people feel becomes easier when they tell their own stories.
Fundraising videos: Whether you aim to promote your upcoming fundraising campaign, drive donations on Giving Tuesday, or introduce a capital campaign, a fundraising video will outline your campaign needs and build your case for why people should support you.
Each type of video has different production requirements. For instance, a testimonial video might require b-roll footage from your supporters in action. An explainer video can use animations and graphics as a teaching tool and to educate.
Engaging viewers is key to visual storytelling. While a video message is retained by 95% of people, only 10% will retain a written message. Therefore, your videos should narrate your nonprofit’s stories through impactful visuals and visual content, not just text. To draw viewers into your video, utilize the following visual storytelling techniques:
Communicate your impact with this free Storytelling Toolkit.
This toolkit will help you discover the essential components of a great impact story and how to create your own. Additionally, it will provide you with a template to help you get started.
Set the stage
You choose where you want your audience to see your video. For instance, you can take them on a tour of your facility or use a simple backdrop to focus their attention on a particular speaker or visual.
Film using the “rule of thirds”
You apply this basic composition guideline to add a 3×3 grid over the viewer’s field of view. This grid places your subject into one of the 4 points of interest in the frame, adding visual interest to the video that a centered object wouldn’t be able to achieve.
Learn to make your communications materials accessible and inclusive for all audiences.
Alice Corner will teach you in her webinar how to make your nonprofit’s communications more accessible to a wider audience.
Your Videos Should Include Calls-To-Action
Research indicates that incorporating a call to action in your video can boost conversions by 80%. If you desire similar results, craft a clear and concise statement explaining how viewers can engage after the video ends. Here are some tips from conversion experts: The narrator should ask people to subscribe, click a link in your description, or contact you by phone, email, etc.
At the end of the video, embed a button directing viewers to a donate page or other relevant online resource. This could be a list of next steps, a QR code, or something else.
Implement All 3 Tactics: The text of their text will be displayed on the screen along with a button that will take you to your donate page below. This will also be helpful for people watching the video with no sound.
4. Nonprofit video production companies add value.
NXUnite defines video production as “the process of creating, shooting, editing, and publishing videos for nonprofits.” If all the work involved in producing video content is overwhelming your team, you may want to consider hiring an experienced nonprofit video production company. While anyone can record a video on their phone, hiring someone with experience in video production can result in better footage and better-crafted content, increasing the chances of inspiring action.
Consider hiring an experienced nonprofit video production company to help your team focus on its mission. This involves receiving guidance and having professionals take care of the following tasks:
1. Developing a video concept
2. Writing a detailed script
3. Choosing the right equipment for the video
4. Setting up the filming location
6. Adding effects, animations, and music
7. Exporting and sharing the video
By partnering with experienced nonprofit video production companies, your team gains more time to focus on other important initiatives.
5. Multichannel video marketing expands your reach.
· Once you shoot and edit your video, consider posting it on Vimeo or Youtube. These platforms provide built-in engagement and ROI tracking.
· Tectonic Video’s guide to video marketing recommends sharing your video across multiple marketing channels.
· For email, share your video in your monthly newsletter, along with news about upcoming involvement opportunities and donation requests.
· On social media, condense your video and post a short clip or teaser on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook.
· Compose a captivating caption with hashtags to encourage your followers to share your video with their friends and family.
Employing a multi-channel strategy for video marketing enables you to maximize your reach and place your video in front of as many people as possible. Additionally, each channel produces data that you can utilize to monitor your video’s performance. For instance, you can monitor the number of people who liked, shared, and commented on your social media posts containing your video content. You can then use this data to target your most engaged viewers with tailored messaging.
Keeping all of this in mind, it’s no surprise that you can create, film, and edit content that captivates your audience and motivates them to take action and effect positive change. Whether you are producing your own content or delegating the process to a professional, having a robust video production strategy is crucial for the future success of your nonprofit.
