Tips for Creating a Nonprofit Video Marketing Strategy

Many digital marketers are frequently leveraging video marketing to bring their organization’s impact to life, increase awareness, and communicate with supporters.

Video is a great way for organizations to show impact, tell stories and educate people about their mission. It’s been long understood by marketers that combining visuals, sound, and action creates the most engaging medium.

As the amount of video content published on social media channels increases, the demand does too. According to research, the global internet traffic from videos will make up 80% of all internet traffic by 2019.

Yet, video continues to seem like a daunting task that requires a high amount of budget and planning.  

To help you join the video marketing game, below are some video tips that nonprofit marketers can leverage.

Identify your goal.

First things first—think about your goal and what you expect for your video marketing outcome. Video is often perceived as a tool to create awareness, but it can do more than just that for nonprofits. Think about using video to increase your fundraising. Google has found that online video is the best online method for driving donations—with more than half of donors making a gift after watching an online video about a favorite cause. Other options? Getting clicks back to your website, program recruitment, or increasing your email base/ social media followers.

Keep it short and sweet.

It’s important to keep your video short and sweet when there are millions of different types of content trying to grab the attention of your target audience. According to Wistia, videos up to 2 minutes get the highest amount of engagement. Try to attract the attention of your audience in the first frame then keep them engaged with your storyline and messaging.

Use storytelling.

Storytelling helps you create a bond with your audience, and video is a perfect storytelling medium. Before figuring out what story to tell, think about what interests your audience and triggers them to take action. It’s important to share a unique story that is emotional and compelling to your audience. Videos showcasing staff, volunteers, and those who your organization helps will be original and authentic.

Educate your audience.

Video marketing is also a great opportunity to educate your audience on the importance of your cause, the need for support, and your work’s impact. Try to engage both the intellect and emotions of your audience by providing them with information about your organization’s mission.

Have a clear call to action.

What do you want your viewers to do once they’ve watched your video?  It’s important to drive the viewer to take an action at the end of the video. If your aim is to collect donations, then make sure your call to donate is clear. And remember not to confuse donors by forcing too many “asks.” Consider using links to lead the viewer to specific pages on your website that relates to your campaign. Other calls-to-action can include: “Learn More” or “Join our Mailing List.”

Distribute on social media.

To get the deserved value out of your video, you will need to distribute it well to your target audience. One of the best ways to distribute your video is through social media channels. This is a great opportunity for you to reach an engaged and targeted audience. Along with organic distribution, consider running ad campaigns to get more views. Remember to regularly test and optimize your ads.

Don’t forget – not all your videos need high production. You can capture short videos on your phone to let people take a peek behind the scenes of your organization, share moments from events, and answer questions. Through video, you will be able to humanize your organization and give your supporters insight into who they’re actually engaging with. See an example of our video marketing work here.

Need help with video content distribution or social media strategy? Get in touch with us!