With 80% of internet traffic predicted to come from videos, the message is clear—tap into this trend now or miss out.
Today, we’re going to share practical tips around video marketing for nonprofits, including:
- The Strategic Foundation of Nonprofit Video Marketing
- Crafting Compelling Content for Nonprofits That Engages Donors
- Maximizing Video Reach via Social Media Platforms
- Video Marketing for Nonprofits is a Non-Negotiable
The Strategic Foundation of Nonprofit Video Marketing
Creating a solid video marketing strategy is like laying the groundwork for a house; it’s crucial for stability and growth. Nonprofits, in particular, must ensure their foundations are strong to capture hearts and inspire action.
Define your video goals
To kick things off, let’s talk about setting clear goals. This could be any combination of the following:
- Increase awareness: Elevate understanding of the organization’s cause, mission, and impact through captivating storytelling in videos.
- Educate the audience: Deliver informative content to enlighten viewers about issues concerning the nonprofit’s cause and empower them to enact change.
- Expand reach and engagement: Broaden the audience and deepen engagement by proliferating video content across social media platforms and other channels.
- Drive donations: Prompt viewers to contribute financially to the organization by showcasing the tangible outcomes of donations and emphasizing their significance.
- Recruit volunteers: Attract volunteers by showcasing opportunities, sharing testimonials from current volunteers, and demonstrating the transformative effect of their involvement.
- Advocate for change: Mobilize support for policy reforms or social justice causes pertinent to the nonprofit’s mission through purpose-driven video campaigns.
- Build trust and credibility: Cultivate trust and credibility among the audience by presenting success stories, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes footage that underscore the organization’s integrity and efficacy.
- Promote events: Generate excitement and participation in fundraising events, community outreach programs, and other initiatives through dynamic video promotion.
- Showcase impact: Highlight the tangible results of the organization’s efforts by sharing success stories, testimonials, and data-driven insights in videos.
- Foster community engagement: Cultivate a sense of community among supporters by featuring user-generated content, facilitating live Q&A sessions, and encouraging interactive dialogue through video comments and discussions.
Remember that 57% of people who watch nonprofit videos end up making a donation—that’s huge potential. So, be sure to put drive donations on your target goal list at a minimum!
Identify the right topic
Like any good story, your video should have a purpose—a video topic, if you will. Are you looking to boost fundraising efforts or maybe raise awareness?
You want content ideas that resonate with your audience while supporting your mission. Think personal stories from those positively impacted by your work or educational content explaining why animal welfare matters.
Aim for topics that build stronger connections with potential donors—a behind-the-scenes look at daily operations could do just the trick. And remember, even if you’re working with a shoestring budget, impactful videos come from heartfelt stories rather than flashy production values.
If connecting with audiences seems daunting, rest assured there are ways to bridge this gap effectively using visual narratives tailored specifically towards engaging them emotionally and intellectually.
Invest in high-quality video production
If you want video marketing that truly inspires action, an investment is necessary. Find a local videographer who has experience with at least one video marketing campaign (and preferably video campaigns for nonprofits) so they can help you create engaging videos that inspire viewers.
On the other hand, if you don’t really have money to invest in your marketing videos, you can work out some sort of in-kind trade like sponsorship of your next event or an e-blast to your list thanking them for their services and sharing how your supporters can enlist their services in the future.
Crafting Compelling Content for Nonprofits That Engages Donors
Ultimately, at the end of the day, video is only effective if it shows your nonprofit’s work in a way that can create emotional connections with a target audience and inspire people to take action to support your cause.
So, how do you do that? Here are a few ways you can create compelling video content for your nonprofit fundraising goals:
Highlight your cause
Your cause is the heartbeat of your nonprofit focused video marketing strategy. Creating video content that showcases the positive change you’re driving demands more than just facts—it requires engaging storytelling that touches hearts and spurs viewers to action.
Think educational videos but with an emotional pulse.
Showcase your staff
The staff behind your mission are its champions, and their passion can ignite similar feelings in potential donors and supporters watching at home. When it comes to featuring your staff for marketing efforts, offer a glimpse into everyday challenges and victories within nonprofit operations that your donors don’t typically get to see.
You can create videos featuring team members talking candidly about what drives them or even capture attention with some behind-the-scenes or live video content showing day-to-day activities at your organization. This helps build stronger connections with existing supporters while reaching out to a wide audience who might resonate with these individual narratives over broad statistics alone.
Feature success and impact stories
Incorporate personal stories showcasing those positively impacted by donations; these narratives build stronger emotional bonds between viewer and cause, which often drive action.
Highlighting success stories from real people impacted by your nonprofit’s mission is a powerful way to show the positive changes happening within communities. These narratives of transformation and triumph often strike a chord, resonating with others profoundly.
Don’t forget the CTA
This goes for all general marketing tips but a strong CTA—call-to-action—is crucial here. It should be as compelling as the stories you share, urging people to join in on impacting lives for the better. Videos tend to stick when they strike a chord, so use personal stories or success stories that vividly illustrate how lives have been positively impacted by your work.
Depending on the goal of the video, you can use things like:
- Sign up for the event today
- Give now, your donation counts
With this strategic foundation laid out clearly before us, let’s ensure our next steps forward amplify our voices louder through powerfully crafted messages embedded within each second of footage we produce.
Maximizing Video Reach via Social Media Platforms
If you want to increase your video conversion rates, it’s a great idea to utilize social media to share content with a large audience. Often, it allows you to reach audiences that may be new to you, sparking more organic growth.
Engaging audiences on Facebook Live or Instagram Live/ Stories
Facebook’s live streaming option offers real-time interaction, turning video marketing into an event rather than just another post. Real-time interaction with supporters through live-streamed events, like fundraisers or community updates, creates urgency and excitement.
This platform also allows you to answer questions as they come in, making your audience feel heard. When viewers are part of the conversation, engagement rates soar—people stay because they’re invested in what happens next.
The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video options. That’s huge for keeping potential donors interested and ready to take action. Then, use a strong call-to-action (CTA) at the end of your live session to direct this heightened attention toward donation pages or volunteer forms.
On the other hand, you can also use Stories. Stories share a unique opportunity to show people real-time happenings and a different way to engage.
Utilizing YouTube’s community features
You can’t talk about video marketing for nonprofits without mentioning YouTube—it’s where videos thrive long-term after Facebook Live moments fade away. With its vast user base, YouTube lets nonprofits tap into communities already looking for impactful videos.
To increase impact further, consider adding a QR code linked directly to your nonprofit’s donation page or campaign information using tools from resources like Beaconstac’s YouTube QR Code Generator. This makes sharing easy—and don’t forget how simple scanning has become; almost everyone knows how.
Videos inspire specific actions when done right—tell heartfelt stories or show behind-the-scenes content that shines light on who you are and why support is crucial. Remember those stats?
Videos generate strong action. If images speak louder than words, then imagine what well-crafted visual narratives do—they’re shared 1200% more than text alone.
Video Marketing for Nonprofits is a Non-Negotiable
Video marketing for nonprofits isn’t just effective; it’s essential. Remember, the right video can turn viewers into donors and stories into support. In today’s digital landscape, where visual content reigns supreme across social media platforms, integrating impactful videos into your marketing plan isn’t just a good idea—it’s critical if you aim to educate viewers about pressing issues efficiently.
Tailor your message to touch hearts and minds. Leverage social media like a pro. And never underestimate the power of a well-placed video in an email or on your website.
It’s these small tweaks that drive big results.
Book a demo today to see how Micharity can help streamline your donor relationship building so you can spend more time on video initiatives and grow.
