Non-profit video is currently being used with increasing success, to raise public awareness about organizations. A video film speaks to people in a way that other forms of media cannot — it can draw people in, and make them feel connected and part of the story. This means video is an exceptionally powerful tool for getting an organization’s message across.
What Non-profit Video can Achieve
Commercial companies have known this for some time. Research shows that visitors to retail sites with product videos are 85% more likely to purchase. In addition, retail site visitors remain for an average of two minutes longer on a site with well-integrated video.
This shows that traditional forms of communication and marketing, relying on written words and static images, are fast losing ground to video in the public mind. In addition, the average attention span in the US fell from 12 seconds to 8 seconds between 2000 and 2012. There is now no doubt that a short video can achieve more to get your message across than a whole brochure, or several pages of website copy.
The other big plus about non-profit video is its versatility and ease of access. You can use it to introduce a live auction and embed it in your website and social media immediately following your event. In addition, you can create a teaser version — and link to it on Twitter and Facebook, all ways of driving people to your website.
Get the Best from your Non-profit Video
So what are the questions you should have in mind when planning your non-profit video?
First and foremost, of course, is: what is the aim of the video? Is it to fundraise, to recruit staff or volunteers, to educate the public about the organization’s work? It is absolutely essential that there should be a single aim, and that this should be completely clear.
The video needs to be made in a way which will clearly communicate the goal you have identified.
It needs to be sufficiently well crafted to generate an emotional as well as an intellectual response, and to inspire the viewers to take the desired action. In addition, a really well-made and engaging video is likely to be shared and passed on by its viewers, thus enabling a significant expansion of your audience reach.
Although do-it-yourself can occasionally be effective, generally a promotional video needs to be professionally done.
Remember the public are used to the slick videos regularly seen on TV ads and commercial websites, and anything too amateurish may destroy the impact. You need an experienced producer to help you decide on the best story to tell about your organization, and this decision will inform the choice of location, length and shooting technique, to enable you to get your message across.
Video content is probably the world’s most powerful medium of communication. A brief, well-produced video is the most effective way to portray what your organization stands for, and to present all the opportunities offered by involvement with your project. This means that the investment in a good non-profit video can pay for itself many times over, in terms of increased funding, engagement and awareness.
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