nonprofit video storytellingNonprofit video storytelling is necessary for the digital age, but it doesn’t have to be time-intensive. It can be fun and easy for your team to do. And, when you dedicate yourself to telling a good story visually, the results will surprise you. There’s no better way than to share your nonprofit story through video. Telling supporters about the effects you’re having in your community through impact videos are sure to move people to want to get involved.

Every fundraiser knows. People give to people. The people in your community want to see the work you’re doing. When they have the opportunity to see it with their own eyes, they are more motivated to want to give to your nonprofit. There’s no better way to tell a story than with the use of video. But, how do you get good at sharing the work you do in a way that engages people? What’s more, how can you do it in a way that doesn’t take up all your time production?

We’ve got some good news for you. Keep reading and find out what we do to make sure our videos are fun and engaging for our social enterprise.

Nonprofit video storytelling behind the scenes

Telling a story should be something that is fun and gets your supporters and others to act? Take them behind the scenes. Everyone wants to take a peek and see what’s behind the curtain. Even if you have an excellent website and convey the work with your marketing material, when you share a behind the scenes look, you’re creating an experience. People want to see what they usually can’t. So, a great approach is to take videos and give them a look. For instance, create weekly videos where viewers get to spend a day with your CEO or others on your team. Have your supporters experience––authentically––what it’s like to be in your shoes and see what you see. There’s no need for a professional to shoot the video or for pro equipment. All you need is your cell phone!

Fundraising ideas can be the stuff of videos

You may think that no donor wants to see a fundraising video. But that’s not true. When you’re brainstorming fundraising ideas, think about what would play well on video. As an example, one nonprofit decided to engage people and shift the narrative about a serious topic––food. The soup kitchen organization chose to do a bag-filling contest, which brought people together to help people in need. They asked the participants to fill up bags of food as fast as they could, and those who did the quickest won a small prize. Then, they shared the video of the day and raised money. As a result, people donated more funds to this fundraiser than an earlier one. The topic of hunger is serious. But, the nonprofit was able to inform and educate as they did something different for donors with their nonprofit video storytelling.

Storytelling doesn’t have to be professional to be good

Although there was a time when nonprofits created professional videos, times have changed. Organizations are doing live streams and mixing things up. There’s a lot of content on social media platforms shot with mobile phones, and it’s caught the public imagination. Yet, there are a few crucial tips that you should follow when shooting video. Remember that people have short attention spans. Keep things short. In other words, for social media, create videos of no more than 2 minutes. If you want to post longer content, post it on YouTube, and share a snippet of it on other social networking platforms. Then, direct people to your longer videos. Get your message across in the first 5 seconds. If you don’t capture someone’s attention at that point, it won’t happen later. Finally, remember your audience and create content targeted to their interests.

In conclusion, telling a nonprofit story does not have to be hard. All you need is a little consistency and creative thinking. It doesn’t matter if you have a large or small budget. In today’s world, because of free or low-cost tools and mobile, any group can master nonprofit video storytelling.

 

Author of “Not Your Father’s Charity: Grip & Rip Leadership for Social Impact” (Free Digital Download)

 

© 2019 Wayne Elsey and Not Your Father’s Charity. All Rights Reserved