As a nonprofit who focuses on marketing services, The Cause Agency is always exploring new and innovative ways to continue to market ourselves and our clients to the public. Video is one of those ways, quickly becoming dominant in social media, especially on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Many times, when it comes to telling the story of your nonprofit, visual elements hold much more power and resonate with the public in a more impactful manner. Founder and President of The Cause Agency, Jennifer Henderson, explains the importance of video even further throughout this article.
In order to utilize the full power of video, we must first understand why it’s truly so important. If you’ve ever heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words,” just know that it’s now more true than ever. According to Forrester, a one minute video is worth 1.8 million words. Additionally, we as people process images much faster than words—in fact, 60,000 times faster. It’s obvious now that videos and images can add immensely to a nonprofit’s marketing strategy and development, but it must be done correctly in order to be most effective.
When it comes to nonprofit marketing, perhaps the biggest key to a successful plan is storytelling. A vital piece to any marketing strategy, being able to successfully display the story of the organization is what will reach out to new audiences and keep existing ones engaged. This content is displayed beautifully through video, because it allows for visual testimonials from customers and staff alike. This content should be clear and concise; but most importantly, it should be genuine. Practice makes perfect, especially in video testimonials, because capturing that emotion is what will continue to draw people in.
The process of following up and staying consistent with content is equally as important in the world of nonprofit marketing. Building and maintaining donor relationships while acquiring new ones requires a balance between well planned communications, like newsletters, and trying new things to reach new audiences, like joining and contributing to Facebook groups aligned with your cause. Consistency on platforms will help to maintain and grow your audience, which will give your content more views as well.
Once you’ve found your flow in creating and posting content, it’s time to focus on what exactly you should be posting, where you should be posting it, and why. Staying up to date with trends, especially on social media, is what will push your content above and beyond. Not only is your content impactful, but if you can make it relatable and targeted as well, then you’ve hit the jackpot. Taking advantage of free technology such as email and social media, and really focusing on studying trends and successes, will serve you and your content well.
Take what you’ve learned and run with it… to film the best video content your nonprofit has ever seen. Use free marketing tools to your advantage, and branch out to find new audiences while doing so.