Telain Ware – President/CEO, Marketing Consultants of Atlanta, Inc.
The need to raise greater awareness and increase the visibility of your nonprofit organization grew exponentially with the recession. Fewer individuals donating, along with corporations decreasing donations (or eliminating them completely), has resulted in the need for cause-related organizations to do more with much less. Now, more than ever, you must tell your story to more people, more often, and produce more results. Video is an ideal solution.
Upon first glance, many nonprofit decision-makers assume that video is too expensive, too time consuming, too far outside their internal expertise, too overwhelming…in short, just too much! Many cause marketers have learned that the opposite is true. Video has been proven to be a very cost-effective, flexible tool that must be added to the cause-marketing toolbox.
When you think about video, replace all apprehension with the knowledge that video consistently delivers positive results to organizations. Audience engagement, compelling content, and the multiple uses that can be achieved from a single video are discussed below, along with a list of video companies I have used over the years.
Audience Engagement: Most new TV shows and new movie releases utilize online video to engage their audience prior to the initial air date. All top-rated TV programs have online connections via social networks that drive viewers to their site to watch previously aired episodes and take some kind of action such as enter a contest, join an online forum, sign up for a newsletter, support a cause, etc. Many churches have thousands of global viewers logging on weekly to view live streaming and on-demand video content.
Compelling Content: To keep your audience engaged, and to reach new audiences, you must continually deliver compelling content. Condensed versions of a video can be used to achieve this while delivering on many other marketing and communications objectives. Here is a quick list of how you can use existing, or a single new video, in many different ways:
- :15 or :30 sec online commercials
- :60 sec TV commercial
- On-demand content on your website
- The organization’s “compelling story” aired during fundraising events
- Promotional short video as part of media kits
- Value proposition video included in partner and sponsorship packages
- As a video email campaign
- Broken up and used as part of a blog series
- Distribution on social networking sites
- Distribution on mobile platforms
- As a permanent part of the organization’s historical archives
Suggested Vendors: Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked with many creative professionals. Below are vendors who specialize in video, film and multi-media production.
EnVizions Film & Video – Contact: Bruce A. Brooks, 770.378.0385, brooksbruce@bellsouth.net
Level 8 Productions – Contact: Don Whitley, 404.617.2509, Dwhitley@level8productions.com, www.level8productions.com
Meekins Studio, LLC – Contact: Shawn Meekins, 678.851.4337, Sam813@gmail.com, www.Meekins.Studios.com
I hope this puts you on the path of incorporating video into your 2012 marketing and communications plans. This time next year you can have a positive ROI, and all year long you can achieve more with less.
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