The Video Marketing Blog

Nonprofit web video: one is a bad number

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

It's a very good idea for nonprofits to make videos that spread their stories. But without a good understanding of how many videos to make and what to do with them once they're made, mistakes will be made. For example, there's a nonprofit out in the Midwest that is thinking about expanding their communication efforts by producing videos. But they're not sure how to proceed, so they've invested in one video, posted it to YouTube, and are now waiting for feedback. They will make their decision on whether to adopt video strategically based on what kind of success that one video achieves.

What's wrong with this plan? Plenty.

If the world were waiting for video to be posted to YouTube, and if each time a video were posted, the world pounced on it, watched it, and passed it around to friends and family, then the nonprofit's strategy would be a fine one.

But the world is not waiting for video on the web. In fact, 13 hours worth of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute of every day.

A single video on the web is like a single blade of grass in a great big lawn. Nobody is going to look at that lawn and see that blade of grass, because nobody can. There are just too many others.

The second problem with creating one single video is economy of scale. Every time you bring in a videographer or a crew, you can gather video footage for one video or two videos or several videos. And depending on how you edit your footage, you can make one video or a few or many. If you start with a plan, you can maximize the number of videos you produce within your budget. The more videos you produce and post on the web, the greater the chance that people will watch them and spread them.

The third problem with that lonely video sitting there on YouTube, waiting to be found, is that it has no promotion plan. It's not being actively sent out in an email newsletter. It's not being blogged about in an active blog. People aren't being asked to blog about it, and to spread it around. It's just... sitting there.

How to fix these problems and help that nonprofit realize amazing results with video?

• Start with a master plan. Include a production plan that lets you maximize the number of videos you create. And include a promotion plan that will help you get your videos in front of lots and lots of people.
• After you send your videos out per your plan, gather and analyze as much data as you can, so you know what's working and what's not. Then when it's time to release your next video, incorporate the lessons your data have taught you.
• Ask for feedback every place you can, so you can learn what kind of videos have the most impact and generate the most action.

Video is the best communication tool on the planet for telling emotionally-compelling stories, and almost all nonprofits have emotionally-compelling stories to tell. But it's not enough to just go out and make a video. Your nonprofit has to start with a well-thought-out plan that will let your video content move people to come together in a community that cares about your cause as much as you do.

Read that last sentence again. Because a solid internet video campaign will help you achieve exactly that - a community that cares about your cause as much as you do.