More and more nonprofits are using social networking to engage people in their missions and become supporters. Stories often engage people much more effectively than annual reports or newsletters, Web or brochure copy.
And video is a great way to share your story and promote your nonprofit online.
According to American Internet analytics company Comscore, 188.7 million people in the U.S. watched 46 billion online content videos in September 2013.
The average American spent more than 20 hours watching online video. Retail site visitors who view video stay two minutes longer on average and are 64 percent more likely to purchase than other site visitors.
And 96 percent of online shoppers watch online video. It’s not hard to see how these statistics apply to the nonprofit sector who also are trying to get the attention of supporters online.
When it comes to video storytelling, smaller nonprofits can get the word out inexpensively and with tools your volunteers and staff can easily access. More than 10,000 nonprofits of all sizes have uploaded videos or created their own channels through YouTube’s Nonprofit Program.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America has its own YouTube channel with more than 155 videos. Participants share their stories here, and these stories migrate to other websites and Facebook through shares. New followers can find your nonprofit or cause on YouTube through searches on keywords you’ve put in the title, description and tags. Registered 501(c)3 nonprofits that join the YouTube for Nonprofits program can also get free advertising and coaching about features like adding “donate now” buttons to their videos.
Creating engaging video stories is no longer out of the reach of grassroots nonprofits.
The videos can be done inexpensively and with easily accessed tools. Smartphones can be used to create short videos at events, of their sites, program activities and more to engage their public. Then simply upload them to YouTube and other websites.
I spoke recently with Murem Sharpe, CEO of Evoca, a Savannah-headquartered company that launched in 2006 as a cloud-based audio recording Web service for recording and publishing compelling audio content online via mobile, landline or computer.
Recently, Evoca added a Boca Video iPhone app that’s a do-it-yourself video studio in your pocket made via an “audio slideshow.”
Sharpe explains: “You simply take photos on-the-fly or select from your camera roll or Facebook albums. Then you start voice narrating in sync with each image and keep building photo and audio.
“The app will produce a video file that’s ready for you to instantly post on Facebook or YouTube or share via Dropbox or email.”
The app was added to Apple’s apps in September and has been named a ‘Top 100 app for iPhone and iPad’ by the tech blog AddictiveTips.com.
Sharpe also had a tip about how to make your video posts most effective.
“Keep your video to under two minutes,” she said. “Online visitors have a short attention span, and with short videos you can avoid the editing process. If you don’t like your video, just redo it.”
That’s not only easy, with some of the apps it’s imperative. Widely known photo app Instagram now offers a video feature for its mobile app. It provides up to 15 seconds of video recording and the ability to delete a segment of the video if desired.
Twitter also offers a video feature, Vine, that is not quite as strong as Instagram’s, providing six seconds of video and no editing capability.
Instagram is currently used by more than 130 million people, while Vine’s audience is about 13 million users.
If your nonprofit hasn’t tried using video to tell your stories, with all these great apps perhaps now’s the time to get started.
Sarah Todd is founder of Change Pioneers, an information resource on effective broad scale social change. She can be reached at 912-224-2120 or changepioneers@gmail.com.
By Sarah Todd