Video Production – How To Produce Effective Fundraising Videos

In yesterday's blog entry, I looked at 10 reasons why charities and NGOs should be producing videos to accompany their fundraising campaigns and how video production is one of the most powerful mediums for communicating the work of non-profit organisations. Today, I'm going to look at how produce to an effective fundraising video.

1. Identify Your Target Audience – Before you start to think about the content of your video, it's absolutely essential you determine exactly who it is aimed at? Is the video to target people who already support your cause, prospective supporters or even government legislators? What specific demographics do you want to target? Teenagers, young adults, or middle-aged professionals? How far and wide do you want the film to be seen? Is it a local, national or international issue? And most importantly, exactly how do you want your audience to think, feel and act once they have seen your video?

It's crucial that all of these questions are answered and that your objectives are crystal clear, as this is what will determine the kind of video you'll need to produce.


2. The Content - The key to successful fundraising videos is always compelling story-telling. If the video is to provoke action and inspire change, an audience must be able to make a  genuine emotional connection with what they're seeing. Being transparent and demonstrating tangible impact is also crucial. Potential donors will want to see exactly where their hard-earned cash will be going, who it will be spent on and why. It's also useful to substantiate any claims you make with expert opinion.

3. Duration - The length of your film will of course depend on a number of factors, but less is often more, particularly if you want the video be successful online. People lead incredibly busy lives in the 21st century and you have to ask yourself how much time you are expecting people to give up to watch your film. You don't want them to switch off before the call to action.

4. Distribution - Videos are incredibly versatile and once produced, can be streamed online, duplicated onto DVDs, used in one-on-one meetings or as part of fundraising presentations and events. However you choose to your film, for maximum possible exposure, it's very important that you incorporate the video into your organisation's website, preferably with access to it from the homepage.

However, you should also distribute your  video across ALL of your online marketing channels. That means sharing the videos via online networks, video-sharing sites, blogs, Facebook and My Space accounts, where they quickly become part of larger online discussions, commented upon by multitudes of online viewers. There's even a special section on YouTube dedicated to non-profits  which includes enhanced promotion and a direct fundraising option via Google Checkout.

A number of sites are also emerging that specifically host fundraising videos and when used in tandem with these sites, videos can be an exceptionally powerful medium for conveying the importance of any cause.

Although fundraising videos can be produced in-house using consumer camcorders and basic editing software, for a fundraising film with real impact it's always best to work with an experienced video production company who can get the best out of contributors and tell a truly emotive, visual story. 
 

Video Production – Why Non-Profits & Charities Should Produce Fundraising Videos.

As the credit crunch continues to bite, charities and non-profit organisations around the world are under increasing pressure to hit their fundraising targets and to increase their marketing and outreach activities, even while their budgets are being squeezed. Video production is one of the most powerful alternative mediums for communicating the work of non-profit organisations and as more and more people have access to the internet, it's one of the most effective solutions around.

Here's 10 reasons why:

1) Nobody likes to read dry lengthy reports, packed with statistics.

2) Video can tell powerful, emotional stories that move supporters to take action.

3) The human brain processes and remembers visual images MUCH faster and for FAR longer than printed text.

4) Videos are far more authoritative than the written word. People tend believe what they can see, far more than what they read.

5) Video production is increasingly affordable and accessible. A high quality video can be made for a relatively small amount of money

6) Videos are incredibly versatile and therefore highly cost-effective, allowing any organisation to make the most out of their marketing budgets. Videos can be streamed online, duplicated onto DVDs, used in one-on-one meetings or as part of fundraising presentations and events. The right video can serve an organisation's fundraising needs for a long period of time and the footage can also be easily re-edited for use in future productions.

7) Once produced, a video can save a charity or NGO huge amounts of time, which can be used for other important fundraising and outreach activities.

8) A compelling video can help raise an organisation's profile and visibility, as well as hard cash.

9) A number of sites are emerging that specifically host fundraising videos and when used in tandem with these sites, videos can be an exceptionally powerful medium for conveying the importance of any cause.

10) Videos can be specifically tailored to appeal to hard-to-reach demographics.  

In my next blog entry, I'll be looking exactly how to produce and propagate an effective fundraising video.

In the last few years, there's been a revolutionary shift in the way that prospective students learn about study opportunities, as colleges and universities across the UK increasingly turn to video production as a recruitment tool. However, to take full advantage of any videos an institution creates or commissions, it's absolutely essential that the video content is also distributed across a variety of online marketing channels and that students are communicated with on their own terms. This means sharing videos via popular online social networks like Facebook and MySpace and creating branded channels on video-sharing sites like Youtube and Google Video. If done correctly, the content will be viewed by a multitude of online viewers and act as an extremely powerful element of any marketing strategy. Colleges and Universities who rely only on traditional marketing methods such as student fairs, education agents, hard copy publications and other one-way communication channels are missing out on a powerful new recruitment tool that in most instances is entirely free and will soon find themselves behind the competition. Many people in the education marketing industry are already calling this the era of "Recruitment 2.0". Let's take a look at how a number of institutions around the UK are already embracing these new technologies to boost their admissions:

Warwick University regularly uploads video content to both their YouTube Channel and MySpace Profile to reach out to potential students. "We are bringing the academe to audiences in a very new and exciting way," says Tom Abbott, content editor at Warwick. "This is a rich window into what the university experience is, which may be impossible to articulate in a brochure."

Durham University also run a popular YouTube Channel, which drives enormous numbers of potential students and parents to the university's main website. "We're experiencing a 12% increase in overseas applications at the moment and are really excited about the part that our online presence has played in this. Much of the research on courses, student life and the local area is now of course done via the web.   Statistically, our video portal has been receiving up to 40,000 clicks per month and we're continually hearing that it's been one of the best conversion tools we have for applications, particularly students from overseas, who often have to make the most educated decision on where to apply based on what they see online and in prospectuses", explained Durham's Web Marketing Officer, Claire Croft.

Westminster University and the University of Plymouth prefer to concentrate their attentions on Facebook. Both of their profiles contain a number of videos about life at the University:    

It's also worth taking a look at what American universities are up to, because in this area, they really are leading the way - often engaging with prospective students for up to 2 or 3 years prior to actual enrollment by creating loyal online communities around their institutions and re-purposing video content whenever possible. Both Duke University and Stanford University operate popular branded YouTube channels, which feature hundreds of different videos, ranging from professional produced promotional films to user-generated content.

 

Here at Spectrecom, we're the UK market leaders in education-recruitment video marketing, and have worked for years with some of the biggest names in higher and further education to recruit new students and manage institutional reputations. To find out more, please visit of the Education Recruitment page of our website.
 

I attended the Corporate Register's CR debates at the Royal Institution on 27 March 2009 where the main topic under discussion was the effectiveness (or otherwise) of written CSR reports. As the debate was drawing to a close at the end of the afternoon, several members of the panel and audience (including heads of communications from Shell International and Virgin Media), made the point that if we're going to get our message across, then as organisations we need to depart from traditional print media and engage with digital media and online platforms. Several specific ideas were advanced, and I thought it would be helpful to produce a list of 10 top reasons why video can be the most effective form of CSR communication.

1. Nobody likes to read dry lengthy reports, packed with statistics.
2. The human mind is programmed to remember pictures and images far better than the things we hear or read.
3. Video can have an emotional impact that the written word struggles to match.
4. Videos are far more authoritative than the written word. People tend believe what they can see, far more than what they read.
5. Video production can help bridge a communication gap between the generation that spawned corporate social responsibility and the younger generation whose responsibility it will be to sustain it.
6. Video provides a human face to an organisation. People connect with people.
7. Video streamed online is an environmentally friendly communications tool. Not only does it cut down the need to travel for presentations, it reduces paper usage and DVD production.
8. CSR videos are great for SEO. They can be repurposed and propagated online, driving highly-targeted traffic to your website.
9. A range of new online platforms are emerging to provide your film and your organisation with the visibility and the reputation it needs ( www.csrtv.co.uk, www.csrtube.net)
10. The video production process can inspire employers and employees to take part, helping to improve team cohesion. 
    

What with our membership in the Telegraph Business Club and London’s Business Junction, I ‘m doing quite a bit of networking these days. As an ice-breaker, people invariably start off with something along the lines of, “So, how’s business treating you in the recession?” Some have even suggested (and I can’t help thinking, somewhat tactlessly) that perhaps corporate video is a bit of a superfluous and unaffordable luxury in times like these. Well, if we’re talking about an expensive and glossy morale-boosting boast-fest for the AGM, I might be inclined to agree. But I would also agree with the worldly-wise Rob Vincent of Radley Yeldar. Speaking in the March edition of Televisual magazine, Rob commented on recession-driven trends, saying that ”Videos that are all about rhetoric, hype, spin and style over content are not what people are looking for. It doesn’t mean that creativity is out of the window, but it needs to be appropriate creativity”. In other words, a targeted message is still extremely important, and video is one of the most cost-effective ways of conveying that message. This is particularly true where online video is concerned, and respondents to a Televisual survey repeatedly made the point that the internet is where we’re seeing the biggest growth in the use of corporate video.

One of the emerging themes from all of the industry briefings I’ve attended over the last year (and there have been quite a few!) is that in a recession we need to market our businesses as never before. And yet, for many organisations, this coincides with a squeeze on marketing expenditure. We’re being asked to do more with less. Clearly then, if we’re going to achieve greater marketing impact with our dwindling resources, we’re going to have to do something differently. And for many, this means turning to the internet. Now, you won’t be surprised to learn that I happen to think that online video is one of the most cost-effective ways of reaching, and communicating to, a targeted audience. We’ve been around long enough to see this happen in practice. The videos we made for Durham University are routinely getting around 40,000 views a month, and applications, especially from international students, are up as a direct result. Aside from marketing and promoting products and services, video is a cheap way of getting all sorts of messages out there, from charity fund-raising drives to public sector campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of targeted initiatives. Of course, it’s not just video on a home site that does the all of the work, that same video can play on YouTube, Google, Facebook, MySpace and online directories like FreeIndex.co.uk.

At Spectrecom, we’ve seen the requirement for online video, as opposed to DVD, increase to 85% of our production output. And it’s comparative low cost has seen enquiries rise significantly – yes, even in the recession. We’re approaching our financial year end, and this rise in online video has helped us to increase our sales turnover by 38% compared to last year. And there’s still two weeks to go …