Nonprofit marketing can be tricky to navigate. Many nonprofits operate on a limited budget and likely rely on donations to fund any marketing campaigns. Even though it can get expensive, it’s critical that a nonprofit markets its mission in order to influence donations.
Storytelling makes an impact. Video marketing is a great strategy for any nonprofit to tell its story. If there is any hesitation when hearing the word ‘video’, you can let it go now. Gone are the days when creating a visually appealing video costs a fortune and takes months to produce. These days, anyone with a smartphone and basic editing software can create an effective video in just minutes, eliminating expensive production costs. Professional studios, such as the one at 3D Digital, are also more available than ever, often willing to work with nonprofits bearing smaller budgets.
The power and influence of video marketing are mind-blowing. More than three-quarters of donors say that online video advertisements are the most useful medium when deciding to donate to a nonprofit. Along with that, more than half of the people who watch a video make a donation to the cause. These statistics are staggering and show just how effective video marketing can be for gaining awareness.
When designing a video marketing strategy for a nonprofit, YouTube should be at the top of the list. It’s the most popular online video platform with more than 1 billion current users. Having that many users generate an insanely high amount of traffic. More than 1 billion hours of videos are watched daily, resulting in billions of video views. The potential to have a lot of people see your video is within reach.
Optimizing videos for mobile devices should be a part of any video marketing campaign. More than half of all video views on YouTube are from a mobile device. The number of mobile video viewers is consistently rising in the United States. In 2017 alone, 161.5 million people viewed videos on a mobile device. This number is expected to continue to rise to 179.4 million people projected in 2020.
Online videos should be brief and concise, especially for mobile viewing. People on mobile devices tend to be on-the-go and are not willing to dedicate an extended period of time to a video. Make sure the message is clear and presented not long after the start of the video. If you don’t engage viewers within the first 30 seconds of a video you’ve already lost a third of the audience.
Video marketing for a nonprofit is proving to be extremely effective. With the number of online video viewers on the rise, there is only more and more potential to gain awareness and bring in needed donations. Engaging with an audience through a video is the best way to tell them who you are and what you’re working towards. Allowing them to visually see your mission is vital to expanding your reach in today’s technological society.
