The story of the golden voiced homeless man, Ted Williams, swept across the nation. Suddenly the fall, rise, and possible fall of a man became part of the national discussion.
The story was captured with an inexpensive Flip video camera by a newspaper reporter. Would the story have had the same impact if it was only printed in a newspaper? No, you really had to see and hear Williams to get the full impact of the story.
Take advantage of video to spread your message. As we saw with Williams, you don’t need to have fancy production values to make a splash with the public.
Additional Resources:
Click here for Five Reasons Why Your Social Media Strategy Fails.
A video does not have to be long or expensive to connect with your customers and supporters. It’s a great tool to have in your nonprofit toolbox. Below, you’ll see a short video I put together to promote my speaking services:
The idea is to give a taste of what you’re about and the leave the viewer wanting to know more. The original cut of the video was about 90 seconds long. I’ve trimmed it down to less than a minute by making sure that I was leaving in only the most important material.
Can you craft your nonprofit’s mission into a message that lasts less than one minute? I used a lot of quick edits but you don’t have to do that. My goal was to keep the energy high, even though it only featured one person.
Need help brainstorming some video clips? Let’s talk.
Here’s a video I recently put together for a nonprofit client. This is a good example of how you don’t need fancy equipment to make an impact on the viewer. The project also had a clear focus. It’s designed to raise awareness and funds for domestic abuse prevention programs aimed at teenagers.
Also note that the audience members were mostly minors, so I made sure that their identities were concealed.
Can your nonprofit give people something that takes them further into your world? If a video is too time consuming, maybe you should try a short audio recording. It can be as simple as asking a few questions to some of your top stakeholders. Then post the clip on your website or blog. And of course, don’t forget to tell people that it’s there.
In the spirit of giving, let me offer you the first 15 minutes from one of my speaking presentations. To download the free clip, go here. There are no strings attached. Enjoy! To find out more about my talks, click here.
Coming up, well talk about how you can use YouTube, even if you don’t have any video to share.
When it comes to recording their nonprofit’s YouTube video, some people freeze up on camera. Off camera, they know what they want to say but once they’re ready to start talking for the video, they go blank. It’s a common social media challenge.
A new, free online application can help with this challenge. http://www.easyprompter.com/ allows you to type in a script and then view it on your computer as you would through a professional teleprompter. This could work especially well if you are reading into a computer’s webcam.
The application also lets you adjust font size, scrolling speed, and the capitalization of words. As a broadcasting veteran, I found it to be a good tool.
A word of caution: It does take practice to read a teleprompter and not sound mechanical. I would probably use it as a cue for major topics or important phrases, rather than every word of your video. Nevertheless, this is a very budget friendly tool that can make your YouTube clips a lot more user friendly.
A lot of nonprofits look at social media as a way to attract small, one time gifts. They may be missing a great opportunity to use tools like Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and YouTube as a way to engage donors. People like to know that their money is being well spent and social marketing can make them feel like they’re part of a cause that’s getting things done in your community. By strengthening the bond between your nonprofit and your donors, you can open the door for larger contributions in the future.
Some nonprofits don’t do this and fall into a common trap that dooms a lot of businesses by taking their supporters for granted. In this two part special report, we’ll break down this problem and provide some solutions so your nonprofit will enjoy a stronger relationship with your donors.
Imagine that you go to look at a gym. You’re taken around by staff, shown all of the great features, and are made to feel special. Then you sign up and before long you notice that something has changed in the relationship. You’re surprised to realize that once you sign on the dotted line, the gym doesn’t care about you.
While this isn’t true for all fitness facilities, most are based on a business model that’s all about getting new customers. They want to sign you up, get any initiation fee, and take your dues every month. In fact, the gym would love it if you stopped coming but kept paying your membership.
You’re never asked for your opinion or suggestions for the facility. As a loyal customer, you never receive any special treatment. Management doesn’t care if equipment gets worn down or the locker rooms aren’t as clean as they used to be. They’re happy to take your money every month and they’re betting that you won’t leave. Why do you stay? Because getting out of your contract is a complicated process, you still want to make good on your fitness commitment, and there’s no other gyms nearby.
I want you to think about the last time you felt like you were treated like you were a gym member and how that felt. Is that how you run your donor relations? Read part 2 by clicking here.
Posted by Ken Okel 
