Videos are becoming increasingly important for marketers. As more people choose to access video content on their phones due to better network speeds and the ease of watching videos, it makes sense for marketers to create the type of content their audience demands.
For charities, videos can be an especially powerful way to get their message across and boost support and visibility. Here are a few ways that charities can benefit from putting a video marketing campaign in place.
Videos Spread the Message Further
Video has the power to go viral in a way that other content often lacks. Viral marketing is when a piece of content spreads rapidly online. The rise of social media means that when someone finds a piece of content interesting, they can share it with hundreds of people in their networks with a click.
Videos are particularly effective at getting shared, and this is exactly what charities want.
You need to increase awareness of your charity and campaigns, and by creating a video that has the chance to go viral, you could dramatically increase your campaign’s reach.
Just look at the example of Kony 2012. This was a short documentary made by Invisible Children, Inc., that was running a “Stop Kony” campaign against the warlord’s activities in Uganda.
The video went viral and became a sensation. It’s since managed to get over 101 million views on YouTube, a huge success for a small charity.
This is just one example of what can happen. But even if your video does not get views in the tens of millions, it can still reach more people than your other content—and that can lead to more donations.
Videos Connect with the Audience
Videos are emotional and they create a reaction. Text can have the same effect, but video makes it easier. Charities use videos all the time where a simple image and a suitable soundtrack can quickly capture attention and provoke a response.
This is why charities use lots of images when they send out letters. An image tells a thousand words, and videos build on this further.
People act on their emotions, and when they are affected by something, they are more likely to react. If you need donations, a video can be the best way to encourage people to act.
Professional Videos Boost Your Image
Charities are not businesses, but their image still matters. A high-quality video that is professionally made can increase trust—and whenever you are asking people to part with their money, you need their trust.
A professional image can help with this, so make sure you use professional video production services to create a high-quality video, one that stands out from the amateur home-made videos all around.
This will help to give your charity more credibility, and it can ultimately encourage more people to donate to your cause.
Increase Your Online Visibility
Another great thing about videos is that they can be very effective for boosting your visibility.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that charities have to consider, and a large part of this involves building links from other sources, including from social networks.
Videos are great for SEO and link building. The more people link to your videos, the better your online visibility will become. As people link to your YouTube video, you will also improve your rankings on the site—and YouTube is the second largest search engine.
All of this helps to make your charity more visible online, and this can lead to more donations.
Videos Are Versatile
Finally, videos provide you with a highly versatile form of content because there is so much you can do with them.
You can create very short, hard-hitting videos less than a minute long that could work well on social media. Or you can create longer, more in-depth documentaries to fully explore an issue.
You can use them on your website, in blog posts, link to them in emails, and share them on social media.
This versatility allows you to do so much with videos, so you can use them exactly how you want to.
Use the Power of Video Marketing
If you have not yet set up a video marketing strategy for your charity, now is the time to do so. Video is only going to grow over the coming years, and you don’t want to miss out on all the benefits it can provide to your charity.
So start planning a video strategy now, and take advantage of increased visibility and more engagement, and help your charity to grow.
