Video as an Engine for Nonprofit Growth: A Case Study

Editor's Notes

1. I know we want to all jump into video...but there is an important thing your organization needs to do first - establish your voice. Because your voice...some call it your brand voice... is the foundation for your storytelling strategy, no matter the medium. For some of you, yourr organizations have already done this - and that’s great. You’re ahead of the game. But some of you...maybe be many of you...haven’t worked through this process yet. I will tell you, and I’m sure Michael will agree, It is critical.
2. Your voice – most simply put, what you talk about and how you say it – is the most important part of your brand. Your voice communicates value. It informs your audience. It’s how your audience recognizes you. It’s the words you choose to best convey your key messages. Your unique voice is what makes you stand out from others...others who may be trying to say the same thing - which in our case is “My cause, this mission, is worth your time and money” Think about it like...the things you want someone to know about you by the end of the first date. I’m honest and reliable. Smart...I know what I’m talking about. But I’m friendly and approachable. I’m worth spending time with...and even spending money on. I have great potential for a long term relationship that will bring you happiness and peace of mind. I’m someone you can fall in love with.” Sounds funny right...but isn’t that what we really want? We want people to fall completely in love with our mission - hopefully by the end of first date. But really...who falls madly in love and gets married after the first date? No..there’s definitely going to be a courtship here...possibly a long one. Because...while you may look pretty...and you’re giving off this great vibe...can I really trust you? This is why above all else...your brand voice has to be authentic...it has to be the real you. You can’t pretend to be something you’re not. Your voice has to honestly represent your core values and ideals...and must do so consistently. Donors are smart and very selective. By the third or fourth date...if you’re not really who you say you are...they’ll figure it out. And they’ll move on. There are lots of other fish in the sea...the most recent count...1.4 million other non-profits in the United States are competing for the same donors that you’re trying to reach. You have to put your best foot forward every time...every touchpoint counts.
3. In finding your brand voice...you really need to understand who you’re talking to...and why. And...when your budgets are limited...you don’t just don’t have the capability to do targeted campaigning to specific demographics. You have to find a tone of voice, and create content that connects with the broadest audiences to get the most bang for your buck. You have to find common threads that connect groups of different ages and ethnic background and then establish a tone of voice that will hopefully connect with as many of those people as possible. U.S. Charitable giving is at an all time high...the highest in the world at $212 billion annually. Americans love to give. Now you just have to get them to love to give to your organization. A strong, authentic and consistent brand voice will help make that happen. Your tone can be many different things...you can be authoritative and informative...”We are the best at doing what we do… we’re better prepared and equipped to take on this mission... and here’s why”....or you can be more emotional, garner sympathy/empathy from your donors....”Our family has lost everything, and we need your help”... There’s also fun and zany...which has it’s place - but only in a much more targeted approach...funny is the most difficult to get right so only use it when you know for sure it’s the best way to hit a target market.
4. So there’s a lot of different voices that could be used to tell the St Jude story. We had great relationships with celebrities who could speak on our behalf and help draw attention through their notoriety...we had world-renowned doctors and scientists who could establish our credibility as the leaders, the authority in treating childhood cancer. Either of these approaches to brand voice could have been successful... But our real experience was showing something different…...that’s the key word. EXPERIENCE. Experiencing the mission of St. Jude first hand... visiting the hospital...and meeting patients and families...hearing their stories hearint their stories first hand was something special and unique. \I don’t have some hard statistic on this...but once someone visited had that St. Jude experience...in nearly every instance...they were hooked. We knew the tremendous success of bringing donors, partners to the Hospital to experience our mission first hand. We also knew from our events in local communities...that when a patient and family were there in person to share their own story the audience - more people, right then and there would become part of our mission. People connected to that story...because the patients and families are just like you and me. The idea that “this can really happen to anyone” is driven home by these personal stories. Our visionary CEO made decision that patients/families would become the voice of St. Jude in their own words - not just in the direct campaigns...but across all of our storytelling. They found a strong an effective brand voice and to this day it drives their approach to storytelling.
5. So we established our voice…and we had a story to tell. So how did we know that video would work - that it was an effective storytelling tool that drove results? ...we already had some experience to fall back on.
6. St. Jude was already on television - and had a long history of success with DRTV dating back to the early 80’s. The storytelling approach - authentic, documentary style - again often from the perspective of patients and families, in their own words. It was very successful. DRTV became not only a key donor acquisition tool - but it helped to significantly raise St. Jude’s awareness when compared to other fundraising and healthcare organizations. Regular surveys asked St. Jude donors how they first heard about St. Jude - “television commercials” were always the #1 answer So we knew video worked. We knew It was an authentic and engaging way to share the mission story. And we weren’t alone...
7. Many other organizations...World Vision, Feed the Children, ASPCA, Unicef - just to name a few ...were also heavily using direct response television as a key driver for acquisition. Trust me...if these organizations were not seeing results from these efforts...you wouldn’t be seeing them on television....because of the cost of buying media is very high. Other than television…. the channels and platforms for video content at that time were pretty limited - practically non-existent. You had broadcast, which to be effective required aggressive media spending… or the delivery of hard copy media, which was also expensive unless you could do large duplication runs. Or, video was showcased at live, in-person events - which were very effective, but had a limited, albeit captive audience So at that time video, while a known driver of results, was still a risky proposition - especially for smaller organizations, both production and distribution were costly endeavors. But luckily….the world has changed...A lot.
8. First…the model for video distribution has changed...and we’ve had this explosion of free platforms and channels...not only for distribution...but also for promotion. No longer do you have to rely solely on a paid broadcast media schedule to reach your audience with video content. Your website...social media...mobile...you’ve already invested in these channels - you probably already have TEAMS of people working on them - and they can be easily optimized for hosting and promoting content - delivering it directly to your donor. And that’s exactly what should happen...you, your web team, your strategists, should be mapping out how to prominently integrate video into your content strategy for all of your online channels. Here’s why...
9. Now, more than ever, video is how your donors, your partners, are working, living, playing and engaging online. Not only because of the increasing volume of video content out there...but because the overall video experience for the end user, from an ease of use and playback quality standpoint, is nearly perfect. Gone are the days of waiting endlessly for video to buffer. Video players and devices have become almost completely agnostic when it comes to video file types...and they more intuitively adjust playback to optimize stream quality. It’s easier to watch...and that’s where they’re watching.
10. Nearly 90 million Americans - your potential donors - will be watching online video today. And the number of online video users is expected to reach nearly 1.5 billion by 2016. Those are some staggering numbers.
11. Consumers are your audience. They are your potential donors. More than half of all consumers indicate that video strengthens their confidence in making purchase decision - or in our case - choosing to donate. This is so important. Not only does video strengthen your general awareness...it builds understanding...confidence in your mission...critical to strengthening your long-term engagement with your donors. And look at this next statistic...76% of marketers plan to add video to their sites this year. That make video integration a higher marketing priority than Facebook, Twitter and blogs. How many people do you have managing your online properties? Have you added staff to help drive your social marketing? So….Why haven’t you done the same for video?
12. As a medium, video has one big advantage over other marketing content: the human touch it brings to brands through in-depth, authentic, emotionally-driven storytelling. When real people appear in your video it engenders the trust of your audience, your donors, and with competition growing between non-profit brands in almost every visual medium - especially online - this trust can make all the difference in not only acquiring donors, but continuing to engage with them all along the donor lifecycle. Also Video is infinitely customizable... having strong, meaningful and effective core stories about your mission gives you a platform to communicate and connect with different audiences - by adding specialized information, or customizing the call to action to drive the desired result. Video can also be integrated into marketing strategies and campaigns in an infinite number of combinations. At St. Jude - there wasn’t a fundraising or awareness campaign that wasn’t employing video - recruitment, engagement, motivational - the possibilities for integrating video marketing and storytelling across your organization are truly endless. We’ll talk more about integration later.
13. Why video...because YOU CAN! On average...production costs continue to drop...mainly because the price of technology has dropped while the quality and capability of that technology continues improve drastically. A DSLR camera can do today only what high-end film or digital cinema camera could just a decade ago - the image quality is stunning. But ….looks aren’t everything - especially when it comes to video marketing. Your video can be built from the most beautiful moving images ever captured...but if it’s not effective...if it doesn’t align with your marketing strategy and achieve it’s specific goals and objectives...if it runs contrary to the brand voice you’ve worked so hard to build...it could do more harm than good. It could threaten the trust you’ve built with your donors. Cheaper...isn’t always better.
14. Hopefully...by this point, I’ve convinced you that video works...that’s it’s a powerful storytelling medium that conveys emotion and drives response like no other. And that video, especially online video, is how your donors communicate and engage online. And...video...once considered too expensive to produce and distribute...is really accessible to almost anyone - any organization of any size. As we said in the description for this Webinar..if you’re not deploying video as a key marketing tool...you’re late to the game. So it’s time to get started. But...how do you do it. How do you get started...how do you engage in production and build an integrated video marketing strategy?
15. Buy-in from your leadership is critical. They need to understand the real value of video marketing as engine for your brand awareness, engagement and most importantly - driving those donations. Again, all the general market data and information you need to build that case for video is out there. Do the research. Find it, understand it...and make connections to your own marketing strategies. Talk about it - with anyone who will listen - anyone with a stake in a successful video marketing strategy….especially those managing the channels...like your internet and social media teams. Help them understand the value that video brings to their channels - how it drives engagement and conversion and bolsters your presence. Build support throughout your organization - you need it to be successful.
16. You’re not going to be able to dive in to your own full-service video production right from the start - and neither did we. It took more than a decade to build out our media production team and production capabilities. So you have to start small...and that means building strong industry partnerships with experts...not only in production….but in developing your video marketing strategy.. Find partners that you trust - build and strengthen those partnerships because those will carry you successfully - and hopefully cost-effectively - through those early productions and video marketing campaigns.
17. But...while you’re building those partnerships...I strongly recommend consdiering an internal resource...yes...personnel...that can be your point person on video for the organization. Someone with background and experience to be able to evaluate potential partners and vendors, negotiate fair pricing for services. Someone who can see the project through the production phases - and manage your video assets and how they are distributed. And as your lead video storyerller...this person also becomes your “video brand steward” - maintaining voice and building and strengthening your brand through your video content. Remember, how critical that consistent brand voice is is key to building donor trust. You also want to have someone who’s paying attention to any legal and regulatory issues surrounding engaging in video marketing. Anything from image release, to use of music, production insurance, contracting with vendors...you may have the added conditions of HIPAA if you’re mission is related to health care. You want to address these issues early with the help of your legal advisors.
18. An example of how important those early partnerships are... in 2003 we produced our first nationally distributed HD broadcast PSA campaign. While we had some in house production resources available at that time - we were not advanced enough to handle this scope of production. Our budget was also small - most of which would be eaten up by tht cost of PSA distribution and tracking - another service that we would be required to outsource. So how did we do it? In addition to taking production bids from “known” production houses in the immediate area I sought out some of the city’s younger, up and coming directors. This led me to a young man who was an early adopter expert in HD production - and hungry to be involved with a nationally distributed broadcast project. He ended up waving the typical fees for the director...and invested nearly all of the budget directly into the hard costs of production. He helped find other crew and technical support - many who volunteered or offered discounted rates. Meanwhile, I was able to oversee production and post as producer and we some the initial rough cut assembly in house - also saving some money. In the end, we able to produce the spot for about ½ cost of what the more experienced production houses were bidding. And...we produced an telly-award winning campaign that out-performed our previous PSA efforts nearly 3-1 in both impressions and general inquiry responses. So we did a lot with a little. And you can too...find those partnerships, build the trust...and you’ll be successful.
19. I spoke earlier about “the human touch” unique to video storytelling… while your mission may impact thousands, even millions...you still have to drill that story down to a much more intimate level. Show your mission in action through the impact it has on a much smaller scale. Then, the story becomes much more relatable to the individual donor. It shows in the most authentic way...how even the smallest gift can make a tremendous impact. You then put the experience and emotion generated by that story into the larger context…”this family is just one of thousands who are facing this battle…” So you have to get out there....where your mission meets the road...so to speak. Make a commitment to gathering the assets that will be the foundation for your storytelling. Even if you’re not yet sure exactly how you’re going to construct the finanl story...start documenting. You’ll find angles and approaches to building the narrative that you couldn’t have imagined or constructed...simply by documenting your mission in action..honing in on the experience from the perspective of those directly impacted. What’s more authentic than that? And another important point...every great video isn’t always video. Think Ken Burns...award winning documentaries that set the bar for storytelling using photography. I can’t tell you how many videos we created in the early days that relied sometimes exclusively on photos. We were also fortunate to have an amazing in-house photography team. In any case...don’t let the lack of video assets hold you back. Use what you have to help visualize the mission.
20. As you start to craft those assets into your story...you write your treatments and scripts...you plan and execute location shoots...you start to produce content and review it….all along that process you should always be asking yourself these important questions. Does this video reinforce your brand...by employing your brand voice...consistently integrating your existing brand assets, colors, fonts, logos….does this video do anything to threaten or degrade the brand? Does does the viewer learn something new about the organization from this video...something they may have never known before...is the information interesting and engaging...does it help build awareness and better understanding of the organization? Does it effectively establish us, our organization as the experts...the leaders...the best at what we do? Does the video have a strong call to action...does it sell...does it compel the average person to become part of your mission...does it reinforce the virtues of your mission for those who are already on board? And...does it deliver? While you can’t know for sure in advance if every video is “going to work” - you have to make as calculated as an attempt as possible...you have to make creative choices based on previous experience and your firm knowledge of the audience you are trying to reach...and the results you are trying to deliver. When you ask why did we make this choice...this cut...this shot...this music...you must have an answer every time...and that answer should be...because it brands, because it informs, because it sells, because it delivers. And again, in those early stages, when you’re finding your legs, building your experience...you need to rely even heavier on those industry and professional partnerships we discussed earlier...to help guide you to the right answers. .
21. So...we build our brand voice and identity...we committed to creating some great video...built our partnerships and our own expertise...we created some really compelling video content..stories that brand, inform, sell, deliver...now what? You’ve got to use it...and remember when we were talking about heavy lifting...how video is infinitely integratable...Let me show you.
22. With that strong, broadly appealing mission story at the core...you can reconfigure video content to fit into various formats...you can target specific audiences with customized calls to action.... Any type of volunteer or partner recruitment and training, your own employee engagement and staff recruitment, corporate - all great opportunities to showcase video. Many of our fundraising campaigns were based in retail...dollar ad ons and pin-ups...campaigns that required floor-level employees to sell and close...sharing videos featuring mission story combined with specific campaign training information, tips on how to ask for the gift - helped motivate the employees and drove improved results. Even today, you should still strongly consider keeping Public Service Announcements - or other short form video content in your library. There is still a traditional, broadcast approach to video advertising - not to mention that while broadcast may be limping a little, it’s far from dead - so having :30 and :60 second versions of stories in your library allow you to respond quickly when those media opportunities arise. You can take a serialized approach to your storytelling - deploying content in episodes is a great way to generate longer-term engagement, but it also requires a solid promotion strategy to build and maintain interest. How about video mission moments for your live events...the list is endless. Why...whether you’re a corporate CEO or the chief executive of your own household, whether you’re the next major donor or the college student looking for a place to volunteer your time...no matter your walk of life...you’re human. And as we established time and time again...video as a medium connects us on a level that no other medium can. An authentic, mission focused story...one that shows broad impact through intimate storytelling...it’s going drive results - especially if you find new and unique ways to integrate your content across all functions of your organization.
23. You online video needs somewhere to live. I’m a firm believer that ALL of your public facing video content should live at home - Your website. Why? Because that is where transaction happens, right? You want to drive your audience - your donors - to where they can most easily contribute to your cause. As few clicks as possible. And that’s at home...the mothership we used to call it. That means you have to select a video hosting option that best integrates with your content management system - There are plenty of free/easy options like YouTube, Vimeo - but again, even a video posted to these services should ALWAYS be embedded to your website and promoted from the page. Remember, if you’re promoting directly from YouTube, Vimeo or some other source - you’re not driving your donors to the transaction at home - and they can get lost and distracted. This is where those partnerships come up again - you have to work closely with your internet team to maximize the functionality and effectiveness of your online video content. There are many specific, often simple steps at the coding level of websites, that help pages better interact and embed with social media like Facebook. Not my area of expertise...so again...those partnerships are critical. And...promote….promote...promote that content. Your video can’t do any work for you, cannot drive results if people don’t know it’s out there. You can’t just post it and hope for the best. Your placement and promotional strategy are critical to the success of your video online. Social media...email...tell people where to find your video. And always encourage your followers to share that content.
24. Online video...that’s just a piece...albeit a large one....of your video marketing strategy. I can recall distributing hundreds, if not thousands of VHS and then DVDs to get our video out there - especially in the hands of our staff in the field across the country. The ones making donor visits and meeting with business and corporations for sponsorships...because again...we knew if we could replicate the emotional response of the in-person mission experience...we had a much easier time converting. Today..thanks to mobile devices like iPads and even phones....your staff can carry your entire library of video right in their hands. No matter where they are...in the living room of a major donor or in the board room of a major corporation - or they just happen to be sitting next to some power player on the next flight...they can share your story right then and there. And, by providing the content...you better control the story - you maintain your a consistent brand voice voice, and build a stronger connection directly to your mission. Let the video handle the emotional pitch...and let your staff make the ask and close the deal.
25. So...now you’ve got content...it’s hosted...it’s been posted...it’s promoted. We’ve integrated video across programs and campaigns...it’s in the hands of our staff...it’s prominently featured at live events….How do we know it’s working?
26. To know if your video marketing strategies are working...you have to clearly define the measures of success...the value of each of those measures. What you measure and how you measure it is dictated solely by what your trying to accomplish...your specific objectives. Remember...it’s not just about views anymore. As videos marketing strategies evolve, so should measurement tools to not only ensure that success is recorded, but also to measure the variations in success according to the objectives that were set out. You have to establish some benchmarks for general awareness, engagement, social visitation and user sharing of content, time spent watching videos and visiting pages, ...it’s not as simple as just not just knowing how many times a video is viewed. Set the standard you’re testing against... If you don’t have a firm grasp on where you are now you won’t know if you’re improving...do A-B testing to identify influences and variables...for example...measure click through rates of emails that prominently feature video links compared to those that do not, or measure the number of shares of a video that is heavily promoted socially versus another that is not. You’ll begin to see the patterns and they’ll help define a more effective video marketing strategy over time. You also have to deploy sophisticated measurement tools to ensure that the true impact of the video is understood. Fortunately, nearly all of your video hosting options, even YouTube and Vimeo offer analytical tools that provide those very detailed and specific measurements. In fact...the analytics are now so precise...that you now can track second by second the engagement of your viewers, how long they are watching, and when they are disengaging - something a simple view count could never do. This kinds of information can inform your creative approach and help lead to more effective videos. Some of the data...you’re simply gathering on your own...Take as an hypothetical example…”this year we incorporated a mission story video into every home visit with a potential gift planning donor...and we saw an increase in estate gifts year over year by x%”....or “we showed a mission video before the live auction at every gala and saw an increase in bidding by y%”... it takes some work to collect this kind of data...but it helps you build your case for your integrated video marketing strategies...and investing in the technology and the people to make it happen. And remember...your goals and objectives for your videos ALWAYS need to be realistic and attainable. While we all salivate at the success of video campaigns like the user generated “Ice Bucket Challenge” or the “Clouds” music video by cancer patient Zach Sobiech - which has 12 million views on YouTube...those are amazing successes...but the are also extremely rare. Don’t set yourself up to fail by having unrealistic objectives...or letting others have limitless ideas about what video can actually do. Set incremental goals using your benchmarks as the starting point. A great quote to help drive this point home….
27. You just don’t want to put all of your hope on something with so little chance of actually happening. Don’t set yourself up to fail.