Don’t Waste Your Fundraising Video!

Producing videos for your nonprofit can be a lengthy and sometimes expensive process. As the fundraising season ramps up (and then down) it’s important to take stock in your investment and consider other ways to generate value for your organization, and ultimately, for your donors.

1. Photography

Grab stills from your video and republish them in other contexts.

Pictures are still worth a thousand words, so don’t let these go to waste. Distribute these stills in other communication channels or marketing materials. Grabbing screenshot stills is also a good technique for developing custom thumbnails for your video. I recommend combining bold text with messaging that invites curiosity.

2. Trailer

Create trailer cutdown of your video to draw traffic to your campaign.

I find this especially useful to use on social media such as twitter, Instagram, or even LinkedIN since attention spans are more limited on those platforms. Incorporate a dramatic hook and try to keep it under 30 seconds to encourage people to watch more. End with a clear call to action.

3. Library

Save unused footage for your video archive library.

Unused broll or unused interview content can be super useful for future content and campaigns. I recommend keeping a detailed log of your content in a consistent folder structure since memory is easily lost. The more organized this library, the more useful it will be in the future.

4. Educate

Integrate video into curriculum for employee & volunteer on-boarding.

Getting everyone up to speed can be time consuming and difficult to implement consistently. And sometimes, it’s just easier to give someone a video playlist instead of a thick how-to guidebook.

5. Quote

Use excerpts from your video in other marketing and communications.

I recommend using online transcriptions services such as rev.com to capture your interviews—It also makes the editing process easier. Sometimes people deliver their thoughts and ideas more naturally when speaking on-camera. Using these quotes in print and email marketing is a no-brainer.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle video waste!

Good luck!

—Reuben