Published February 10, 2015 • Reading Time: 3minutes
Your content marketing strategy can involve a number of different assets, but one medium you should definitely use is video. According to the Content Marketing Institute, video is the top content tool that the most effective nonprofits use more frequently than their peers.
Stats like this are unsurprising. There’s nothing like a compelling video to demonstrate your work on the ground, tell your organization’s story, and more importantly, touch your supporters in a way that can move them to take action.
To show you how some organizations are using video to inspire support, here are five nonprofit videos that do a great job of rallying action around a cause.
1. More Than Me
Nonprofit videos have the power to transport an audience from the screen to the front lines. With this video, More Than Me, an organization dedicated to educating girls in Liberia—and ending the Ebola epidemic in the area—connects viewers to their work by introducing the people who risk their lives everyday to help others in their own community. Each individual shares personal details, fears, and hopes that make it clear to viewers that this cause is impacting real people. By spotlighting the people taking brave action on the ground, the video challenges its audience to rise up and join the mission.
2. Dressember
Even the shortest videos can help viewers understand not just your organization’s purpose, but also their own part within it. In this simple but compelling video from Dressember, a collaborative movement using fashion to support the abolition of modern day slavery, several women come together and invite viewers to help advocate for the inherent freedom and femininity of all women. This nonprofit video gives insight into the organization’s campaign and its mission, but more importantly, it does a great job of inspiring supporters to be a catalyst for global change.
3. Love146
In this beautiful compilation of text, sound, and graphics, Love146 grips you on an emotional level and moves you to take action against child trafficking and exploitation. Narrated by the organization’s president and co-founder, the well-produced video compels people to help bring an end to the problem—not by doing what they can’t do, but what they can do. Rallying support comes down to showing people that they can each make a difference, and this nonprofit video does a great job of doing that.
4. Generosity.org
An effective way to get people to care is to show them why you care. Generosity.org, an organization bringing clean water solutions to developing countries, takes this approach in a short personal video from its co-founder and CEO. He shares his own story of what drove him to commit his life to this cause, which involved seeing the impact he could make from just one personal fundraising campaign. This naturally leads into a call to action to start a fundraising page, making it clear to viewers what they can do next.
5. Love Your Brain
Some of the most powerful nonprofit videos are the ones featuring the people impacted by an organization’s work. Take, for example, this video from LoveYourBrain, a nonprofit that works to improve the quality of life for people affected by brain injury. Several beneficiaries share testimonials of how a specific program has improved their well-being, bringing viewers face to face with the organization’s impact. The video also rallies action by sharing LYB’s programmatic goals for the year. Giving supporters a tangible goal allows them to see how their involvement can help move the needle for your organization.
If you haven’t already, create a moving video that demonstrates your organization’s incredible work. Whether you highlight the people impacted by your programs, or share a staff member’s personal story about their connection to your cause, leverage this compelling medium to advance your mission.
