October 2, 2023
There’s no doubt that nonprofit organizations encounter several hurdles while fundraising and advocating for their missions. While balancing limited resources with the constant need to engage and attract new supporters, nonprofits must leverage strategic marketing approaches. Among the many different approaches, video marketing has recently emerged as an efficient tool to reach new donors.
ClickBid’s CEO, Matthew Burnell, recently sat down with Lindsay Rameriz, Community Development Director at The Alliance to Cure Cavernous Malformation, to talk through the basics of video marketing as well as tips, and tricks to equip your nonprofit with insights directly related to success.
Check out the webinar below or continue scrolling to read the webinar recap.
What is Video Marketing?
Video marketing for nonprofits is a strategic approach to simply creating and sharing videos that tell a story. The primary goal of video marketing is to inspire and engage viewers, reach a greater audience, build brand awareness, and ultimately generate more donations to support your nonprofit’s mission.
The Importance of Video Marketing
Research shows that 57% of donors who watch nonprofit videos go on to make a monetary contribution. This statistic alone shows the importance of video marketing and why your nonprofit should consider incorporating video into its strategy.
How Do You Get Started with Video Marketing?
There are multiple ways a nonprofit could compile videos, however, the simplest and easiest way to get started is by picking up your phone and starting to record.
Video marketing does not have to be expensive or require you to hire a professional video production company. There are multiple cost-effective or free tools you can use to help edit and record videos. Some examples include Canva, Promo, Biteable, and Animaker.
Video Content Ideas
Nonprofit marketing videos encompass a wide range of content, including commercials, fundraising campaign videos, and more. The ultimate goal of creating these videos is to tell the story of your mission and drive your viewers to make a personal connection with your charity — with the end result of getting them to make a contribution.
Generating content around why your organization was established and how you are impacting communities is a great way to spark video inspiration. You can also create behind-the-scenes videos that offer a sneak peek into the preparations for your upcoming events, leaving them eager to attend.
Basic Video Tactics
The main goal of incorporating video marketing into your existing strategy is to reach a greater audience and drive donations. In your videos, it’s important to blend both the emotional and intellectual side of your story. The videos should leave your viewers feeling inspired by the work your organization is doing, compelling them to donate to your cause.
You should also share your videos on different social media platforms to diversify your audience reach. Typical outlets to showcase your videos include TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
At the end of each video, encourage your viewers to learn more about your organization or donate to your mission by going to your website. This is a great transition for your audience to take a deeper look and make a personal connection.
Including Video in Traditional Fundraising Events through Hybrid Events
One of the challenges nonprofits face with traditional fundraising events is getting all their supporters involved in a one-night celebration at a specific location. If your donor base has 10,000 donors, the chances of all 10,000 coming to your event are slim. With traditional events, you also have limited space attributed to the size of your venue and the geographic location.
But what if there was a way to encourage all 10,000 donors to participate in your event from anywhere in the world? With a hybrid event structure, you can still sell tickets and sponsorships for in-person attendance and also allow out-of-town donors to feel included via video.
Utilizing ClickBid’s EventStream feature, you can stream your in-person event to your at-home attendees, allowing them to feel involved and be a part of your mission. EventStream was created with nonprofits in mind and is an easy tool to reach a greater audience and raise more money. Using this feature, you can directly stream video using ClickBid’s platform to all your attendees, as well as conduct a live auction and fund-a-need paddle raise.
Hybrid Events Case Study
Lindsay Ramirez, the Community Development Director at The Alliance to Cure Cavernous Malformation, believes their organization's efforts to implement hybrid events led to a higher engaged audience and overall more dollars raised. The nonprofit is dedicated to supporting those affected by cavernous malformation, ultimately finding a cure, and utilized ClickBid’s EventStream feature to conduct hybrid events over the course of 3 years.
Before COVID-19, the organization focused solely on in-person community events, encouraging in-person meet-ups for relationship building and personal connections.
During COVID-19, the nonprofit was forced to stop these in-person connections, leaving them with no choice but to implement a hybrid event structure.
By incorporating a virtual broadcast component into its strategy, the organization was able to increase sponsorship commitments by 30% and increase the highest pledged sponsorship by 250%.
Lindsay goes on to mention that although adding this virtual component meant fewer personal connections, the nonprofit was still able to increase community engagement. The organization assessed its community needs, diversified its marketing efforts, and created a more appealing sponsorship program.
As a result of this hybrid event strategy, The Alliance found their donor reach expanded by thousands as they started to receive unsolicited donations. Volunteer engagement also increased. And most importantly, research to find a cure is moving faster.
As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of nonprofit work, the power of innovation and strategic thinking becomes more evident in success. Implementing video marketing leaves donors feeling inspired, informed, and engaged like never before.
For more information on The Alliance to Cure Cavernous Malformation and their outstanding work, please click here.
For more information on ClickBid’s video streaming EventStream feature, please click here.