Crowdfunding: Top 4 Reasons To Do a Nonprofit Campaign
On the heels of three all day classes on Social Media and lots of questions about crowdfunding, I thought I would put some thoughts and guidance about crowdfunding into a post. How many videos have you watched on Facebook lately? Research tells us that more and more this is the kind of content that people desire and that Facebook is promoting.
As recently as two weeks ago Facebook changed its algorithm to make it beneficial to post native videos. (A word about native videos. Facebook wants you to post your video directly to your account using the photo/video tab. They will reward your extra effort by giving your video extra reach. So skip the YouTube or Vimeo link and upload your video directly to Facebook.) You can read more about this change in a great post by PostPlanner. So now we all know that Facebook likes videos - cute kids and puppies are especially successful. Now, how can we translate that into raising awareness, increasing donations, and telling our story?
Map showing two gifts from every state.
Richmond Cycling Corps, one of my fundraising clients, is in the final throws of a 30 day campaign to raise $25,000. They did a great job creating a video by working with a local videographer, Parts & Labour. The video is super entertaining, tells the story of the campaign, and successfully captures the personality of their organization. To check out their campaign, visit their page seen below. One of the things they are doing best is using different techniques to keep the momentum up. They lined up matches, angel donors, and a fun goal of getting two donations from every state. A volunteer is running the state campaign and updating a map every week. Hopefully this answered some questions for you, perhaps ones you didn't even know you had, or maybe it provided some new ideas for an upcoming crowdfunding campaign.
Below you can read the Top 4 reasons to do a video campaign and find a treasure box of helpful links.
Top 4 Reasons to do a Video Crowdfunding Campaign
1. Videos are more likely to go viral than just photos.
Everyone likes to be entertained. Kevin Allocca explains why videos are more likely to go viral in this TED talk. For some inspiration for amazing nonprofit videos, check out YouTube's DoGooder Awards which recognizing the top videos posted each year. They are a mix of shocking, hilarious, and sad.
2. Your ability to tell your story is significantly increased by using video as a medium.
Remember in elementary school when we were coached to show and not only tell? Videos allow you to break down a complex issue to help people understand your point of view. You can best accomplish this by using humor, shock, and awe. Channelling emotions makes your content exciting and relatable.
3. Using an organized platform gives you more legitimacy.
Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have everything set up for you and step by step instructions on how to write engaging text and develop rewards. Read more about the pluses and minuses of different platforms. Also be sure to pay attention to pricing structures.
4. Platforms help by creating and housing content that is easily shareable and low impact for donors.
They are seamless and easy to use. They include share and link buttons and reduce the technology threshold for less tech-savvy supporters.
Tips and Tricks
New to Video Campaigns? https://go.indiegogo.com/playbook/indiegogo-basics
How to do a Nonprofit Video Campaign http://www.causevox.com/ebooks/video-storytelling/
Check out this collection of nonprofit video storytelling on Pinterest.
Want more info on just videos? Get Into Focus: Ideas & Resources for Nonprofit Videos