Beyond Buzzworthy: Why Your Charity Needs Video Marketing in 2018

All the stats and measurements have been pointing to the same indication—that video is taking over the digital world. Online video is predicted to account for 84% of all consumer internet traffic in 2018, with impressive growth forecasted over the next few years¹. It’s safe to say video marketing can no longer be ignored in your organization’s marketing plan. We are well beyond the point of video marketing being “buzzworthy.” We are marching swiftly towards “necessary adoption” if we want to capture the attention of and engage with our target audience.    

Proof Points: Why Your Charity Needs Video Marketing

• “Almost 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every day.” ^2,3
•  “The average person watches more than an hour and a half of online video content per day, with around 15% averaging more than three hours.” ⁴
• “Video in an email leads to 200-300% increase in click-through rates.” ⁵
• “Including video in a landing page can increase conversion by 80%.” ⁶

Video marketing is a way to create content that is simple to consume, highly impactful on the audience, and easy to cost-effectively leverage across multiple digital channels. 

Research has shown that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when they read it in a text format. The easiest distribution method today is social media, whether it be with organic posts on your organization’s social properties or with paid social ads. Social media is designed for authentic human interaction, therefore it’s the perfect platform to showcase your organization and its impact on a cause. We know that social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined⁷. With continued algorithm changes and new ad layout options in the social media space, you can expect these trends to gain momentum in 2018.

5 idea starters to put video to use for your organization:

1. Use as a powerful storytelling delivery tool.
2. Encourage advocacy in social networks with shareable content.
3. Highlight the impact of donations and how they are put to use.
4. Gain brand awareness by sharing your organization’s mission and goals.
5. Celebrate all those supporters who have contributed with a special “Thank You.”

If highly-produced video footage is out of your organization’s budget range, there’s good news. With the rise of live streaming, it’s easy to produce video with just a smartphone. Live video engagement rates show that viewers watch live videos three times longer than regular (pre-recorded) videos⁸. Live streaming is now available on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, so live video content is truly a viable option for organizations of all sizes. Remember that video doesn’t need to be overly elaborate or complicated. As long as you have your target audience in mind when crafting your video content, a simple video can be extremely successful.  

In this “year of video marketing,” the number one question to ask is: How will you use video content as part of your nonprofit marketing strategy?

Sources

1. Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2016–2021
2. YouTube by the Numbers: Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts
3. 37 Mind Blowing YouTube Facts, Figures and Statistics – 2018
4. Video Marketing Statistics 2018
5. As Seen In The Inbox: Assessing Video Email Opportunities
6. Outcome-Based Video Marketing
7. 3 Ways Transcripts Elevate Video SEO
8. The Top 16 Facebook Live Statistics You Should Know