Every nonprofit has a story. This story is the very reason that the nonprofit was founded, why countless hours are invested in it, and why it makes the world a better place. 

One of the most important aspects of marketing a nonprofit is figuring out how to share this story with the world. In today’s digital world, one of the most effective mediums for this is video.

What Kind of Video?

When someone mentions video today, they could be referring to a large variety of things from TikToks to award-winning documentaries. So why kind of video is best for nonprofit marketing? Let’s break video into two distinct categories and discuss why both are a necessary part of video marketing for your nonprofit. 

Short-Form Video

Short-form video is one of the most ubiquitous forms of content we interact with online. All major social media platforms have leaned into sub-60-second videos, delivering them to mobile device audiences. 

When it comes to promoting your nonprofit, short-form video is really good for one thing– views. Hundreds, or thousands of views on short-form content is commonplace, even for small accounts. The other side of the coin, however, is that viewers on these platforms are difficult to engage. It is easy to get short-form viewers to see what your nonprofit does but nearly impossible to convey why you do it.

In short: Short-form video generates views, not support for your nonprofit, so use it to show audiences what you do and get them curious to learn more. 

Some short-form ideas to accomplish this: 

• Day in the life content
  • Follow a volunteer around for a day and have them explain what they are doing
• Accomplishments and Milestones
  • Share whenever your nonprofit does something significant in pursuit of its mission
• Announcements and Updates
  • Share with your audience when your nonprofit launches a new fundraising campaign or starts a new program

May nonprofits stop their video marketing here. This leaves them without the whole other side of video marketing content: long-form content.

Long-Form Video

If short-form video is how you share what you do, then long-form is how you share why you do it. By merit of its longer runtime, long-form videos have time to explain in detail the story of your nonprofit and what makes it important. This is exciting! Without a 60-second constraint, you are able to go into detail about the people and purpose underpinning the nonprofit. You can show your audience why they should care– and give them a call-to-action to get them involved. 

Now keep in mind, the weakness of long-form video is the strength of short-form video: views. You should not expect your long-form videos to get significant viewership. 

Consider this instead: if 10,000 people see your Instagram reel, how many will donate $1 million? If, on the other hand, you show a powerful 10-minute documentary on your nonprofit to the right 10 people, you might get that $1 million donation.

In short: long-form video has the power to convert views into actions, so use it to get your audience asking “how can I help”.

Below are some long-form ideas to consider leveraging.

• Program deep dives
  • Have a subject matter expert talk about their area of expertise within the nonprofit. 
  • Demystify how your outcomes are achieved.
• Personal Spotlights featuring
  • Donors and why they donate
  • Volunteers and why they volunteer
  • Beneficiaries and how they benefit
• Mini-Documentaries
  • One of our favorites at Pollen Productions! 
  • Capture a unique perspective
  • Can be made both informative and entertaining

Strategic pairing:

Use your short-form videos to draw people in and long-form content to get people to get involved. This combination will be far more powerful than either on its own. If you have any questions about how your nonprofit can do this, feel free to reach out to us at contact@pollenpr.com

Next Steps - Short-form

OK, so it’s time to think about implementing this video marketing strategy! What now? Let’s start with the short-form side of things.

2. What aspects of your non-profit will lend themselves well to sharing quick clips?

Think about what will be easy to understand in just a couple of seconds. Avoid things that require too much explanation.

3. Can you make a series of “episodes” around a common topic? 

Perhaps once a week, you can post a “day in the life” clip with a person in a different role at your nonprofit or share a different aspect of the organization.

Next, who will make this content?

Most organizations task an existing staff member or intern with creating this content. This is usually perfect as long as they adhere to the content tone you establish. Make sure you establish strict guidelines to maintain consistency across tone, editing style, and branding. If your organization has branding guidelines, make sure to follow them. 

Finally, what equipment do you need?

For this content, you will just need a smartphone. If you find that you struggle to capture good audio, you may want to consider investing in a wireless microphone. Good-quality audio is even more important than good video. 

Next Steps- Long-Form

Typically, we recommend outsourcing long-form video production to a video production company. This content doesn’t need to be made too frequently, and it is best to do it really well. Think of it as an investment. High-quality long-form videos will last for a decade or more and are responsible for converting your viewers into your supporters. 

If you want to see what these kinds of videos might look like, we recommend checking out some of our work at pollenpr.com/work. 

What does it cost to outsource video projects like this? In a sentence, as much or as little as you would like to invest in it. If that answer is unsatisfactory, we recommend checking out our article “How Much Does Video Production Cost?”

At Pollen Productions, we work extensively with nonprofits and will gladly answer any questions you have! Reach out to us any time with questions or inquiries at contact@pollenpr.com or via our website at pollenpr.com/contact.

We look forward to hearing from you!