There’s no disputing that video is an amazing tool when communicating with your donors and potential donors. Whether you are a school, university, or a non-profit, you’ll want your audience to be as excited about your organization’s mission as you are.
“Humans are incredibly visual and powerful, moving images help us find meaning… [and] video helps capture and contextualize the world around us.” — Dan Patterson, Digital Platform Manager for ABC News Radio.
Here are 3 very important reasons to embrace video for your next campaign.
Video Improves Engagement
Videos sent via social media or an email service like *wink wink* ThankView are far more likely to be shared.
Because of the likely increase in shares, outreach that includes video has the potential to achieve a reach beyond your original recipients.
Video Gives a Face to Your Organization
Donors like to see who is benefitting from their generosity — putting faces to the stories. Let them get to know you and the amazing things your organization is doing!
If you’re a school or a university, get students involved in the process in front of and even behind the camera! If you’re a non-profit, present the people your donors’ gifts are directly impacting.
Video Is Great for Every Demographic
According to Hubspot, 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. In addition, 78% of people watch online videos every week and 55 % view online videos every day.
Because 75% of millennials watch video on social media daily, video outreach is typically seen as a way to reach a younger demographic.
However, this article by Thrive Hive gives a great piece of advice when it comes engaging an older generation: “If you really want to win the favor of an older demographic, one of the keys is personalization.”
Enough with the chitter chatter, let’s see some example videos!
Personalized Videos
With ThankView, you have the ability to personalize your video outreach, even to a large audience. A great example of personalized outreach is The University of Tennessee Knoxville’s donor outreach from their 2017 Big Orange Give Day.
These personalized videos showed their donors how much they cared. A Dean or a student thanked them by name or referenced the department that they donated to.
For more about UTK’s Big Orange Give success story, please click here.
Generic Videos
Generic videos can also be effective, especially if they focus on your organization’s mission and have a clear call to action. One of our favorite ThankView videos is from the College of the Holy Cross, announcing their online Shakespeare course.
Great Scott! Needless to say, we here at ThankView all wanted to sign up for the class after this video.
Click here to watch The College of the Holy Cross’s ThankView!
You don’t have to choose between a generic or personalized video!
Sometimes, we’re in the mood for cake. Other times, ice cream. But the best choice is, of course, both!
With ThankView, you don’t have to choose between sending just a generic or a personalized video. You’re able to include both in a single send with our video sequencing tool!
One of our favorite examples of a personalized and generic video combo is from our partner, the Humane Society Naples.
Click here to watch The Humane Society of Naple’s ThankView!
For your next campaign or outreach, brainstorm the ways you can share your message with video. It’s great for any demographic, gives a human face to your cause and will enhance overall engagement. Lights! Camera! Outreach!