Video content can make a huge difference when it comes to customers and audiences supporting your organisation or company. Funding campaigns that incorporate video receive 114% more funding than campaigns that don't (source). This shows that more audiences are interested in video content and will be willing to watch the videos you create, this benefits you as an organisation as you're more likely to increase your levels of funding, be that business funding or donations.
It is important to understand what you should be doing when creating video content that is based around funding and fundraising as you want to have a clear message going out to viewers. You want to make sure you're being direct and building relationships with your audience through these videos otherwise people will not be engaged and won't understand the point in the video.
When creating a video you are able to tell a story, storytelling helps guide the audience through the video. This will pull more on the audience's heartstrings as you are taking them on a journey with you, it will ignite an emotional connection. By using people or characters in the storytelling process you are able to add a personal touch as your audience can try to relate to the emotions that are being shown. This will help them appreciate the story you are telling, as they will be able to see themselves as the characters or people and put themselves in the shoes of someone else.
In the storytelling process you want to be using a natural, informal tone, by doing this it will help the audience understand the message behind the story and it will be made cleaner for them. This is extremely important when making a funding video as you want to be reach a much wider audience, so keeping it clear will help you reach more people and it will help your audience understand what you are explaining to them. If you make the story too complicated and hard to keep up with, the audience will lose interest and will be less inclined to help you.
When creating funding videos you can't assume people will just donate money after watching the video. You need to be making sure that at the end of the video you are giving them the encouragement to help support your organisation, and this is done by adding a call to action. The CTA at the end will help convert a lead into a donating customer, you are reminding them of the whole point of the video and the reason why they are watching it is due to the need for donations.
However, when creating your video you still need to put into consideration the audience's attention span. Audiences lose interest in videos extremely quickly, you need to be making sure the first 3 seconds are engaging otherwise audiences won’t continue watching. By keeping your video short and sweet, it means more people will choose to watch it which will hopefully mean more donations will be made as they will make it to the end of the video and remember the reason they clicked on it.
With funding videos and fundraising videos it's important to be direct. You don't want to be making a video that isn't going to get your point across as this will not help you get what you want from the video. Whereas if you are honest about what you're looking for from your audience and tell a story alongside, it will help audiences know what you are in need of. Being direct will help build a better personal connection with customers if you are being open with them which means they are able to see the company for what it is.
When creating this type of video you want to be honest and passionate about what you are talking about, you want to be making sure your video is inspiring people. This means you want to be getting your point across and making sure your audience knows why you are making the video and what the video is for, in a really genuine way. Therefore, it's important that the video reflects you and your organisation in a way that's authentic to your brand. If you try to paint yourself as bigger or smaller than you are, people will see it's not genuine and it will negatively affect the brand.
By making the video more natural and uncut and helping build that better relationship with the audience, you are able to show them a side of the company that they wouldn't normally see. This will build a better more personal relationship with your audience as they will be able to see it's something you care about and need help with, this can be a factor that will change their mind about donating or not. Being able to see the passion behind the people in the video will really help get a stronger message across. If the video is polished and clean it might make the audience feel as if it's too forced and that's not the impression you want to be giving people.
Videos are great because it shows a more genuine side to the business, you are able to show the audience what you are doing, who you're helping and where the money goes. This helps the audience understand more of what you are asking from them and helps build a better relationship with the people who are watching your video. Video is very transparent, it can help the audience see who does the work and who is the face of the brand. It helps them know who they are putting their trust in and it will help them understand where their money is going and the help they are giving.
Video can help warm audiences to what you are doing and asking for. Your goal is to connect with your audience therefore building a more personal relationship is very important. Charities rely on donations from the public, this is how they continue doing the work they do. 57% of consumers say that video gives them more confidence to purchase online (source). This is where it is important for charities and other companies that rely on funding to use video as they need to build up the loyalty so people donate to them as video is a more way to speaking to customers.
Video helps build emotion due to the face to face interaction that allows you to craft a message in a more clear, concise and genuine way for everyone to understand. Likewise, you are able to see the different facial experiences from the characters or speakers, these facial expressions will help the audience understand the feelings these people are feeling and will help put that feeling onto the audience, if the characters or speakers are happy the audience will be happy with them as they are able to feel this emotion through the video. This will help encourage more people when watching videos to donate as they will feel a strong attachment to what they are watching as it is touching them more on a personal level.
Adding to this, the action in the video can really help guide viewers' emotions as you can take them on a very deliberate story to end at your objective and get the most possible out of your video. This can help paint a better picture of what is happening within the story as you are able to feel a part of it. The music will also help, it will have a huge impact on how the audience perceives the tone of your video. Depending on if the music is happy or sad the audience will feel these emotions with you. Audiences are more likely to interact with content that builds on emotion as they will feel the need to help as they are seeing the pure emotion from people.
When creating funding / fundraising videos there's many different types of video you can create. The type of video you make depends on the reason you are making the video, is your video just an introduction into your business or organisation, is it a story being shared by someone or is it a video campaign that is trying to advertise your organisation or company more. Each of these videos have a different purpose, and can talk to the audience in a different way.
Introduction videos are a good place to start if you haven't made a funding video before. This type of video gives an insight to the company or organisation. You are able to share the history about the company and let your audience know exactly what you do. It is a short video telling the audience everything they need to know. Introduction videos are a great way to grab the attention of the audience when people land on your website home page and it can also work within email marketing campaigns.
Client / volunteer stories are videos that will help humanise your charity or brand more, they will be able to share what it was like working with you and highlight the benefits and differences your company has made to them and different people. This can help the audience connect better as they are hearing first hand what your company does and how it has helped different people. This can help give encouragement for more of your audience to sign up and help as they are seeing how others have helped and will want to join in to make a difference. Here's a blog we wrote on the importance of testimonials, if you want to find out more about the topic.
Campaign videos help tell a story in the way a body of text might not be able to. The use of music, pictures and people will help evoke emotion which a body text isn't able to do, these emotions are then what helps raise more awareness around the story and will encourage more people to donate and help out. Campaign videos allow creative freedom and you are able to have fun with these kinds of video. You can be quirky and different, by doing this you will stand out more to audiences and they will more likely remember you.
Fundraising video can be extremely powerful, depending on the kind of video content you decide to use to get your message out there. You want to make sure you are telling your story in the clearest and most concise way, as you need your audience to understand what you are asking for and why you need their help. Video is a great way to get a message across as you are able to have that face to face interaction with your audience rather than leading them a body of text to read, it helps them see the real emotion and the passion people have for what they are doing. Overall it's the relationship you build with your audience that will make the difference therefore keeping it genuine is very important.
Get in touch with one of our team to find out how we can help you make that perfect fundraising video!
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