Three Reasons Why Video Works for Associations & Non-Profits

Video is just about the hottest thing in marketing, right now. It’s SEO friendly, it converts better than many other marketing channels, and its number of adherents continues to grow. The internet is full of DIY advice and there are a growing number of vendors competing for their own piece of the growing video market.

In all of the hullabaloo about search optimization, conversion rates and video techniques, the benefits that are specific to associations and other non-profit organizations don’t receive much attention. Video can work for most organizations, but here at Thoughtcast Media, we’ve found that there are three things that can make video especially effective for associations and non-profits.

Emotion is the Soul of Video

Video is the most content-rich medium available. Frame for frame, it delivers more content than writing, still images or audio. And, it’s great at conveying emotion.

At the horrible risk of putting all associations and non-profits into the same basket, organizations like these are passionate about their causes, their constituents, and the good they do for the world. (Check out the American Society of Association Executives’ Power of A campaign for more information about the contributions of associations.)

Video is the perfect vehicle for conveying that passion, which is revealed in people’s eyes and voices when they talk about the things they love and support. And, nothing motivates more than emotion. Want to get people to do things for you? Get them emotionally involved.

As just one example of an organization that successfully leverages the emotive power of video, check out the American Humane Association’s page on YouTube.

Now, not all organizations can tap into such enormous stores of emotion, so you may have to look a little further for your organization’s needs. But, whether it be the people, communities or professions you support or the industries you’re helping to build through your work, there are people who care very deeply about what your organization does. Tapping into those stores of emotion as a primary source for your content will give you a lift that other organizations just can’t replicate.

Video can do that for you better than any other medium.

Video Engagement Drives Relevancy

Ever heard of a 24-page public service announcement? No, of course you haven’t. That’s because most people aren’t ready to commit to that much reading before engaging with your message, your cause, your organization or your campaig.

That’s why most public service announcements appear as radio or television commercials, with the latter being able to deliver much more punch through video imagery.

For associations, and especially for cause-related organizations, video allows you to get the word out more effectively, in an engaging, eminently shareable medium, to large audiences who may have never heard of your organization or cause.

For individuals already familiar with your organization – members, let’s say – video can continue to engage with quickly consumable content, throughout the membership lifecycle.

The Airline Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is heavily invested in video content. Their AOPA Live provides a steady stream of video content to help AOPA engage with their members, lawmakers and the public. The AOPA YouTube page, features hundreds of videos, with tens of thousands of views. The videos are informative, entertaining and engaging. (And, I’m not even a pilot.)

Try to imagine your written content engaging with people from the top to the bottom of the funnel in that way.

The richness of video serves up the emotional, informational and entertainment content that constituents want to engage with, over and over again. Video offers associations and non-profits an effective way to serve their very special charter to engage with their constituencies and with the public.

Video Content is Less Expensive to Produce

But, doesn’t video content require cameras, lights and software? Yes, it does, but all those things can end up costing you less than what you’re already spending on written and other content.

Don’t get me wrong, aerial drone footage of your corporate headquarters isn’t cheap. But, good video rarely requires expensive production values.

What makes video effective is good information, emotion and sincerity. At the low end of the production quality spectrum, that can be very effectively accomplished with the simplest of sets, some good script writing and a smartphone.

Most important of all, video production can save you time. And, time is money.

How long would it take you to interview a subject matter expert, write up the interview, run it past everyone to get the approvals you need, and then load that written interview onto your website?

Conversely, how long do you think it might take to sit a subject matter expert down in front of a camera, ask her a few well informed questions, make a few edits, and then drop the completed video onto YouTube, or preferably, your own video platform? Answer: about an hour.

Associations and other organizations charged with stretching their communications or marketing budgets, will find video to be an especially efficient channel.

Once you settle on a format, get everyone used to the lights and camera, and then learn how to make a few simple edits, you have the start of an effective, sustainable and inexpensive video marketing capability.

Of course, some organizations have brands that require more elaborate video production values, but the above-mentioned approach will provide many organizations with a methodology to get them started with video content, allowing them to add people, equipment and production values as they grow.

But wait, there’s more!

Of course, all the other benefits of video content and video marketing are also waiting for associations and non-profits tapping into the channel. A quick Google search will bring these to the surface.

Still, it’s the emotional qualities of video, the ability to engage throughout the entire membership and donor lifecycle, and the often surprisingly low cost of entry that make video especially suitable to associations and other non-profits.

If you haven’t already taken the leap, don’t be afraid to do so. Video offers organizations like your some very special benefits.