Storytelling via video: a how-to for your organization

Storytelling has been a hot topic in both the profit and nonprofit world lately, especially with the boom in viral video marketing and sharing sites like Upworthy.

Many potential donors may not have a direct personal connection to your mission, so how do you inspire that powerful conviction that will keep them giving?

The key is to express the emotions your clients feel when they come to you for help, and elicit  specific emotions from your donors and supporters. If they can relate to something in your story you have a far better chance of forming a lasting connection.

Why stories are important for your nonprofit

While graphs, statistics, and data are great for those who can understand them, the average person gets lost in a sea of numbers and loses interest quickly. With attention spans purportedly getting shorter every year, it is more crucial than ever that the material your organization is sending out is as engaging as possible.

Not only can a good story bring in potential donors, but can remind your staff and board members of the cause they work for and influence them to become more passionate fundraisers.

A good story makes people want to share it, get involved and stay connected.

What makes a good story?

For many writers, the best mantra to go by while creating stories for nonprofits is “feel more, think less”. Human beings are hardwired to engage emotionally with others, so cut back on hard facts, statistics, and rhetoric. If you aim for the heart and try to get in touch with your (and everyone else’s) feelings, you’re on the right track.

Believability is another key component of a good story because it allows the average person to project their own human experience onto the narrative. You know how everyone gasps when an amazing movie ends up being “based on a true story”? Adding direct quotes and strategic details creates authenticity and helps your audience care about the hero(s).

According to Vanessa Chase of The Storytelling Nonprofit, another way you can up your story’s impact is by ending it with a question that links to the beginning. Rather than ending the story with the character’s problem being solved, ask what would have happened had they not had access to this particular program/service. This shows the true value of a donor’s gift and makes the story relevant to them. It shows the donor how important their support really is.

How to tell your story?

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a video is worth 10,000

We’ve all heard the old adage of “show, don’t tell,” but how does using visuals--photos or videos-- actually affect post engagement? Studies have shown that including visuals in blog posts can drive up engagement 180% more than those without.

A good image can often be the deciding factor in whether a person reads your article or ignores it. We are already inundated with information in this day and age. According to the Social Media Examiner, the amount of information produced every 48 hours today is the same as the amount produced from the beginning of time until 2003! It’s overwhelming and simplicity is key.

Where pictures are hugely effective, videos are the ultimate storytelling machine. They liven up your pitch and best of all, they are easily sharable. Just look at the explosive success of YouTube campaigns like the Old Spice man.While the Old Spice man isn’t realistic, it shows how far a video can go in this day and age (in this case, gaining 43 million views to date!). In the case of charities, these videos are geared to bring the cause close to the donor’s heart, draw them in and help them build an essential connection through a real-life story, much like Charity:Water’s video of Rachel Beckwith’s gift.

While Old Spice and Charity:Water both likely had a large budget to create these videos, there are charities who manage to build these stories without a huge budget. For example, Water is Life had a video that went viral and is currently sitting at 6.2 million views. The concept is simple and direct - and it makes you feel deeply for the cause.

Here are a few important elements to a great video that don’t necessarily have to break the bank:

1) Pick your music carefully. Music can make or break a video’s mood. You can have the world’s most incredible visuals, but if you choose an awkward song it throws people off and can become the only thing they pay attention to. ACTS does this well and manages to tell a broad story of the people that the organization works with, simply by thanking donors.

2) Pay attention to current aesthetic trends. Are people going crazy over gorgeous faded filters like in the Speak Your Silence video montage or are they sharing World Wildlife Fund's cute animated PSA on every social media platform they can get their hands on? Pay attention to how the shots are composed, how they use voiceover narration, and what kind of tones and colour palate show up frequently.

3) Inform, influence, entertain...all in under a minute.  While the one-minute rule does have quite a bit of leeway, keep in mind that if your video goes on too long, the viewer may lose patience. Keep that key emotion in mind, and say only what you need to say. Tell your story but be ruthless with your copy--it’ll pay off in the end.

I want to create a video, but I don’t know how to find stories!

You are ready to start telling your story, but don’t know what step to do first? Knowing where to find stories is paramount when building a strong narrative. Here are some ideas:

1) Ask your clients to share their experiences, both good and bad, focusing on how they have been helped by your organization. Ask where they might have ended up had they not found the support they needed. Take care to be respectful and ethical while gathering these stories.

2) Ask your staff and board for moments or stories they have encountered that moved them during their time with the organization. Or ask them and donors why they became involved in the first place.

3) Get away from your desk! Being out among the people your organization helps not only gives you a greater understanding of your organization’s culture but allows you to experience and gather stories on your own terms.

A video is one of the most powerful ways to share stories, but it is definitely not the only way. If a video isn’t possible for you, think about using photography or infographics to tell your story visually - anything you can do that will engage and build relationships with your supporters.