# Why does this video content work for their cause?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/07/08/why-video-content-works-their-cause/
- Published: 2010-07-08T15:56:40+01:00
- Author: Sylwia Korsak

**The video presented at Institute of Fundraising National Convention has a strong
effect on its audience. Why?**

I am sorry to repeat a bit of content from [previous post](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/blog/2010/07/07/collected-resources-national-convention-2010)
by Howard Lake, but I think different elements of the Institute of Fundraising National
Convention grabbed our attention and inspired us to re-think what we do.

I would like to show you the video presented by Dan Pallotta during the convention:

## Advertisement

I have always been very interested in the phenomenon of [viral videos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_video),
and I guess even today if you look for books or online resources on the topic you
will always come across the final statement ‘there is no perfect way to predict 
what will go viral, and what will not’. There are only few aspects of video content
we can aim to achieve and hope it will work.

I know, it’s tricky. But at least we can do our best 😉

So here are few of most commonly suggested tips:

**1. Make it short**

People do not want to watch your message for hours, and if your message is good,
you should be able ot present it fairly quickly. We are living busy times, so we
tend to choose shorter videos.

**2. Make it appealing and to the point. Express clear call to action**

What is it that you want to say? Why are you sharing it with the audience? What 
is the goal?Be specific.

**3. Use the power of the medium**

You have words, images and audio to play with – every single second of your film
matters and works for you. Use it!

**4. Make it engaging/fun**

This is tricky – how do we make a story engaging? I guess it depends on the context.
But the best test is to imagine how you would react watching it for the first time.

**5. It’s not only the content that matters**

What emotions do you provoke? How do you present your content? Why does it differ
from anything else you have seen on-line?

**6. Position your video on-line**

There is [a good article](http://techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-videos)
about it on TechCrunch explaining various ways of ensuring your video is not going
to get lost in all the on-line noise.

**7. Consider citizen journalism**

Professional editing of your film is impressive and might work, however there have
been many examples of viral videos that worked simply because of this spontaneous
nature. You might already have that content somewhere, but you have overlooked it
due to the quality of the recording.

I am sure there are many other tips and I would love to see them in the comments
sections. For now, I will leave you with the above shown video, hoping that you 
will pick up some of my points. I think it’s simply brilliant. Short, concise, surprising
and… well… makes me cry every time I am watching it.

 * **[Confound audience expectations](https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/10/17/confound-audience-expectations/)**(
   17 October 2012)
 * **[Pushing the fundraising boat out](https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/02/28/pushing-fundraising-boat-out/)**(
   28 February 2013)
 * **[Resource Alliance online debate asks have viral campaigns had their day?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/03/13/resource-alliance-online-debate-asks-have-viral-campaigns-had-their-day/)**(
   13 March 2015)