Latest fundraising video tech
Howard Lake | 19 April 2015 | Blogs
With Facebook and Twitter launching new apps it’s clear that video is no longer an optional extra for fundraising but a vital part of the action. But how do you make sure that your campaign stands out in the crowd?
Here‘s my guide to the latest fundraising video technologies that will give you Hollywood blockbuster impact on an indie-film budget.
1. Personalisation
If you’re looking for ways to make videos more sharable, then personalisation in video is the latest trend. What better way to get your ask out to people than by allowing them to personalise their films in a way that will make them desperate to share on their own Facebook, Twitter or Just Giving page?
My Fundraising Film – Virgin Money Giving
Virgin Money Giving personalised video
Leaders of the pack with this wonderful app that’s designed to encourage people to take part in the London Marathon.
You can expect lots of these personalised videos featuring Stephen Fry to be popping up on your newsfeeds very soon.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qKgcd7xNyY&feature=youtube[/youtube]
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McCain Potato Parade
The McCain Potato Parade is really good fun, with animation by Aardman the team behind Wallace and Gromit.
Personalised video from McCains’ Potato Parade
Child’s Eye
Much more low-tech and cheaper to make, these thank you films are perfect for sharing. You could also do the same thing with a Vine. Here’s one that was sent to Kirsty Marrins of JustGiving.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q5O-0cVEEs&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
2. Collaborative Video
Getting people to work together towards a fundraising task is a brilliant way of making sure people hit targets and raise more money. Video is a powerful way of capturing their efforts, encouraging others and even saying thank you. And now there are a couple of apps that make the process of creating collaborative video a breeze.
SEENIT
BHF using Seenit to encourage collaborative videos
Seenit is a smartphone app that lets you create video with your supporters or followers. Using the app, you can apply your brand and logo, write a shot list for the ‘crew’ (ie your followers) and also send them feedback and encouragement with notifications. The videos are uploaded directly to your own ‘studio’ where you can watch them and then edit the footage into videos.
The British Heart Foundation used this tech for their Wear It. Beat It Campaign. Wonderful.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyjmtswjd64[/youtube]
Facebook RIFF
The new Facebook RIFF app allows people to record a short video – just like a Vine – and then share it via Facebook. They can invite others to contribute and suggest what the next shot should be. Other users can add to film with their own short clip, building a longer video.
This has got great potential for fundraising that’s based around an event or a challenge.
3. Email Media
Making video part of your email strategy can produce some impressive returns: Experian estimate that just putting the word ‘video’ in the subject line increases open rates by 13% and embedding a video in an email can increase click through by 200% according to Forrester Research.
There’s now some nifty email technology to manage and coordinate the process and it’s now possible to embed a video link into everyone’s email signature at the same time and to segment the recipients or ensure that your fundraising ask is responsive to events.
Charity:water
This US charity combined email with video to increase their donations by $800,000. They ran a planned strategy, that alerted their supporters to a video teaser, then an awareness video and finally a fundraising ask video. They even followed up with thank you videos.
RocketSeed
This email company worked with the Red Cross and managed to increase click through by 80 times.
Jeremy Jeffs is a founding partner of Magneto Films, a video production company that specialises in working with charities (making amongst other things, fundraising films), not-for-profits and the public sector. Jeremy’s an award winning film maker with credits for films and series for BBC TV, Channel 4 and NatGeo. At Magneto he’s worked with charities and brands that include Age UK, Children’s Society and Macmillan Cancer Support and with brands including Ford and Expedia. He blogs on the latest charity videos.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.