Nonprofit Performance 360 Magazine Vol 5 No 1

• Stand out from the competition. Most com- panies have not discovered this innovative way to reach your ideal target market. • Expand exposure. Add hashtags to the written description of your program. When people search for a topic that relates to your organization, your video will come up naturally through search engines. • Increase your opportunities for funding and donations. It’s a known fact that people want to do business with those they know, like, and trust. What better way to build trust than engaging with others directly, even if it is through the computer screen? • Provide a special opportunity for people to get to know you. Unlike a scripted video program,this open style of communication allows prospects to REALLY get to know you! Did I just mention this? I’m saying it again. Final Tips for Your Video Marketing Success Keep inmind that a variety of online platforms exist to broadcast your story. Historically, Google Hangouts On Air has been used for live streaming videos. It has several benefits: Google is the world’s largest search engine, their platform is free, and it’s connected to YouTube. A number of other formats are also available, usually for a fee, and your programs can still be uploaded into YouTube. As you discover the world of story marketing with videos, here are some final tips to maximize your success. Be Natural. Pretend you’re just having a conversation with a friend. You know your content better than the audience, so you don’t need to write down your talk. If you need to remember details, I’d recommend using bullet points. Look at the camera. Avoid reading from your notes. We want to see your face! Be Consistent. Build a marketing plan to include a video blog or interview on a regular basis, at least once a month, ideally more often. Visitors will look forward to hearing from you. Be Accessible. Create your own YouTube channel. It’s free! You can see mine at bit.ly/Lynn-YouTube. After your program airs, promote it on all your social media platforms. Encourage your followers to share it with their circles, and grow your list naturally. Be Confident. Recognize that your story will reach people who need to hear your message.

medical history and how she was feeling, and communicating that to a doctor might have saved her life. We shared a link to that story, and explained that it was an example of self-advocacy and how it relates to our own 3 Steps Detect education. We then boosted that Facebook post to people who love Serena Williams and, as a result, reached new people and gained followers. If you’re feeling lucky, you can also try to tag a celebrity or the news organization or author of a story that you’re sharing with your audience. I would generally recommend trying this strategy out only onTwitter, which is a higher-volume posting platform than Facebook and Instagram. You can even scout out whether a person or organization has a pattern of retweeting other accounts. It’s a no-risk move that can increase your exposure to thousands of potential new followers. There are other ways to increase exposure, such as hashtags. Instagram has made hashtags a bigger part of its platform, while using established hashtags on Twitter or jumping into a trending topic can also increase eyeballs. However, be aware that there is also such a thing as overuse. It’s best to limit hashtags to specific topics, rather than using them too frequently and broadly. Continue looking forward Social media is and always has been one great balancing act. Analytics are certainly helpful, but there is a lot of fluidity. Your audience changes over time and the platforms change their algorithms. You need to stay in tune with what your current and potential future constituency is interested in. At 15-40 Connection, we’re in a position of maintaining our established regional audience in the Northeast, while trying to expand nationally. As we continue growth in the South, Midwest, West Coast, and even internationally, it’s going to change the dynamics of our audience and, as a result, shift the balance of what we post and whom we target. It’s also important to understand how social media platforms themselves are adapting. Facebook updated its newsfeed algorithm to, in the words of CEOMark Zuckerberg,“help us connect with each other” by prioritizing posts from friends and family over public content. A cynical view of this would be that there is now more pressure than ever for organizations to pay for advertisements. Not every nonprofit can afford to or wants to spend its resources this way, though, and that’s why it’s important to focus on quality instead of quantity when it comes to posting.

Now, more than ever, you’ll need those likes, comments, and shares to gain traction and more exposure. This is where using your advocates (your all-stars) can help you continue to reach and expand your audience. Carl Setterlund is the social media and website communications manager at 15-40 Connection, a cancer education nonprofit in Westborough, Massachusetts. One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime. Being prepared to identify and act on the early warning signs is lifesaving. Thanks to our generous supporters, we are able to provide our education for free nationwide. To get involved, visit www.15-40.org or email us at info@15-40.org. • Turn off your computer at least an hour before your interview, and allow it to reboot. This can keep your computer running smoothly. • Save the link to get into the Green Room (interview room) on your desktop. If a technical glitch pushes you out of the interview, you’ll have the link handy to get back into the program. • Be sure your camera is positioned properly. You’ll want it to be at eye level. Otherwise, your audience may be peering at your nose! Why Video is the Hottest Trend in Marketing You don’t need to believe me.There’s verified research for traditional video. • 88% of viewers stay longer on a page with video (MistMedia). • 64% of viewers are more likely to purchase after seeing a video (comScience). • There are 800% more conversions on landing pages with video (Funnel Science). Advantages of Live Streaming Video Here are more reasons to participate in live streaming videos: • Reach a worldwide audience quickly and affordably. (You need a computer with internet access, earbuds, and a Logitech C920 or similar camera. Your total equipment expense is less than $90.) • Engage and connect with potential donors, supporters and followers easily. • Boost your search engine optimization. People will find your organization more quickly because Google loves adding con- tent, especially when it’s generated in video. Sanders , continued from page 23

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