If you work for or are associated with any type of good cause — a nonprofit, charitable organization, community-based program, or other — you know increasing awareness and raising funds are always top of mind.

In the past, maybe you’ve tried to reach these goals through fundraising events, blogging about your cause, writing social media posts, and so on. If you have, hats off to you! Those are all great marketing tactics, but have you ever considered using video marketing to accomplish your goals?

Video marketing is more powerful today than ever before. According to Wyzowl, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.

So, whether you’re a nonprofit looking to get people interested in supporting your mission or a youth sports team wanting to raise money for new equipment for the upcoming season, video marketing can be a convenient and effective tool for good causes of all kinds.

Types of video content marketing

Video content marketing offers a visual way to explain your purpose, share powerful stories, raise funds, and help increase awareness about your good cause. Since videos provide such a wide variety of possibilities, the type of content you decide to create is entirely up to you.

For example, you could create an inspirational video that clearly states your purpose or a fun and playful video that encourages people to get involved. The direction of your video content depends on what your goals are and how you want your message to be received.

Videos also give you the option of recording or livestreaming. Both recorded and livestreaming videos present their own unique use cases and benefits.

Recorded video

Recorded videos give you complete control of your content from beginning to end. You can plan out the exact direction of your video content by drafting outlines and scripts — which clearly lay out talking points, scene direction, b-roll suggestions, and so on.

Once you’ve recorded your video, you then have the ability to edit your footage. Did you fumble your words or maybe leave out an important part of your message? No worries. Post-production editing allows you to remove unwanted content, add in b-roll footage, and even piece together different portions of content to create the exact video you want your audience to see.Now that you know a little bit about the benefits of recorded videos, let's talk about some of the different types.

Now that you know a little bit about the benefits of recorded videos, let's talk about some of the different types.

Brand videos ✨

Whether you’re a nonprofit, an elementary school, a sorority, a college sports team, or a startup company — brand videos can be vital to explaining who you are and what you stand for. They’re a great resource for connecting with your audience and educating them about your mission and what they can do to help.

You can also use brand videos to show off your company culture, share the history of your cause, and even show what a “day in the life” is like at your organization.

Testimonial videos 📖

Sharing real-life experiences can connect with your audience in an impactful way. Testimonial videos showcase the inspirational stories from people affiliated with your good cause, like the people you help, employees, volunteers, donors, and more.

Testimonials can ultimately encourage viewers to get involved and help make a difference — whether that’s volunteering, donating, or spreading awareness.

Event recap videos 🎟️

Maybe it’s a carwash your youth group recently held to raise money for a mission trip, a 24-hour dance marathon to support breast cancer awareness, or maybe you gathered volunteers to spend the day picking up trash around the city — no matter the event, recap videos give viewers a glimpse of the helpful, creative, and fun types of events and outings your organization puts together.

Interview videos 👥

Interview videos put the spotlight on particular individuals within your organization or industry. You can use this opportunity for viewers to learn more about not only your cause or industry but also some of the great people who are involved with it.

You could interview the CEO, industry experts, volunteers, team members, people from the community that you’ve impacted, and more.

Live video

Livestreaming video is an unscripted and authentic way to connect with your audience. For viewers, the level of authenticity you get from livestreams is both exciting and entertaining — making it hard not to tune in.

Going live is the perfect way to engage and grow your audience in real-time. You have the opportunity to educate your viewers about your purpose, answer questions, start conversations, and even monetize your livestreams to help raise money for your cause.

Let’s take a look at some of the different types of live videos.

Fundraiser livestreams 💰

In many ways, fundraiser livestreams are a new and improved version of telethons. Instead of taking donations over the phone, you can do it virtually. In fact, there are livestreaming platforms available that allow you to easily raise money for your cause.

For example, Givebutter’s Livestream Fundraising allows you to sell e-tickets for your livestreaming events and collect donations all in one place. You can use livestreaming fundraisers to tell viewers more about your cause, what their donations will be used for, and even have special performances from musicians and other entertainers.

Q&A livestreams 🙋

If you want to create engagement, Q&A livestreams are one of the most effective ways to do so. Opening the floor for questions gives your audience the chance to ask what’s on their minds. Your answers not only let you engage with them in real time, but also have the power to influence them to start or continue supporting your cause.

You can have just one person engaging with the audience and answering questions, or you can create more of a panel Q&A by having multiple people within your organization answering questions.

News and announcement livestreams 📣

You can really build the hype around major news and announcements by promoting your livestreams ahead of time. Letting your audience know that big news is coming will create anticipation and potentially entice them to join in once you go live.

Any significant news or organizational change is worthy of a livestream, like introducing new members of your leadership team, launching a new program, product, or service, announcing an important upcoming event, and so on.

Recurring series 📅

Starting a weekly, monthly, or quarterly livestreaming series is a great way to establish brand familiarity through a consistent schedule that keeps your viewers tuned in and engaged.

You can use recurring series for content like discussing industry-related topics and trends, interviews with special guests, employee or staff spotlights, and more.

What makes an effective video?

Leaving out important information in your videos can hurt your efforts and ultimately have a negative impact on fundraising and awareness. Whether you’re making a recorded video or livestreaming, there are several ways you can ensure you’re creating effective content for your good cause.

Clearly stating your purpose

People tend to relate to your “why.” Why do you exist? What’s your mission? Making your purpose clear and easy to understand in your videos will let your audience know what you’re all about. Once they know if your cause and values align with theirs, they’re much more likely to support your cause.

Sharing real examples of how your cause has made a difference

As mentioned when creating testimonial videos, real-life stories can be powerful. Showing examples in your videos of the work you’ve done for your cause, how you’ve helped the community, and the lives you’ve impacted can give your viewers a better understanding of how your team or organization is doing its part in making the world a better place.

Establishing urgency and importance

Establishing urgency and importanceIncorporating a sense of urgency in your video content can let viewers know that the timeliness of their help and support plays a big factor in the success of your mission. Establishing urgency and importance can encourage your audience to take action sooner through donations, volunteering, recruiting new volunteers, spreading your message, and more.

Let people know how they can get involved

Your videos should make it completely clear on how people can help out. Be sure to include information on how and where people can donate money and supplies, promote the date, time, and location for fundraising and community events, and also let people know of other ways they can help out if interested.

How to get started with video marketing

Video marketing can be a simple and effective solution that can help you spread awareness and raise money for your good cause. You don’t need to have a background in video creation or spend a ton of money hiring a professional camera crew to produce amazing video content.

There are, however, video marketing tools available that can help you create better and more polished videos.

Switcher Studio is a live production iOS app that helps you create professional quality live video. With Switcher, you can:

• Livestream or record it for later. Stream live video to nearly any platform: Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Twitch, and even embed your livestreams on your Givebutter campaign page — or record your videos to edit and use later.
• Use existing equipment. Sync up to nine iPhone and iPad cameras to stream from multiple angles — no expensive cameras needed.
• Invite Remote Guests to join you. Bring in coworkers, colleagues, industry experts, interviewees, volunteers, co-hosts, and other special guests to join your livestreams from anywhere in the world.
• Increase reach and engagement. Grow and engage your audience in real-time by adding on-screen Facebook and YouTube comments to your streams — or create live, interactive polls.
• Add in text, titles graphics, prerecorded video and more. Polish your livestreams by adding in text, titles, lower thirds, graphics, prerecorded video and audio, and more.

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Givebutter made a $100 donation to Jared's campaign of choice, Supporting Heart of Dinner 💛, for his guest blog.