CREATING A NONPROFIT VIDEO? BE SURE TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

As part of our business model to offer video production to nonprofits as part of an overall marketing strategy, we are often asked “How to we decide what our video should look like or be about?”

To ensure that your nonprofit video meets all your needs and objectives, including time and budget, it is important to answer the following questions.  By doing so you will have a road map to creating the right video for your unique organization.  

• What is the video’s purpose and who is its intended audience?  For example, will it be used
  at a fundraising event, for educational purposes, to solicit contributions or for media relations?  Setting clear objectives and defining your audience critically impacts your video’s format, time length and style.
• What is the message you want to communicate to your audience and what are its main points?  If you are working to promote a call to action by your audience, you must also define what that action is.  For example, are you asking for contributions, volunteer participation, etc.?
• What are the key images you want your audience to see?  Are you looking to highlight your facility or are you interested in telling how your services impact your clients’ lives?  What about your volunteers’ and employees’ lives?  How do they feel about what they do through your organization?  Adding a back story gives any video more depth and more emotional impact.  Of course, you will want to use real people from your organization.  Do you have specific people in mind?  Are they willing to be interviewed?
• When and where does the video have to be shot?  Will it be shot at one or more locations, at a studio or during a specific time of day?  Although changes often occur during the production process, detailing this information as specifically as possible is an important part of the budgeting process.
• Will the video be used only once, or will it need to be updated or repurposed at a later date? Would you like to include a portion on your Web site, in an email or for a PSA (Public Service Announcement)?  Planning ahead will allow for capturing the right images and maximizing the uses of your footage.
• What is your budget for producing the video? Setting a budget beforehand gives your Production Company a chance to find the most cost-effective way of producing your video.  A big-budget concept seldom works on a small budget, but there are always methods for cutting down expenses.
• How many copies of the video will be made and what format will they need to be in?  DVDs are great for events and handouts, but CDs are often better for sending out to businesspeople to solicit contributions.

Susan Burnash is the President of Purple Duck Marketing in Kirkland (www.purpleduckmarketing.com) Her company specializes in Marketing, Public Relations and Video Production to help non-profits and cause related organizations stand out from the crowd.  She also teaches a variety of classes under Purple Duck University.  She can be contacted at susan@purpleduckmarketing.com or by phone at (425) 896-8959.