Today, I needed to speak to a client about their fundraising video - I needed some scientific research to back up my claims - and of course the people at CauseMatch had already anticipated the need. This is what they discovered. (to read the original article click here)
Overview
Fundraising and videos are a natural match. In order for an organization to really tell its story and connect with donors, there must be a compelling and emotional medium in which it can be conveyed. The best medium for this is a video no longer than 2 ½ minutes. Focus on accomplishing these four things (acronym of PIES):
Present the problem that is being addressed. What is going on? Why should we be concerned?
Introduce the organization Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Explain the solution How we, as an organization, will fix the problem.
Solve the problem Fund the campaign to make an incredible impact!
Presenting the Problem
Anatomy of a Good Beginning: The most important thing for our videos is to begin with a compelling and emotional introduction that hooks the viewer. The first 10-20 seconds need to be emotional and urgent.
The Hook: Think about it in terms of what would excite you and keep you interested in continuing to watch the video. There are hundreds of advertisements out there that lose you after a couple of seconds. The ones that are able to keep your focus are the ones that have a strong emotional introduction that make it hard to turn away. Your goal is to be as emotionally attuned as possible. Emotion will capture viewers' attention and turn them into donors.
The Power of Music: Use dramatic music during the "Problem." Then, you can change the music to something more uplifting once you begin talking about the organization and the solutions.
Introduce the Organization
Transitions and nuance are critical: Once you have addressed, you can introduce the organization to the audience. How does your organization solve the problem?
Casting: This section - Introducing the Organization - should be short. Give a brief synopsis of your organizational goals.
Just One: Though it is good to use various people in the video to provide different perspectives, for this section, keep it to just one person to minimize the amount of moving parts. You can bring in other people as testimonials later.
Explaining the Situation
Now you can explain how donors can solve the problem through your organization.
The solution can be a very simple section to compose since it is just the organization speaking about how they will fix the problem and where the money you donate will go.
Donors like to know where their money is going when they donate so this is the “meat” of the video. Give donors a clear picture of what is going on with their donation and the amazing impact they will have with their gifts.
Call to Action
This section of the video tells donors exactly what they need to do to bridge the problem and the solution.
Depending on the campaign, we use various scripts to get across what is happening in the campaign. For example, if a campaign is only 24 hours, we will say something to the effect of “And now, for a very short time of just 24 hours, we have the unique opportunity to make a huge difference and we need YOUR help NOW”. More than anything, we want the donor to feel that without their help, the goal will not be reached.
The speaker should address the camera directly for this part in order. Doing so helps create a connection to the viewer. The rest of the interview can be done in the “interview style” format but it is crucial for them to make a personal connection with the viewer during this last section in order to inspire them.
CauseMatch uses animations to illustrate the effects of matching gifts. They serve as a visual aid. However, end the video with the actual speaker on film addressing the audience. End with a clear call to action like, "Please hit the donate button today!"
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