← Nonprofit Nation with Julia Campbell
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Hello everyone. I'm doing something new today. I'm doing a solo episode, and this episode is brought to you by Bloomerang. In a world hungry for change, nonprofit impact matters more than ever. Yet every day you're asked to do more with less. Less time, fewer resources, and tools that weren't built for the way nonprofits actually work. What if you could do more with more? That's the promise of Bloomerang. The giving platform Built for Purpose Bloomerang integrates fundraising, donor and volunteer management into one intuitive platform. It connects your data to reveal opportunity, showing you who's ready to give, when to reach out, and how to deepen every relationship. Because when your tools are built for purpose, your mission goes further. So learn how you can do more with more at bloomerang. Com. Now, in this episode, I wanted to detail some of the highlights from my recent session at the association of Fundraising Professionals AFP International Conference. We call it AFP icon. In San Diego, my colleague Josh Hirsch and I delivered a standing room only session on mastering short form video for fundraisers. And it was so fun to be back at ICON and standing in front of nonprofits curious about video content and wanting to learn and connect. And so I'll have more interviews and audio content from the conference in the coming weeks. Now we know that short form video is no longer a nice to have in nonprofit communications. It is increasingly a must have. Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, TikTok videos, Facebook short clips. These rapidly consumable vertical videos have changed how people engage with content online, including our donors. Across platforms, audiences are watching video content more than ever and they're responding to it. Short form video has the potential to do what long emails and even static graphics can't build trust quickly, show impact visually, and inspire actions right where supporters are scrolling. But despite the opportunity, many fundraisers feel daunted. We don't have time for video. We don't have a videographer. I'm not creative enough. These are familiar refrains, but they really miss the mark. Short form video isn't about production value. It's about clarity of story, consistency of message, and authentic human connection. You don't need Hollywood level equipment. You need heart. And you need a unique perspective, which you have from your hands on work in the trenches or so let's start with understanding why short form video works so well for fundraising. In a crowded digital world, nonprofits must contend with declining organic reach and rising competition for attention across social media. Engagement rates hover in really pretty awful zones. On Instagram, Nonprofits average roughly 0.6% engagement per post and reach about 15% of their followers, organically higher than many platforms but still limited. Meanwhile, short form video, which is defined generally as clips under 60 to 90 seconds, dramatically outperforms longer content on engagement. Research across multiple industries shows that short form video generates about 2.5 times more engagement than long form video. That means short clips are more likely to be watched, shared and interacted with, which are all signals that social media platforms reward with broader distribution. So in short, short form video gives your nonprofit a better chance at being seen. Why? Because visual content, especially video, enables donors to see real people and real impact. It turns abstract missions into something tangible. A student's smile, volunteers hands lift applies a staff member in a quiet moment of gratitude and donors respond to feeling connected. One of the biggest misunderstandings about video is that it requires professional cameras, lights and hours of editing. It doesn't. You have what you need already, a smartphone, natural light, and a story worth telling. Short form videos thrive on authenticity, not polish. This is good news for small and mid sized non profits with limited resources. In fact, audiences often prefer real over highly produced. It feels human, not commercial. The goal isn't a documentary, it's clarity and connection. And if you're wondering what content will actually move the needle, focus on these four categories. I'm going to outline the four high impact video types. They aren't complicated, but they are effective. Number one Impact in action. Show the work that you do. This is footage of volunteers sorting donations. A classroom full of students engaged in activity pantry distribution in Progress. Aim for 15 to 30 seconds of raw real movement with captions that tie it back to the mission and donor impact. And this kind of work in progress footage and helps viewers see the change their dollars support. An example from Rosie's Place in Boston. I will post it into the show Notes they did a reel around International Women's Day and it just showed them packing up lunches and delivering lunches and it was, it was just really great to see behind the scenes. Number two Donor and participant voices Let people say why giving matters. So these are short testimonials, just 10 to 20 seconds from program participants, volunteers, board members or donors themselves. And they can be very persuasive. Authentic voices are so powerful because they communicate what your work feels like, not just what it does. So a very short clip of someone saying because of you, I can sleep safely tonight can be far more compelling than a paragraph of text. Number three behind the scenes Transparency Donors are curious. They want to know how decisions are made. What A day in your office looks like how a campaign is progressing. Give them a peek behind the curtain in this way, a real, unfiltered glimpse a From the desk of the executive director, Post a quick video of your team as they are talking about a campaign that's coming up. And as always, be sure to use captions so the stories clear even with the sound off. And then Number four is educational content on the cause. Short form video is a powerful progress engine for advocacy and education, and many nonprofits hesitate to post educational content because they assume it has to be long, detailed or data heavy. But Short Form Video excels at distilling complex issues into clear, compelling insights that supporters can quickly grasp and share. Post impactful statements about why you do this work and what you stand for. For example, three things people get wrong about food insecurity why affordable housing is about more than rent what happens when mental health care is delayed. Here's what access to education really means in our community. Now, these videos don't need to be lectures. They should be focused, values driven statements that clarify what you stand for and why your work matters. A great example. Anything from no Kid Hungry on Instagram all of their reels A lot of their reels are educational content around the cause of food insecurity and access to food. So here's a simple three part formula to make your video content consistently shareable and watchable. Number one, you need a hook. That's the first three seconds. You must capture attention immediately or viewers will immediately scroll past. Do not say, hi, I'm Julia Campbell and I'm the Executive Director. No, no, no no no. Try a hook and then you can talk about who you are and what you do. So openings like this backpack changed one child's school year. Let me tell you how we almost had to cancel this program due to funding cuts. But this is what we're doing. Or you made this amazing new program possible. Let's go on the inside and explore the impact. Number two is the story moment. So the hook is the first three seconds, the story moment, or the person talking giving context to whatever the hook was is the next 15 to 30 seconds. So it's best to focus on one problem or one transformation or one event, one story. And be specific. Like clarity always beats complexity, especially in short form video. And then the third piece of the structure is a call to action. Now the call to action could be donate at the link in our bio. It could be Share this with a friend who cares about literacy. It could help us reach our goal by Friday it could be call your senator, whatever it is. And you know, sometimes it's just awareness content. But if you want to make it actionable, asking people to share or like or subscribe, asking people to donate, of course, picking one call to action and not asking them to do 20 things. All right, so where to post this is so important. You do not need to be on every platform. Start where your audience already is. Nonprofits are most active on Facebook and Instagram and roughly 85% use Instagram and 93% maintain Facebook pages. So Instagram has a large user base with 3 billion monthly active users, half a billion daily users, and that potentially makes it a powerful distribution channel. But short form video isn't just Instagram and Facebook reels, YouTube shorts and TikTok can be effective, especially if your donors are on those platforms. Reposting the same vertical video without platform watermarks lets you broaden your reach with minimal extra work. And you know, to show this in action, consider the short form video experiment conducted by Candid, a nonprofit information research organization. What began as a three month test of TikTok reels and shorts grew into a full program. Over the course of a year, Candid produced more than 100 videos featuring staff across platforms, garnering 250,000 plus total views and 13,000 engagements on short form video content alone. And not only did short form video outperform static posts, it also boosted overall engagement on Candid social channels, helping drive discovery of their broader content. So their experiment and their results, they really offer a practical model for nonprofits of all sizes. They teach us use short form video as a part of your existing content workflow. Film multiple clips in one session so you have a backlog ready to post when you need it. Share across platforms to access different audiences. The same clip may perform differently and attract new followers on TikTok versus YouTube shorts. And don't feel bound to trends. Candid's top performing clips were straightforward advice and mission highlights, not a viral dance challenge or trending sounds. So another piece of this puzzle is overcoming internal resistance to video at your organization. So the most common barrier to short form video is not technology, it's comfort level. And you know, I've heard many, many nonprofits confess, I don't like being on camera. I don't know what to say. This feels awkward. If that's you, just remember this. Donors do not expect perfection. They want authentic connection. And you can share the spotlight with others program staff, volunteers, board members, supporters. Another common barrier internally to doing short form video is the concern over ethical storytelling, and this is incredibly important. Just because videos are short doesn't mean ethical practices can be shortchanged. So always get consent before filming or posting. Protect privacy and dignity, avoid exploiting emotional vulnerability, and even in 20 to 30 seconds, your videos can reflect dignity and give agency to your clients. Short form video shouldn't be a billboard. It should be a conversation starter asking questions. What does this cause mean to you? Why did you first get involved? What impact have you seen in the community? And then responding to comments, encouraging sharing, featuring supporters responses and future content Engagement builds engagement. If this feels like a huge leap and is super overwhelming to you, start with one commitment, one short form video per week for the next month and choose a simple theme, Mission Monday or why We Give Wednesday or Impact Friday. Track basic metrics like views, engagement clicks to your donation page, conversion during campaigns. Make sure that the metrics you measure are tracking back to your goals. Not every video will perform equally. What matters is momentum. Short form video isn't just another tactic in the marketer's toolbox. It truly represents a shift in how supporters want to connect with mission driven organizations. And nonprofits that embrace this format, even at a modest scale, can strengthen engagement in ways static content alone cannot. The best time to start short form video was last year. The second best time is this week. Pick up your phone and get recording. Tell a story. Make a clear ask. Tag me in it. I want to see it. You don't need to go viral to matter. You just need to be visible. And when donors can see the impact of your work with their own eyes, they're far more likely to support it. All right, thanks so much for listening to Nonprofit Nation. The Nonprofit Social Media Summit is coming up. To get on the wait list, the early interest list, go to nonprofit socialmediasummit. Com. All right, see you on the next episode.