Date post: | 06-May-2015 |
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Education |
Upload: | netsquared-vancouver |
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Tiva Quinn,Onwords! Consulting
About Me:
• Over $20M raised through the power of storytelling– Ecotrust Canada– Alaska Native Heritage Center– 10 years consulting on planning & fundraising
• Animator since 2011– Seedstock Community Currency– Reel Causes
About You
• Interested in video• Don’t have a staff position for it• Most of you are repeat Netsquared audience,
so part of that overall dialog
Starting out w video:common problems
• No staff often means several dep’ts brainstorm together (good)
• But no one is really asking video-centric questions to guide the process (bad)
• Like anything, 85% of making a good video is planning
• But a lot of NP’s will charge in without even asking the top 2 planning questions…
The Top Two Planning Questions
Who is our audience? What do we want them to do?
Who is it for?
• People you serve• Existing donor/volunteer base• New audience w aligned values• New audience, neutral values – education• Specific demographics?• Going beyond the choir!
What do we want them to do?
• Donate• Volunteer• Contact politicians• Change spending habits• Change diet, recycle, share goods etc.
What’s Their Problem
Traditional Mktg Question:What problem can you solve for this audience?
Non-profit variation:Why would this audiencecare about what you do?
What’s Their Problem, Pt.2
• Linkage / Ability / Interest – how does that translate into search terms they might use?
• Honest SEO is in. Make sure those search terms are a good fit for the video you make.
8 Non-profit Storytelling rules(that I learned from grant writing)
1. Start off strong – NEVER assume you’ve got a captive audience.
2. Always include head & heart.
Non-profit Storytelling rules
3. Rely on familiar themes and visual metaphors, but…
4. Also use new information or a surprising twist – they’re here to learn.
8 Non-profit Storytelling rules
5. Make sure you describe a problem that’s fixable, not an overwhelming crisis.
Non-profit Storytelling rules
6. The #1 question you must answer: “so what?” (Why should I care?)
7. Build it & they will come does NOT work! How will they find you?
8 Non-profit Storytelling rules
• Last One:8. Go backwards or spiral out if that’s the best
way to find your story.
Balancing Acts
Head Heart
Familiar New
Words Visuals
What Have You Already Got?
• Go over successful ask letters, events, proposals – why did it work?
• Survey or focus group your supporters – what’s in it for them?
• Remember to look for head & heart.• Ask staff too, but this video is not for them!
Starting to Think Visual
• Who is your audience?– Pacing– Tone / language for voiceovers & text– What visuals make sense
What do you want them to do?
• Take action?– 90 seconds, tops – then
lead directly to a page focused on that action
• Learn something?– 5 minutes, tops – no
dead pixels
As You Look For Your Story
• Start thinking about context – where will you advertise, what’s the style there?
• Starting point formula: – 1/3 empathize – 1/3 explain – 1/3 call to action
Brainstorm Variations
• What if we used relatable characters & a Hero’s Journey, like Meatrix or Reel Causes? – (people you serve? Or donors?)
• What if we speak directly to “you” like Follow the Frog?
• What if it’s more word-driven, w a series of illustrations to add interest, like Story of Stuff?
• What if we do something interactive or crowdsourced like “It Gets Better?”
If You’re Really Stuck
• Do you have an enemy? What’s their story? How can you undermine it?
• Do you have competition? What makes you different? (Do NOT name/shame competition in your video… )
• Can you do a spoof like Meatrix or Old Spice ads? (careful w this…)
• Write a rant about stuckness & see what comes up
Next Steps
• Run the script(s) past a test audience, make sure it makes sense to them – a sketchy draft vid would be even better.
• What’s the Title? Upworthy brainstorms 25 titles or more for each shared link.
• Where will you promote it?
Sources
• Winning the Story Wars, Jonah Sachs• Made to Stick, Chip & Dan Heath• Into Focus: A Benchmark Guide to Effective
Nonprofit Video, See3 Communications • Playbook for Good, Youtube