5 tips for DIY association video marketing

Tirrah Switzer, Product Marketing, Membership, Community Brands Tirrah Switzer, Product Marketing Manager, Community Brands

 

In the past week, I’ve been asked by two different organizations to make a video of why I support their organization. So, what did I do? I put on some lipstick and made two videos while working from home. I was quickly reminded that video marketing isn’t a trend and isn’t going away. It’s here to stay.

If your association hasn’t started with video marketing yet. It’s time. (It’s really past time.) You don’t have to spend a fortune to develop quality videos. You can easily create quality videos on your own. We’ve developed five tips for DIY association video marketing to help you get started.

Develop a video strategy

Sometime the largest hurdle to overcome when introducing something new is where to start? Your video strategy should also align with your organization’s strategic plan and goals of the organization. Your video strategy and video content must provide value. Ask yourself, how can our video strategy assist with member recruitment, engagement and retention?

A great starting point for introducing video marketing is to align with your content marketing strategy. You have your content ideas already mapped out, your preferred content distribution channels and timeline already developed. So, the question is, how can you utilize video to supplement your current content?

Start building content

Once you’ve developed your video strategy, the next step is to start building content that will help you achieve those goals. Your video content should be something that your members and prospects find valuable. Some content that you could start with are:

  • Industry news/ advocacy updates – Interview industry thought leaders on the latest industry news or an elected official about upcoming legislation effecting your industry.
  • Promote your volunteer program – You can use video for the recruitment and appreciation of volunteers. Ask current committee members to make a short video of why they serve or ask leadership volunteers and staff to make a short video thanking volunteers. You can also use video to introduce the board and what they do, explain how volunteer opportunities and committees fall into the organization’s structure and to showcase volunteer expectations.
  • FAQs – You get asked the same questions all the time, so you know there is interest in your frequently asked questions. Take your top ten FAQs and turn them into ten separate videos.
  • Member testimonials – Nothing is more powerful than word of mouth marketing. Member can create quick 20-30 second video of why they are a members and what value they have received from being a member of your organization. You can utilize member testimonials as part of your recruitment and retention strategy.
  • Vlogs – Also known as video blogs. Make a video of the content you would have written in a blog. You can also do a short snippet of your blog to introduce the blog content in one of your blogs. In your blog intro you can point people to your website. Check out one of YourMembership’s vlogs.
  • Fundraising – Why do people give? Because they were asked. Create videos of how the funds are used or have your donors tell why they support your organization.
  • Education and training teasers – Introducing new training program or education series? Promote the value of attending by having the presenter do a quick intro of the topic and content.
  • Spotlight sponsors – Your sponsors will love one more opportunity to be in front of your members and prospects. Have your sponsors develop a video about why they support your organization, or you can interview them about why it’s important for their business to support your mission. Bonus is you can use these videos to help increase your sponsor dollars.

Choose a channel

Next up, is choosing your distribution channel. Your videos should be shared where your members and prospects are. Three channels you should consider is your member community, website and social media.

Increasing traffic to your website is always at the top of marketing’s goals. Embed videos in blogs or website pages to help increase traffic and decrease bounce rates. And, while your members on your website, get them to log-in to your community. Your online member community is a great place to share videos especially those videos that are only applicable to members. Finally, sharing video on social media is a great way to boost engagement with your followers.

So, the question is, where is your audience?

Quick, quality videos

No one wants to watch a long, bad quality video. Videos should be quick, quality videos that inform and are entertaining. To make sure you produce a quality video, you need to consider length, lighting, and location.

The length of your video is one of the most important pieces of have a quality video. According to Wistia one to two minutes is the golden rule for how long a video should be. The longer the video, the bigger decrease in engagement. You should be able to see the person in the video with no shadows on their face. The location for the recording should be free of background noise and should be clean of any clutter. A bonus “L” to consider – landscape. Make sure to film horizontally, not vertical.

When filming with a phone, there are few quick and easy things to get the highest quality video. First and foremost, clean the screen and use both hands. Pay attention to where the microphone is and make sure you’re not covering it up when you shoot video. To minimize noise and distractions, put your phone on airplane mode prior to starting your recording.

Get feedback

So, you’ve developed some videos and put them out there. People are watching them, but are they enjoying them? Are they finding them valuable? Only way to know is to ask for feedback. You can ask your members for feedback through a survey or by posing the question in your online community. You can also create a poll for members of what content they would like to see in your videos. Membership software, like YourMembership, enables you to easily survey and poll your membership to gather feedback on your video marketing.

Video is an engaging and entertaining way of sharing your organization’s message. Video marketing is here for the long run and your association can easily build engaging and compelling content on your own.

Need more tips on marketing your association? Download our free e-book, the small association’s guide to member marketing.

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