Strong Emotions Drive Online Video
It’s Friday, and online video watching normally spikes on Fridays. Hmmm! Maybe a good day to talk about online videos.
Greenpeace recently held a ‘Digital Mobilisation Skillshare’ to explore the characteristics of most effective online videos. Here’s a link to their findings, with illustrating videos. Embedded in the report are a number of additional resources you might find interesting, including some Harvard Business School studies.
But my favorite nugget is this Ted Talk by Kevin Allocca, YouTube’s ‘trends manager’. As he says, believe it or not, he gets paid to watch YouTube videos! [Uh, Roger …]
Ken says — and illustrates — there are three ingredients for wildly popular viral videos (and he should know!) …
- Tastemaker support — someone like Jimmy Kimmel needs to tweet: ‘Watch this!’ Sure you can promote, but luck and serendipity count!
- Community of participation — the video lends itself to (even invites) parodies, editing, re-mixing etc by today’s worldwide army of creative onlookers … amateurs and professionals alike.
- Unexpectedness — nothing beats surprise!
So, yes, it’s still a long, long shot that your nonprofit’s video will go viral. But nevertheless don’t treat the process casually. Use the lessons that are available.
If Yosemite Mountain Bear can do it …!
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
Read Full Answer
Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
Read Full Answer
Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
Read Full Answer
There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
Read Full Answer