What the Best Nonprofit Videos Have in Common
Video content is gaining traction across the marketing landscape. LinkedIn’s most recent B2B marketing benchmark found that video tops the list of content types in terms of both current and future use. Meanwhile, Content Marketing Institute’s 2023 survey on video and visual storytelling found that two-thirds of surveyed marketers agree video has become more important — but only 7% feel they’re using it to its full potential.
If you’re looking to grow your nonprofit’s visibility, engagement, and impact, video content is an indispensable tool. This is especially true on LinkedIn, where video has become the fastest-growing format, with uploads up 34% and total viewership up 36% year over year. And with videos getting 1.4x more engagement on LinkedIn than other types of posts, embracing video content now can be a great way to earn the attention of potential supporters and donors.
But how can you make sure you’re getting the return on investment you want from your video marketing? A good way to start is by exploring successful examples and taking note of the best practices they employ.
Best nonprofit videos: Key traits and characteristics
As you dive into some of the most effective and acclaimed nonprofit videos around, a few common traits will jump out at you.
If your organization is exploring nonprofit video production and wants to stand out, use these best practices to guide you — whether you’re working with a whole production team or filming a quick video on your phone.
The best nonprofit videos tell a cohesive, memorable story.
Video storytelling is a great way to differentiate your nonprofit. No matter what type of video you’re creating — whether it’s an explainer, educational, a behind-the-scenes look, or something else — there should ideally always be a narrative element that ties everything together and connects to your mission.
Storytelling often resonates most when you:
Lead with impact messaging
Understand your audience and what they care about
Make people the center of your story
- Stay consistent
Tip for creating videos for LinkedIn: Adding captions helps ensure that viewers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or watching on mute can easily follow your video’s story. LinkedIn’s auto-generated captions are a great time-saving option.
They pack a punch emotionally.
Inspiring action is usually one of the primary objectives of a nonprofit video. To get viewers invested in your cause, you’ll want to engage them at an emotional level. You can do this by emphasizing the scale or urgency of an issue, focusing on inspiring solutions or success stories, or incorporating some combination of these approaches. Ultimately, you want audiences to recognize the challenge ahead but still feel excited about shaping a better future.
One strong example of emotionally evocative nonprofit video content comes from the Emile Foundation, formerly known as the Orphans Feeding Foundation (OFF), which won a PR Daily 2024 Nonprofit Award for its Stolen Voices campaign and tie-in video. The short video shows 19,546 teddy bears seated in the Hague Stadium to represent children deported from their home, and concludes with a call to reunite them with their families. The simple yet vivid imagery, music, and metaphor come together to create a hard-hitting experience, with video reportedly being viewed more than 200,000 times globally.
Tip for creating videos for LinkedIn: You don’t necessarily need an elaborate set-up to create emotional resonance with your videos. Authenticity is what matters the most.
They feature real people sharing real perspectives.
The people directly affected by an issue or working tirelessly to make a difference are often the ones most capable of rallying interest and support, so it’s no surprise that the best nonprofit videos are usually centered around people. While animated or text-based videos can be effective, it’s important to let viewers see the people doing the work or the people benefiting from it. Elevating the voices of your nonprofit’s leaders and staff can also help establish your organization as a thought leader in your space.
If you scroll through the new video tab on LinkedIn, you’ll notice that the best videos tend to feature real people sharing their authentic experiences and expertise, whether they’re recording a selfie-style video on their phone or participating in an interview. Valuable video content like this can be produced at a low cost, often using equipment you already have close at hand like your phone and has the potential to reach a wide audience.
Tip for creating videos for LinkedIn: Any employee or executive can create video content using their phone or webcam. Help make it easy by providing ideas, talking points, or examples.
They showcase the important work being done.
Another winner from the 2024 Nonprofit Awards was Northwell Health, which partnered with MediaSource on a campaign honored for best visual storytelling. In the organizations’ award-winning video, we meet an individual who was partially paralyzed in a diving accident — then learn about the groundbreaking measures that have allowed him to gain feeling and lasting movement in his extremities.
In under four minutes, Northwell Health’s video embodies all the traits discussed so far, telling a powerful story, delivering an emotional jolt, and highlighting both its team and beneficiaries. With these foundations established, it’s able to shine a spotlight on the important work being done by its researchers, translating complex medical concepts into clear impact.
Tip for creating videos for LinkedIn: Tailor the length of your video to your objectives. On LinkedIn, shorter videos (30–90 seconds) are often more effective for brand awareness and higher completion rates, though weaving longer videos into your strategy where appropriate may help move viewers to action.
They are designed for shareability.
When you post a nonprofit video on LinkedIn or similar platforms, you probably want your viewers to consider donating, volunteering, or at least following your organization. But it’s worth adding another potential outcome to your wish list: sharing the video with others.
Compared to other types of posts, nonprofit video content is often uniquely shareable and great for word-of-mouth marketing. For instance, Spectrum Designs Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of the abilities and employability of people on the autism spectrum, recently had a video go viral on social media, amassing over 19 million views while driving a coinciding increase in both followers and sales. One reason for the video’s success was that it was created by and featured the organization’s employees, 65% of whom are on the autism spectrum, helping to bring Spectrum Designs’ mission to life.
Tip for creating videos for LinkedIn: Tag people featured in your videos to encourage them to share your content with their network.
The best nonprofit videos speak to the heart
Videos are a powerful pillar of nonprofit marketing because they give you the ability to show and tell, demonstrating your people and the work they are doing in uniquely impactful and resonant ways.
Take some cues from these successful examples to create something amazing on any budget.
