Your parishioners are like the general public. They have come to expect videos on social media. Statistics show that eight out of ten 18- to 49-year-olds watch YouTube in an average month, and 57 percent of people who watch nonprofit videos go on to make a donation. Your parish should include videos as part of its comprehensive social media marketing plan to increase engagement with parishioners. Videos, like text, should use engaging and relevant content.
Here are a few easy ways for your parish to start incorporating video into its social media posts:
Use Videos on Social Media to Ask Questions
Question and answer sessions are a great way to use video in social media posts. You can prepare questions in advance and interview an employee, parish leader, or you can gather questions from your parishioners and prepare a short video in which you answer those questions. At the end of the video, give viewers your website so that they can visit for more information.
Use Videos on Social Media to Go Behind the Scenes
Your parishioners enjoy seeing the behind-the-scenes action at your parish. These videos allow you to share the personality of your parish and its employees. This will increase trust, improve interest and engagement with as well as introduce potential donors to your organization. Some ideas for short, behind-the-scenes videos are as follows:
- A virtual tour of your parish office
- Prep work leading up to a big event
Use Videos on Social Media to Share a Live Stream
The ability to offer live videos is available on a variety of platforms. Live videos are a way to foster authenticity and connect with your audience. You can stream events live to your donors to engage audiences. Make sure you promote the video before the event so that people know when to tune in and promote it afterward so that those who missed it can watch the recording.
Use Native Video Links on Social Media
On Facebook, you can share a video link from YouTube or upload the video directly onto Facebook. A direct upload is known as a native video. Facebook prioritizes native videos, meaning your organization’s native video is more likely to be seen by your donors and supporters. This is a good rule to follow for each social platform.
Use Video to Call Your Donors to Action on Social Media
Have a clear call to action in your video. To create an effective call to action, first identify your objective. Create videos that tell a story and appeal to users’ emotions. People will remember your videos because of the way they feel, and the likelihood that people will respond to the call to action will increase. And remember that your content doesn’t have to be perfect. Donors respond to authenticity more than polished pieces.
There are a variety of ways to use videos on social media. By adding these video strategies to your social media marketing plan, you will increase interest and engagement with your parishioners.
