Multimedia Storytelling | Tools to Improve your Nonprofit Marketing

It begins with a story…

Every nonprofit has a story, and we want to help you tell yours. Here are some tools to improve your nonprofit marketing through multimedia storytelling, to easily communicate your organization’s message, stay consistent with your mission and drive viewers to respond.

Tell your story a million ways.

Ok, maybe not a million, but we’ve got several different ways for you to communicate who you are, what you do and how to get others involved. Keep in mind your audience is a diverse group of learners that take in information in all different ways. We suggest using multiple forms of digital media to communicate your message as clearly and effectively as possible. Here are some tools for you to consider using to build an effective marketing campaign for your nonprofit:

Video

Every day, video becomes more and more essential to how people consume  information. Preoccupied by busy lives, many want to receive facts quickly, and ideally be entertained along the way. Professional communicators are capitalizing on this insight, and you can, too. Using film draws your audience in, and invites them to stay a while. By incorporating audio, sound design, interviews and strong visuals, you allow your target audience to experience your message firsthand, creating a sense of investment.

The nonprofit organization Covenant House aims to end youth homelessness in St. Louis. StoryTrack developed a fundraising campaign film to share the story of one young man who has succeeded as a result of their programming.

Photography

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and we agree. Incorporating still photography into your content marketing campaign is one way to get longevity out of your media. We’ve worked closely with nonprofits on various campaigns and we often find that their photography cries out to be updated. Having current photographs makes it easy to refresh brochures and website content, to say nothing of providing new art for the office walls! Photographs also provide content for social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or the company blog. Well-chosen and crafted images work together to deliver cohesive messaging across all platforms.

As part of the work we did for Covenant House, we were commissioned to update the artwork in their office hallways with hopeful and uplifting portraits of the youth finding safe, housing through their facility. These images also graced their blog posts and print collateral.

“It has been a pleasure working with you; the still photography images are lighting up our hallways, and the video of Caleb is one of the best I’ve had the pleasure in which to be a part. Keep up the amazing work!” – Stacy Austerman, Covenant House

Print/Copywriting

There is power in the written word and good writing is crucial to conveying your mission.  You might engage a strong copywriter to craft scripts for a video, campaign messaging and taglines as well as content for your website and print material. Writing shapes a story and complements other mediums like video and photography. A good script transforms images into arguments, as opposed to pretty pictures. You want to inform your supporters, as well as providing a call to action and a concrete way for them to get involved with what you’re doing.

Distribution: Get the word out!

Having invested your time, money and effort crafting a story, you need the right platform to share it through and an audience to share it with. For best results, you want to think through distribution before you start production. Careful thought should be dedicated to deciding not only what story (and media) you are creating, but how it will be consumed and by whom.  We don’t want your story to go unwatched and unheard! As a video production and content marketing agency, we work with companies to strategize on how and where their story should go before the content is created. Let us help you shape the right story and spread the word!

Find out what works best for you

No digital media platform makes sense for every nonprofit campaign. That’s why it’s important to discuss distribution early. At the beginning of a project, we’ll always assess which assets you’ve been using and how we can add to them in order to achieve your goals. More often than not, we find that when you combine several multimedia storytelling approaches your story gets stronger. And better stories are more likely to initiate a response from your viewers–whether what you’re after are volunteers, financial support or simply spreading awareness via word-of-mouth. Let us help you build an unforgettable content marketing strategy rooted in multimedia storytelling!