The biggest challenge for many associations is getting members to pay attention to your communications – and the value you can offer to them. If you face these kinds of challenges, a short video can help you get the message across and increase the likelihood they will listen.
Here are five reasons to consider video to communicate with your members:
- Members remember 20 percent of what they hear and 60 percent of what they see.
- Video is fast, engaging, and interesting…and it’s mobile.
- Video is practical (and re-usable) across many communications channels. Send via email, publish on the web, post on social media (including your YouTube channel), link from your e-newsletter, etc.
- Video delivers important information in a short, memorable format.
- It’s a great way to deliver traditional information in nontraditional ways, i.e., animation.
Used well, video a good fit for a wide range of topics. Consider these topic ideas:
- Welcome to new members from the association executive, executive director or president
- Communicate your value proposition
- Tools and services members may not realize are available to them
- Why Political Action?
- Economic trends and current market statistics
- Engage the public in consumer-related advocacy or inform the public about association community service activities
To create an effective video communication:
- Consider your specific goal of the video – and the call to action
- Develop talking points or a script to follow
- Rehearse your video to deliver your message in a relaxed, clear way
- Brand your video so it’s readily identifiable
- Include graphics, music or other simple, affordable ways to make the message memorable (if you want to do some research, check out Animoto, Videolicious, Magisto, or PowToon.)
Try it! And see how video works for you.Here are a few examples (traditional and animated) of videos from associations.
Why Legislative Affairs
Consumer Video
AE Monthly Update (from a small association)
We recently created our first program update video for our national client, NADL. I’ve been distributing it across all of our channels as we focus more on brand awareness than traditional membership recruitment efforts. Because of the industry, standard recruitment efforts have gone flat over the past couple of years. So we’ve changed our focus to really showcase what the organization has been doing for the industry.
As our brand awareness increases, I don’t have to “defend” the cost of membership. Also, members are becoming more aware of some of our benefits after years of traditional means of communication.
I definitely recommend video communications! Since no one wanted (or had the time) to be featured in the video, I used a voice over approach to get the message across along with important parts outlined in text and images in the video.