5 Tips for Professional Looking Vine and Instagram Videos for Nonprofits

The rise in popularity of short videos that can be recorded right from your smart phone has provided nonprofits with a cost-effective way of creating fun and engaging content that can be shared across various social media platforms. As part of our Social Media series for nonprofit fundraising, I have written about 4 Best Practices for Nonprofit Supporter Engagement Utilizing Instagram, 3 Insights into Creating Stronger Nonprofit Videos from New Benchmark Guide and 8 Types of Online Videos to Help Increase Supporter Engagement and Nonprofit Fundraising. Since both Vine and Instagram only offer six and fifteen seconds of video time it’s important that what gets recorded is engaging while having a professional quality. The following are 5 tips on creating top notch short videos:

1. Vision – It goes without saying that it’s important to start with a solid idea of what it is you want to capture and what message you want to convey. However, it doesn’t always have to be planned. Some of the best videos can also be ones that have been captured spontaneously. Regardless if planned or not, it’s important to have a vision and that you keep your organization in mind to ensure the video is in-line with its vision, mission and values.
2. Keep It Steady – Keeping your shot balanced is important for the overall look of the video. Certainly there are some videos in which the movement of a hand-held device adds to the appeal and rawness of the action being captured. However for videos that require a professional look placing your camera on a tripod or smart-phone in a phone holder will ensure a steady shot and improve the overall quality. This does not have to be expensive – a personal favourite is the GorillaPod series which is quite affordable.
3. Lighting – Since both Vine and Instagram do not provide white balance controls it will be important to take lighting into consideration and will also depend on the type of smart phone you will be using. Certainly you will have more control over planned videos, but it will be important to the overall quality to ensure that the area is well lit with either natural or artificial light. In an indoor setting simply opening blinds/curtains can make a marked difference.
4. Sound – Much like lighting it is more challenging to control the sound of an unplanned video but it must still be considered. The environment should be clear of any background noise or be shot in an area that is not noisy as it may not set the right tone for your video, especially as many smart phones do not yet have the best microphones for video. Alternatively, depending on the type of video creating one without any sound can also be effective.
5. Timing – The six and fifteen second time limits can go very quickly if you are not careful. It’s crucial that you do not go over the limit or the desired result you are trying to achieve may not happen and you’ll have to reshoot several times. Since neither application has on-screen timers it’s better to underestimate the timing. Practicing planned shots in advance will minimize the risk of going over the time constraints.

Your ability to make creative and professional looking videos will only improve with practice. Have fun with the creative process and you will soon reap the benefits of your efforts in better short videos that will be shared and (hopefully) go viral.

____________________________________________________________________________________

For nonprofit, nonprofit fundraising, CSR business and other news, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linedin, Google+ and Pinterest or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.