Top Ten Tips for Creating Contagious Content
Every non-profit wants a viral video; often this is the justification for investing in video in the first place. If your video goes viral, you know it’ll be worth the investment. Often, if this goal is not achieved, organizations become disenchanted with video as a whole. But just giving up is not the smart response. Video is the future of internet content. It’s not going anywhere, it is only going to grow. So instead of throwing in the towel, make a commitment to being more intentional and smart about your more »
What’s this storytelling revolution all about?
A couple weeks ago, I was coming back from a meeting in midtown and I was in the Bryant Park subway station. As I looked around, I realized I was surrounded by stories. But not just the stories of the interesting people around me, but literally the word ‘story’ on ads all over the station. It is clear that we are in moment of heightened cultural awareness about the importance of storytelling. But later, reflecting on these ads, I began to wonder: Why is a larger awareness about the power more »
Video: Why We Are Soft-Wired to Care
“Empathy is grounded in the acknowledgement of death, a celebration of life and rooting for each other to flourish and be.” This video by RSA animate (whose work inspired this video we recently made) features Jeremy Rifkin, political advisor and author, explaining what makes us homo empathicus. He says that we are soft wired for sociability, attachment, affection and companionship. It has a lot to do with mirror neurons, which we’ve talked about before. Because of mirror neurons, when I see another human experiencing an emotion- anger, frustration or joy- more »
We Wrote An E-book!
Many non-profits recognize that online video storytelling is the most powerful driver of online fundraising. The problem is that after identifying they want video, most aren’t sure what to do next. Many dive in without thinking about what kind of story will garner the response they are looking for. Most don’t know what outcomes they want. Some start by creating completely boring overview videos which explain each of their programs. Others create videos, post them to facebook once, cross their fingers, close their eyes and hope that donations will suddenly start pouring more »
