Great Cause Video

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about how to create a great video for video sharing sites like YouTube and GoodTube. I found a great example to share with everyone.

The video was created by Haagen Daas to raise awareness of their cause- saving bees. Haagen Daas uses honey in almost all of their products so it’s clear why they decided to support this cause.

This video is great!

The best thing about this video is that the message is simple and not  revealed until the end. Users watch this silly video in order to determine what it is all about.

Creating a Video for YouTube or GoodTube

aster internet speeds mean websites with rich media capabilities.   YouTube, GoodTube and GodTube are all video sharing sites that millions of people visit each day.  The ability to reach a worldwide audience is as simple as uploading. You know the technology is there, you know the audience exists now what to say.

There isn’t a  formula for a successful online video it depends on a number of factors- your message, your audience and your platform.  It is important to lay out a simple plan for the videos you put online considering all of these things.

The first step of any successful campaign is to watch your competition. When considering online video, don’t just watch non profit videos or cause related videos watch all videos. You are competing for the attention of the online audience, everything is game.  Take some time to watch the most popular YouTube videos in all categories. Then take sometime to watch popular videos that relate to your cause on more specific sites like GodTube, GoodTube or DoGooder.tv. Take note of the videos that capture your attention and those that don’t.

Then select five videos from the ones you view and put them in one of the following categories:

Humor- videos that get attention and keep it with something absurd
Dramatic- videos that grab your attention by focusing on the drama of a situation
Edgy- captures your attention by challenging your views
Emotional – video that captures your attention by playing to one of your emotions
Sexual(non pornographic)- captures your attention by appealing to ones sexual nature

After you have categorized the five videos ask yourself, which category could I use to tell the online world about my cause? Then focus on that category, watch the videos you put in that category, watch the first thirty seconds and try to identify what caught your attention. Watch the rest and identify what held your attention.  Now ask how can I incorporate this into my video?

It is also good to take sometime and watch a couple awful videos. Videos that don’t hold your attention, bore you in the first 10 seconds and ones you would never watch again. If you start mentally taking note of the good and the bad in online videos you will teach yourself how to create a great video.

Stay tuned to GoodBlog for more video tips. If you want some sound advice on production check out these simple production tips from the producer of “Profiles In Caring”. An emmy nominated tv series about non profit organizations and volunteering.

Web 2.0 Badges

It seems that almost everyone today has a blog, MySpace account or website. These pages are easily customizable and offer internet users a place to express themselves. Why not give your supporters something to decorate their space with?

If I had one piece of advice for all non profit organizations that want to increase their online presence, it would be to design and create a Web 2.0 badge. Now some of you may be reading this and have a blank stare…what is a web 2.0 badge?

A web 2.0 badge is simply a graphic people put on their website, blog or social networking site to express themselves. Web badges are generally small and come in all shapes and sizes.  Organizations post the badges on their website, usually as a .PNG, .GIF or .JPG, which visitors can download or copy from the site.  Then post the badges on their blog, social site or web page.  A couple of badges I came across ask visitors to link the badge back to their website or include their web address in the badge (see below).

Recently, I found a website called GreenJobsNow that incorporated web 2.0 badges into their marketing plan.  The website promotes this idea of building a sustainable economy from green jobs. For instance, erecting wind turbines, installing solar panels and planting gardens.   To show support for the idea they created the following badges that anyone can download and post on their various pages to show support.

Putting these badges on my blog was simple, all I did was:

- Download the image

- Upload the image to WordPress by selecting insert image

ASPCA is another organizations that uses Web 2.0 badges to promote their cause. From the ASPCA’s MySpace page anyone can copy the code of the banner below then paste it on their MySpace page or into their blog.

Providing the html code on your page is great because all people have to do is copy the code and paste it where they want it- no download no uploading. The downside to only providing a code is some people may not know where to paste the code so that is show up as an image.

While your organization is going into planning mode for the fourth quarter why not incorporate these simple Web 2.0 badges into your marketing plan. Here are a few ideas:

- email the badges to past and present donors and encourage them to add them to their blog or social networking pages
- Post the badges on your website, blog and social networking site with instructions for adding them to a blog, website and social networking page
- create more than one badge, give supporters a variety

- Host a design contest and have supports select the ones they like best

- Give the badges as gifts to donors

- Post a video on GoodTube or YouTube then create a badge that links to the video or your organizations video page

The possibilities are endless.

Tell me about your organizations success or failures using web 2.0 badges and post your favorite badges here and we will all vote on our favorites.

Celebrate Women’s Health Month

Why You Should Care About Women’s Health Issues

It’s Women’s Health Month, and we at GoodTube have already received several great videos that highlight women’s health organizations. But some of you may be wondering, “Why do we dedicate a month to focusing on women’s health?”

Here are 3 reasons why we need a month for women’s health:

1. Although men and women suffer from many of the same health issues, women’s bodies react to them differently.
2. Women experience some unique afflictions that men do not.
3. Either naturally or through conditioning, women in general are prone to neglect their own well-being in favor of their children and significant others. With many women working as well as caring for families, often as single mothers, their health takes a back seat to the demands of daily life.

And so many women suffer from painful, and sometimes deadly, afflictions. Even with fully preventable or treatable illnesses. Even in modernized, Western countries. Whether you are a woman yourself with intentions of living a long, healthy life, or a male who has a woman or women in his life whose well-being you care about, Women’s Health Month is an invitation to learn how to help women take care of themselves.

There are many women’s illnesses that we could discuss, but one that seems to be particularly prevalent lately is HPV, or human papillomavirus. HPV is a group of over 100 common sexually transmitted viruses that causes many cases of cervical cancer. Although a simple PAP test can reveal changes from HPV which may lead to cervical cancer, there were still an estimated 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer in 2007 in the U.S., according to cancer.gov. There are high and low risk HPV viruses, and repeated outbreaks of the high risk types are the highest risk factor for cervical cancer. This is particularly unfortunate because of the significant increase in possibility of survival when cervical cancer is detected early.

What’s a woman to do?

1. Take the first PAP test at age 21, or 3 years after beginning sexual activity, whichever happens sooner.
2. Schedule annual pelvic exams and PAP tests.
3. Women who are between the ages 9 and 26 and who are not sexually active have available a new vaccine called Gardasil. Gardasil can also be effective in sexually active women.
4. If possible, reduce risk factors associated with HPV. Risk factors for HPV include: having many sexual partners, having many children, smoking, and birth control pills.

Treatment for cervical cancer is much more effective when detected early. Yearly exams are very important, especially for women who have the associated risk factors.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/HPV

“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.”
-Janis Joplin