YouTube: Broadcast Your Cause

• What is YouTube?
• Who uses YouTube?
  
• Pros & Cons
• Examples from the sector
• What You Need and How To Do It
• YouTube Channels
• Top 10 Tips
• Recommended resources

• Increase awareness and understanding of your cause and brand;
• Enhance your organization’s online presence;
  
• Build relationships with current donors, supporters, and volunteers; and
  
• Attract new donors, supporters, and volunteers.
  

• Tell your organization’s most compelling stories to the world
  
• Reach a potential audience of millions at little to no cost
  
• Publish video content online without worrying about technical issues
  
• Increase the value of your website through video content
  
• Build relationships with current and potential donors
  
• Build relationships with organizations with similar causes

• Potential negative comments
  
• YouTube videos can be embedded. This means users can take your video and post it on other sites such as blogs, Facebook, and MySpace. With this feature, your video can be taken out of context when posted elsewhere.
  

1. Click the "Upload" button in the upper right-hand corner of any YouTube page.

2. Enter as much information about your video as possible, including Title, Description, Tags and Category.
   

3. Determine if you want your video set to Public or Private. If you'd like to only select people you invite to be able to view your videos, choose Private. Otherwise, if you'd like anyone in the world to be able to view your videos, you should select the Public option.
   

4. Click the "Upload a Video..." button.
   

5. In the next window, press the "Browse" button to locate the video file on your computer.
   

6. Click the "Upload Video" button.
   

7. The amount of time required to upload a video depends upon your connection speed and the size of the video you're uploading. It can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. According to YouTube, for users with a high-speed broadband internet connection, the upload time is usually in the range of 1-5 minutes per MB.
   

8. Once you're video has been uploaded, YouTube will automatically convert it to the Flash video FLV format for use in the YouTube FLV player. This usually takes just a few minutes. Your video should be live shortly thereafter.
   

9. If you receive an error message when uploading, you should ensure that you're attempting to upload a file type that's recognized by YouTube, and that your video does not violate YouTube’s Terms of Use.
   

10. Share your video! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

    • Embed your video on you organization’s website. Copy and paste the unique HTML code YouTube automatically generates for every video. You can find this link on the grey panel on the left of your video’s page.  By clicking the “more info” link, you will find your video’s description, link, and embed code.
    • Share the link with your network. E-mail the link to the video to everyone you know! If they enjoy it, there’s a huge chance they will forward it to their network.
      

YouTube Channels
Everyone who joins YouTube can view their personal information on their profile page, which is called a “Channel”. It is a centralized location where other users can see your public videos, favourites, bulletins, comments, subscribers and video log.

You can customize your channel to your organization’s colour scheme and put up a logo. For an image to be used as your background image, it needs to be hosted on the web. You should see the URL in your browser's address bar when you're looking at the full-sized image. The URL should end with ".jpg" or a similar image file extension. You can also right-click the full-sized image and select "Copy Image Location". Paste this URL in the "Background Image" field.

This is also where you can select the particular video you'd like to have featured on your channel.

Remember to click the "Update Channel" button at the top or bottom of the page and wait a few minutes to see your changes take effect.

Share your channel! Go to your account and under "My Channel" click the "Profile URL" link. This section will display your YouTube channel's URL. Check out the MyCharityConnects Channel here.

YouTube: Top 10 Tips

1. Make sure you choose strategic keywords to tag and title your video. Often, an effective title or interesting tags can increase the number of people who click on your video. Remember the more information you include, the easier it is for users to find your video! Keep in mind that YouTube video pages appear in Google's search results. So it's possible that someone entering keywords related to your cause onto Google may stumble upon your video on YouTube without actually searching YouTube directly.
   

2. Connect with your viewers. Read the comments left on your videos, and reply to them. Maintaining an ongoing dialogue with your audience can help you build relationships and further your cause. Paying attention to viewer feedback can help you determine what you did well and what you can improve on for the next video.
   

3. Often, it's the most surprising content that sparks the most interest. That being said, you don’t need a huge budget to gain viewers. You can interview people who are affected by the work your organization does, record actions you are taking to solve problems in your community, or create photo slideshows featuring your organization’s work.
   

4. Update regularly. Having one successful video campaign is great, but your audience will lose interest if fresh content is not posted. Consider doing a video series.
   

5. Broaden your reach by embedding your video onto your organization’s website, on blogs, and on social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Include the link in your organization's newsletter, or e-mail it to supporters with an invitation to view, comment, and share.
   

6. Keep your videos reasonably short (under five minutes is ideal). If you have a longer piece that you really love, consider releasing it as a series.
   

7. Make sure your video does not infringe on copyrighted materials. Videos that YouTube deem in violation of copyright will not be uploaded. Violation often occurs when popular songs are used in videos.
   

8. Remember to include your web site address in the videos you upload and in the video description so it's easy for people to find you, learn more, and take action. You can even add annotations on your videos to increase interactivity!
   

9. YouTube viewers can be harsh. Be sure to check the feedback on your videos often so you can delete inappropriate comments, or reply to genuine comments.
   

10. Measure the impact of your video by monitoring your video view counts. The more view counts your videos receive the more people you are exposing to your cause and message. You can also see a demographic breakdown of your audience by age, region, and gender if you click on "My Account" and then go to "YouTube Insight.”
    

• YouTube Tips for Nonprofits by Katya Andresen
  
• Provide the Content Your Audience Craves by Groundspring
• Top 10 YouTube Videos for Social Good by Mashable. A great collection of videos that will surely inspire you to create your own!