[video via Youtube]

In the recent years, you and your nonprofit have undoubtedly encountered online video as part of your work. You may have been the subject of a video or even started experimenting with making your own. Regardless of where you are in video production, it’s important to optimally set up your organization’s online infrastructure on Youtube.

You don’t even need to have made your own videos in order to have a presence on Youtube. On Google, video search results are now more prominently displayed. This means that if a potential supporter googles the cause or issue you work on, they are more likely to come across videos about your organization… no matter if they’re made by you or by others. Why not take advantage of this attention? An active and fleshed out Youtube channel demonstrates how important this type of digital communication is to your organization.

In less than 30 minutes, you can follow the first three steps below to create an optimal Youtube channel (Steps 4 & 5 take more time). Once all your ducks are in a row, videos about your organization will have more impact.

To start off, you may ask, why Youtube and not Vimeo, BlipTV, or any number of other video websites? While these sites might equally useful and have their own pluses, I’m focusing on Youtube because of it’s popularity and all the tools and perks they offer to nonprofit organizations.

First off, Youtube terms: Every Youtube account has a unique “username” and “channel”:

• A username is what you use to sign into your account with and to upload/interact on the website. It is also part of the unique web address for your channel, ie. http://www.youtube.com/user/[username] Once created, you can’t change your username.
  
• A channel is your own webpage on Youtube where you can choose the title, layout and videos to display. Your channel is often the primary landing page for people when they look for you on Youtube or the webpage you should link to from your own website. Your username and channel title don’t have to be the same. You can always change the title of your channel.

Whether or not you have a Youtube channel yet, here’s a checklist of things to do when setting up your account (or if you’ve already got an account, steps that you take to optimize it). The first three steps will take less than 30 minutes to complete.

1. Create a Youtube account that’s accessible to your staff (now and in the future)

A. To activate an account, use a unique email address that more than one staff person has access to. If it exists, I recommend using the info@[your organization].org account for your organization. If you don’t have one of these, consider creating a Gmail account that links to the Youtube account (both sites are part of the same company).

B. Choose a username that relates to the name of your organization. Your username can only contain up to 20 letters A-Z or numbers 0-9. Your first choice might not be available so it might take time to find something available. Once you set up your account, you will use this username and password to access the channel. Later you can change the title of your channel (below).

C. When Youtube sends you an email to activate your account, save the email message. It’s vital that you save a “digital trail” for future staff. This email leaves a bread crumb showing what email the Youtube account is attached to. Archive this setup email message somewhere where others can find it in the future.

D. Create an accessible Word or Excel document that includes the username and password in it. With staff turnovers, it’s important to have this saved outside any one person’s brain. You can change the email attached to your Youtube account. But you can only have one Youtube channel per email address.

2. Apply for Youtube’s nonprofit program (see video above)

Youtube offers great perks for nonprofits like listing you in their directory, donate buttons and making it possible for you to embed clickable links to external websites like your own. While this might not seem important when you first start out, the approval process takes time. Why not go ahead and apply to get in the queue? Lots of other organizations are applying for this partnership, so why wait? Plus, once you’re approved, you’ll be able to experiment with and utilize these tools right when you need them. You must have current IRS 501(c)(3) status in order to be considered for this program.

To apply, you will need your organization’s Federal Tax ID number * and the names and contact information for key staff. To help you see what you’ll be asked, I’ve posted a PDF screenshot here.

First, make sure you’re logged in on your organization’s account. At the bottom of Youtube’s homepage, click “Creators and Partners” and then, on the left-side under “Partner Showcase“, click “Nonprofit Program“. Under the video, see the “Apply Now” section and click the Apply button to complete the online application.

* If your organization does not yet have 501(c)(3) status, use the name and Federal Tax ID number of your fiscal sponsor. For example, if you are fiscally-sponsored by the Tides Center, apply under the name “Tides Center – [your organization name]”. There is nothing wrong with this: you are using your sponsor’s tax ID while you applying for your own. You’re also avoiding getting automatically kicked out by Youtube’s application system.

3. Flesh out your channel

Once you’ve created your account and sign in, your username appears on the upper right of the Youtube webpage. Click on the arrow next to your username for a the drop-down menu to view your channel, inbox, etc.

A. Fill out your profile. Youtube offers you the opportunity to tell something about your organization in your profile: why not take advantage of it?

There are two ways to do this: Once signed in, find your username at the top right of any Youtube webpage. Click the arrow for the drop-down menu and select “Account” where you can edit your informaiton. You can also edit some of these sections directly on your channel (go to “My Channel” in the drop down menu).

• Add the web address for your organization’s website.
• Cut and paste “About” information from your website in your Youtube profile.
• Add your logo as your profile image.

B. Choose a channel title and layout

Arrow shows where to type title

As mentioned earlier, you can choose your channel’s title (different from your username) and appearance. For example, you might like to title your channel with your organization’s real name, spaces and all. Once signed in, find your username at the top right of any Youtube webpage. Click the arrow for the drop-down menu and select “My Channel”. On your channel, towards the top of the page, are tabs for you to change “Settings” (like your channel name and “tags” or keywords), “Themes and Colors”, “Modules”, etc. Youtube offers several  color schemes and moveable modules for your channel. You can make your channel match your organization’s website. It’s also possible to upload a background image.

• Change title of your channel.
• Add channel tags.
• Change the theme and colors for your channel.

C. Search for videos that spotlight your staff or organization and “favorite” them.

Two ways to "favorite" a video

Most likely there are already videos about your organization, cause, community or issue on Youtube. If you like them, “favorite” them (under each video) so supporters can see them too when they visit your channel (there are two ways to do this, see image to left). In the spirit of “share and share alike”, you can also create playlists of videos from partners and allies. You can also select what video you want as the central video on your channel: it doesn’t need to be your own but can be one of your favorites created by someone else.

• Favorite 2 videos on your issue or cause.
• Favorite 2 videos that feature your organization or staff.

D. Add friends and subscriptions.

Example of subscribe & friend buttons

Subscribe to the channels of your favorite video-makers. The subscribe button is usually next to their image or logo. You can “friend” individuals and other organizations on Youtube. This might seem superfluous but helps control commenting on your videos.

• Subscribe to 3-4 other Youtube channels (i.e partner organizations, supporters, etc.).
• Add 3-4 other Youtube users as friends (i.e partner organizations, supporters, etc.).

4. Help people find you

Let your supporters and followers know how to find your Youtube channel:

Example

• Put a Youtube icon, button or link on your organization’s website.
• Add the channel web address to your Facebook fan page.
• Through your Yotube profile, connect your channel to your Twitter account and Facebook fan page. Youtube will automatically send a tweet when you upload a video.
  

  Screenshot of inbox

5. Upkeep at least once a month

Just like pets and houseplants, Youtube channels need care and attention even if you don’t have new videos to upload.

• Check your inbox for new friends requests and only add people you really know. To access your inbox, sign in. Find your username at the top right of any Youtube webpage. Click the arrow for the drop-down menu and select “Inbox”. Look for highlighted items like Comments and Friend Invites.
• As you come across new videos on your issue or cause, favorite them (once you’re signed in).
• Add partner or supporter videos to playlists (under each video).

Now you’re set!

I’ll have more tips of optimal uploading soon.

Let me know how you fare with these steps. Leave a comment below or drop me an email.

Please watch and vote (banner at bottom of video). You can view other entries here (click on “Vote”).

Special thanks to Ramon Martinez, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, the City of Lights program , IDEPSCA and the Ditty Bops.

These days, you can’t help but hear that digital media technology is having a profound effect on our society: sectors from newspapers to photography to the movie industry are all trying to come to terms with the new emerging reality. Even so, some of the same old questions persist, like the place of “The Professional” vs. “the Amateur”. Some folks continue to see the superiority of professionally-created media. A few years ago I read Andrew Keen’s anti-internet screed, “The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture” and found his observations interesting if not a tad alarmist. It seems to me that digital technology is here now and our task is figuring out to make the most of it. I’m not denying the important place of professionally-made content: I’m only saying that we should respect amateurs for the surprises they might have in store for us.

For example, whenever I bring up “The Academy vs. Folk Art” in discussions about user-generated digital video, I’m often met with puzzled looks. To me, it makes sense. Last summer, I made a pilgrimage to “Paradise Gardens“, the landmark built by renowned “outsider artist” Howard Finster in Summerville, Georgia. Like many self-taught or naive artists, Finster was definitely seen as an outsider, perhaps even a little nutty.  But Finster saw himself as a man of visions. When I walked around the weathered remains of his chaotic sculpture garden/art park, I found myself admiring this vision and the gumption that lead him to build such a place. Finster learned his artistic skills by simply making art. In much the same way, amateur filmmakers attempted to create celluloid versions of Finster’s Paradise Gardens. Not long ago, I read the obituary of Sidney Laverents who created a nine-minute short “Multiple SIDosis” that is now listed in the National Film Registry alongside Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” and Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas.” (Note: I’m doing further research on more examples beyond white men: suggestions welcome…)

In the 21st century, digital videographers are also experimenting and learning while doing… but online. As Heffernan points out, “what’s surprising is how little the homemade videos [on YouTube] resemble the pro goods. Sure, there are parodies of mainstream clips here and there, but mostly the amateurs are off on their own, hatching new genres.” Just as Finster unwittingly created a new genre of visual art and Laverents extended our understanding of what is film is, we’re witnessing something similar happening online.

So what does this mean for movement-building for social justice? For one, we can all create and distribute media today like never before. Instead of geographically-specific art-sharing locations like Howard Finster’s art park in rural Georgia and Sidney Laverents living room, we now have the ability to share our social justice-themed art with lots more people… immediately. Of course, both men honed their technical skills over the years. Their successes created entirely new genres. In much the same way, videographers can create art… but it needs to be good: effective, compelling and interesting.

What excites me about video is that it is often collaborative. While it’s possible to make something on your own, the best video content always seems to come from interactive between people either in conceptualization, production and/or distribution. And collaboration, after all, is the cornerstone of civic engagement. It seems to me that if a group of people can see a video through to completion, they’ve learned something about collaborating, something that they can apply in their larger civic lives and social movements.

To quote Margaret Mead (as many have), “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Maybe we can add “…one video at a time.”

Lately I’ve been filming a lot of press conferences for local advocacy groups and a common response I get is “Will anyone really watch this stuff on YouTube?“ They have a point… to a point. But I still think filming press conferences is an important exercise for creating and posting content online. Here are my reasons:

1. YouTube channels are free kittens (or cultivating an audience). Someone once said, open source software is “free as in free kittens.” The same is true of tools like YouTube and other video sites: They might be free but they need care and nurturing to thrive. The public judges your organization based on how active your channel is. If you only have a few videos from your annual dinner, most online audiences will think that you’re not serious about using this technology or, even worse, out of step and behind the times. Keeping your channel active is the means of building and cultivating your audience, especially for when you need them in the future for fundraising or urgent actions. In this case, something is better than nothing.

2. Reviewing your public speaking skills. Everyone is curious about the way they look on camera. Taping the presentations you or staff make gives you the opportunity to review them critically and improve. Did you read too much and not look at the audience? Did you speak too softly or too quickly? Colleagues might be able to tell you these things but why not judge for yourself?

3. Documenting your organization’s work. Nonprofits have always struggled with letting the public know what they’ve been up to with the money they’ve donated. Newsletters and e-mail blasts are two examples of this need. But why not record your organization’s work in action, literally? For now, maybe press conferences are often the best way to do this. Videos give your supporters a taster or sense of the events your events, even if they can’t participate. Staff are summarizing and making compelling cases to a corporate media audience, exactly what you try to capture in words for your newsletters. If you want to, include video links in your e-newsletters to further impress your supporters.

4. Fact checking the media. “Did I really say that?” These days anyone can report the news but questions of accuracy and truthfulness are still of utmost concern. Video helps you fact check what was said at a press conference. It also contextualizes the quotes or sound bites that corporate media gloms onto.

5. Controlling and magnifying your message. Advocacy groups are often frustrated by how corporate or Big Media sometimes doesn’t get the story right or even cover the story at all. By videotaping your press conference, you are able to control what your major points and concerns are without hoping and praying that intermediaries will convey it correctly. If you’re building an audience online, you can communicate directly with the public without relying on a third party that might not get it right… or even show up at the press conference.

6. Practice using technology. In the entire history of human communications technology, internet video is very very new. Just like email, social networking websites and digital photography, we’re all still learning how video works. As Clay Shirky has said, “Tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring.” If you and your organization get in the habit of shooting, editing, approving and uploading video, it won’t be as big a deal. Your staff will become accustomed to the process and be able to put aside technical concerns in moving a project forward. You can also argue that it will help you save money. If you build your organization’s internal capacity to make video, you’re less reliant on “professionals” for small amateur jobs (As a consultant, should I be writing that?)

7. Creatively thinking about distribution. If you’re creating content, you have to also work to get people to see it. Apparently over 80% of online video’s viewership comes through blog posts. In other words, what bloggers do you know that you can rely on to help with distributing your videos? Have you been participating in online discussions and commenting on posts? Are you an active member on Facebook and Twitter? If you’re done the work in creating “street cred” online, folks will be more willing to share the videos you make. The more often you do this, the better. Bloggers, social network addicts and tweeters are always looking for visual images to link with their stories. If you have cultivated relationships with them and they look to you for primary sources like video, you’ll be able to depend on them when you really need them, like when you make that urgent video you’ve really invested time and energy, that you’re super proud of and need help distributing.

8. Learning what makes good online videos and changing approach. As some of you may have been thinking, are press conferences still really the best way to get out your message? This brings me back to the initial skepticism of posting these types of videos. Addmittedly press conferences don’t make the most compelling video content. Check out any of the videos below and you’ll see that many rank only in the 100-200 views range if that. But, in this case, the final product is not really the point.

Above are seven other reasons that filming even seemingly boring stuff is good for you and your organization. But the biggest reason is that it stretches YOUR thinking about online video. Once the technology of creating and distributing becomes rote and the internal processes of your organization start viewing video like creating simple Word documents, you’ll be able to take a step back and think about strategies for engaging your audience more effectively and spurring them to action. Maybe you won’t do press conferences as much. Maybe they’ll die away completely. If you’ve invested the time in practicing, you’ll be able to create even better content that will be better suited to reach your advocacy goals.

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Examples of recent press conference events that I’ve filmed (This is partially a ploy to get more viewers):

1. “Slice of life” or summary of an event: Short clips of different aspects of the event but not coverage of every minute.

• Reform Immigration for America launch in Los Angeles
• DREAM Act graduation in Los Angeles

2. Filming the entire event: Each speaker or event component is uploaded as separate videos and organized as a playlist. Everything is filmed except breaks and transitions between speakers.

• California Immigrant Policy Center statewide briefing
• Press conference in support of Alex Sanchez

3. Do you have other examples of video styles to cover press conferences and other organizational events?

I wonder what impact this practice will have on advocacy groups who want to use television footage in their video content.