If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth something like a million.
So if you want to take your engagement with your audience to the next level, then I suggest occasionally including a brief video along with your weekly update. It doesn’t have to be complicated (in fact, it shouldn’t be) and the only criteria is that it’s authentic.
Why video is useful
The more dynamic nature of video format provides an opportunity for a deeper connection with your gospel partners and can have a big impact on how engaged your supporters are. Let’s have a quick look at some of the benefits of occasionally including video in your regular updates.
- Video is personal. When you include video, your gospel partners will become familiar with your face, your voice, and much of your personality. In short, they’ll begin to feel more connected to you on a human level. It’ll become easier for them to pray as they recall your face and your voice.
- Repetition strengthens communication. Including a brief video will augment and repeat the message you already included in your email and it provides an alternative way for your gospel partners to hear from you.
- Video can dramatically increase your email engagement.1 We live in such a video-centric digital culture that communicating by video is increasingly becoming table stakes. Statistically, your supporters are likely to be way more engaged with your updates if you occasionally include video.
Some video guidelines and tips
If you’re ready to take this next step into building a deeper connection with your gospel partners, let me help you get started by setting some reasonable expectations and sharing some tips to make starting easier.
- Your videos don’t need to be polished. This is a common place for people to get hung up. This can literally be a selfie-video from your phone and should not be over-produced. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, but beyond these don’t stress!
- Make sure you’re in a quiet enough environment that you’ll be heard.
- Make sure your lighting is bright enough that you’ll be seen.
- What you’re aiming for is genuine and authentic, not perfection. If you stumble over a word or two, no big deal! You’re human, and imperfection reminds your audience that it’s real life.
- Plan what you’re going to say first. Yes, I know. I said to make it authentic above. But authentic doesn’t mean “sloppy”. You should definitely spend a minute or two planning what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. Which leads to our next point.
- Repeat everything you’ve written for your email. Since you’re already outlining your updates before you write them, you can use the exact same outline for your talking points.
- Keep videos in the 1-2 minute range. All we’re trying to do here is offer an alternative way to engage with the same information you’re communicating with your email. If people see a 10 minute video load up, they’re much more likely to decide to “watch it later” when they “have more time”; it’s likely they won’t get around to it.
- Don’t forget the call to action! Repetition is critical with the call to action, so always make sure you include it in your video, too. If you don’t tell people what you want them to do, they won’t do it.
- Don’t get all fancy with the spices. At least, not in the beginning. For example, I’ve seen a number of missionary update videos that added background music. I generally feel this is distracting and detracts from the authentic feel you’re going for. Keep it simple!
Getting started with video
So, where do you start? Well, as I said above, the best advice I can give you is to keep it really simple and authentic.,
Don’t over-complicate this. You’ll be able to improve your approach and your techniques as you go.
There are literally hundreds of different video platforms you can consider using to share videos, but I’ve listed just a couple of my favorites below.
- Loom - Hands down, this is my absolute favorite video tool right now. You can easily set up a free account that will allow you to record up to five minute videos and the sharing and embedding options are fantastic. The security and privacy features will also be useful, especially for those of you in closed countries. The mobile app for recording and uploaded just tops off the list of reasons why I love Loom.
- YouTube - No doubt about it, YouTube is the reigning king of video sharing platforms. The chances are good that you’ve already got a Google account, so setting up YouTube should be a snap. YouTube is also free and has great sharing, embedding, and security options, but honestly I find managing my content library to be a bit more cumbersome.
- Vimeo - Another video platform that’s been around quite a while, has a free tier, and great sharing and security features.
- Bonjoro - Full disclosure: I have not personally tried Bonjoro, so I cannot personally vouch for how well it works. I’ve been reading and hearing a lot of good things about Bonjoro, though, and it definitely could be worth checking out if you’re looking for a platform to start with. They do have a free account for your first 50 videos, and their entire model is around building more engaging email, so this is still an interesting contender.
No matter what tool you choose, there’s no time like right now to get started. Your gospel partners will really appreciate getting to hear from you in a new and creative way, and this will help you to continue building stronger relationships with them.
Soli Deo Gloria
Zach
Life as a missionary is hard enough. Financial stress and lack of support make it harder. I can help. Schedule a free call to find out how you can build better relationships with your gospel partners and increase your support.