I am not a video expert, nor do I play one on TV. I am a nonprofit staff member who produces, edits, and posts videos to further our organization’s mission. I am an amateur, not a professional, in video. So my approach to videos is utilitarian, a means to an end. And I am learning.

This piece is the product of that learning, a kind of reward because others have helped me.

Video matters. Viewers watch an average of 32.2 videos in a month, and about 100 million Internet users watch videos online every day. More importantly, the Online Publishers Association says that 80% of Internet users recall seeing a video ad on a website they visited in the last 30 days. Of that 80%, 46% took some action after seeing the ad. Additionally, about 64% of website visitors are more likely to purchase a product on an online retail site after watching a video.

According to research by Visible Measures, 20% of viewers click in 10 seconds or less. It loses about 33% of viewers for 30 seconds, 45% for 1 minute, and almost 60% for 2 minutes.

While these statistics refer to retail and general usage, it’s not an exaggeration to say that nonprofit organizations can greatly benefit from increased, planned, and intentional use of targeted video.

Here are some principles for people, including many nonprofit executives, who are new or relatively new to “making videos”:

 Make a plan for how many videos you need, what topics, what length fits the topic and fits the social media or website where you want to post. Don’t just improvise. Systematically think about what you need and what result you hope to achieve.
 Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can post longer videos and people will see what they want. Not likely. Either they won’t look until they get the message you want to convey or they won’t look at all.
 Don’t fall in love with your own voice. Brevity is beautiful. Less than 2 minutes is essential. 30 seconds is better, 15 seconds even better, and if it’s like a TV commercial, only 6 seconds.
 Video clips can be specially produced, or you can create them from clips of your longer videos.
 Don’t worry about identifying yourself or the website. There isn’t enough time in the video to talk about this. You can easily add your name, title, website, and other contact information during editing using banners and inserts, or a 1-2 second final slide.
 If you need to make longer videos, and there is still room for 2-minute videos, or even 6-12 minute videos for certain presentations, write your text ahead of time, upload it to a teleprompter app (there are several available). available), and use the scrolling text like a politician speaking at a campaign stop to create your new video.
 If you’re using a mobile device to record video, learn where the camera is on your phone or tablet, then face the camera during short shots or position your scrolling text so you can face the camera. This allows you to “look into the eyes of the viewers.”
 If you are alone, use a tripod and, if possible, a remote control. If you don’t have a remote, no problem, start your video, step into the frame, smile for a second, and you’re done. You can edit the front-end later.
 I mention smiling. If you’re a natural, good for you, but when I’m thinking or stressed, like making a video, I can be unintentionally intense. So, I learned to smile a lot, even if it seemed fake at first, at first. My challenge now is to remember to keep smiling. It makes a difference in your video, as long as the theme fits with the smile.
 Be creative: inside, outside, with one of your children or pets, formal or informal, it depends on the topic and the audience.
 Short videos are about a topic or thought. Don’t try to say everything there is to say about your product or service. You can make more videos later. Go in, say something pithy, poignant, or poignant, and walk out.
 Remember lighting. You can look like an amateur or a professional faster in bad or good lighting, respectively, than in anything else you do. Most critically, you need good front lighting, then if possible adequate side lighting, and most challenging of all, unless you’re in a studio, some overhead lighting.
 If you want top-notch marketing videos, hire a top-notch professional and pay freight in person. There is nothing wrong with this. But when we live online these days, especially among the younger generation, what we care about is “authenticity” and “opportunity.” In other words, don’t be afraid to do a walking video, a video on the street, at your service location with some natural background noise. Be real. Be authentic. Communicate reality as you see it, which can actually be the opposite of “polished” marketing promotions.
 Don’t be afraid, in fact plan, to take several takes, or at least as many as it takes to get the tone and message you want. Review your video after each take. Look, look for forgotten things like that bit of clutter in the background or dim lighting or no smile, or her neck is crooked…etc. You don’t get great videos by accident. Work the process.
 You don’t need to spend a lot of money or necessarily hire professionals to do basic editing. It’s absolutely amazing, with a bit of practice and a bit of a learning curve, everything you can do on mobile or in apps like iMovie.
 Video is now important on Twitter, where people tend to “discover” video rather than “search” for it.

Spend some time on your preferred social media platforms. Research others, particularly competitors. Do not plagiarize but learn from them. What works and why? Taking the time to research is time well spent. It’s like Abraham Lincoln saying, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening my axe.”

Video is here to stay. The more you learn to use it, the more effective you will be at communicating your message.