Using YouTube Video to Promote Your Cookie Dough Fundraiser
Have you ever wondered how to use video sharing sites such as YouTube to promote your cookie dough fundraiser? It seems hard to believe that YouTube has only been around for a few years -- the video sharing service launched in 2005 -- and yet, fundraising coordinators and individuals selling products for a fundraising event are still discovering the best ways to use video for promoting a cookie fundraiser.
While cookie dough fundraising is still an in-person fundraising event, where you sell to the people in your local community and later deliver the frozen cookie dough to them, there's no reason you can't use video sharing to get your message out there and increase sales. Here are a few tips for how to make an awesome video to promote your fundraising efforts:
1. Make Your Mission Clear. Tell viewers what you are fundraising for and why they should participate. Even though everyone loves gourmet fresh baked cookies, it can still be a challenge to make sales. Putting your message up front, clearly and concisely, will make all the difference. Whether you are raising money to support breast cancer research, improve the technology for a school, or raise money for new football and cheer uniforms, be specific.
2. Keep It Short. Most YouTube viewers expect something snappy and short, so try to get your message across in less than a minute. It helps to have an outline and practice a bit before filming, and use an editing program to stitch together your strongest moments.
3. Use Visual Aids. Photos, props, catalogs and other visual aids can help your viewers understand what they are buying from you. While we encourage everyone selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough to use our fundraising catalog gallery -- and you can link to that page from your YouTube video -- it's also important to use visuals in your video to get people excited and help them decide what flavors to purchase from you.
4. Ask For The Sale. Be specific in what you want your viewers to do, and tell them how to do it. Make sure that they know exactly how to get ahold of you to make a purchase of frozen cookie dough to support your cause, whether that's via email, a phone number, or a central place and time you will be available.
5. Share the Video. Make sure your multimedia efforts don't go to waste -- send your video out to family and friends in your local community via email, Facebook, Twitter, and more. If you use the Facebook share button right from YouTube, then your network can watch the video right in their Facebook feed without having to launch another tab.
Here's a FABULOUS example of how one group fundraising seller is using YouTube to sell more cookie dough for her school. We love how she makes her testimonial personal and uses an emotional message, "These cookies make your heart laugh." It's hard to resist, and I know if little Abigail was in my local community I would be utterly helpless to resist her sales pitch! We look forward to hearing about how the Crestwood Elementary fundraiser turns out, but with sellers like Abigail on the case, we have a feeling it is going to be epic!
Watch Abigail's video for the Crestwood Elementary Cookie Dough Fundraiser:
How are you going to use YouTube video to promote your cookie dough fundraiser? Tell us in the comments or post a link for us to watch your video!
