Eric Whelan, Sounddelivery www.charitycomms.org.uk/events

1. Measuring and Communicating
Your Impact Conference
29 June 2011
CharityComms is the professional membership body for charity communicators. We believe charity communications
are integral to each charity’s work for a better world.
W: www.charitycomms.org.uk T: 020 7426 8877

2. Using Multimedia Content
Eric Whelan
Producer, sounddelivery
@ericwhelan

3. About Us
• Small digital media training, production and
consultancy company
• Work with the charity, not-for-profit and
heritage and museums sector
• Our mission is to help organisations change
the way the communicate and reach as many
people as possible using free and cheap tools
www.sounddelivery.org.uk

4. The Media – What’s Different?
• The type of media that is
available to us has changed
• “Multimedia” is now used
all over the web
• Even traditional media is
being affected – for
example, radio-friendly
press releases

5. What is Multimedia content?
• Audio
• Video
• Blogs
• Photos
• Social Media presence
• Any kind of content that isn’t simply a single
piece of text

6. What does the Content allow us to
do?
• Show our supporters the good work we’re
doing and where their donations are going
• Tell true stories of the lives of our
beneficiaries – particularly useful for annual
reports, newsletters, press releases etc
• Give a more human face to our
organisations
• Multimedia content is a fantastic way to
fundraise

7. Who’s using Multimedia Content?

8. How are they using it?

11. What happened next?

13. • Content was picked up by several
departments of the Guardian, including
Society Guardian and the Joe Public blog
• As a result, content was seen by many more
people than it otherwise would have, raising
awareness of the work that Carers UK do
• What do you think would have happened with
these stories had they only been in text form?

14. What about smaller charities?
• It’s not just large charities
that are using multimedia
content
• Tiny, start up organisations
are also creating incredibly
successful multimedia
campaigns
• They are doing this by
utilising free and
affordable tools

15. Case Study
www.colalife.org

16. • Charity that campaigns for Coca-Cola to allow
life-saving “aid pods” to be delivered to Africa
with their cola shipments
• The pods contain vitamins, rehydration salts,
supplements and more
• ColaLife have designed the aid pods
themselves and have just been registered as a
charity

17. What kind of content are they
creating?
• Videos diaries
• Audio pieces
• Photos
• Blog entries

18. Multimedia content get pride of place right on
the homepage

22. Why does this content work?
• Very personable, giving supporters an insight
into the charity
• Makes the people behind the charity
approachable, meaning people are more likely
to engage with them online and spread their
message
• The content is easily shareable – an important
factor when it comes to getting your content
noticed

23. Case Study
www.childsifoundation.org

24. • Organisation working in Uganda to help local
children and families
• Opened up a Mother and Baby centre last
year, providing support, care and even
temporary placement for local families
• Supported by volunteers and donors

26. Child’s i Hompage
• The entire website is built around a
Wordpress blog
• This means that people working on the
project can easily post updates and share any
content they have created without the need
for a web team
• Readers know exactly who has posted the
update, creating a more direct connection
with the content

28. Who do you think this video was for?
• Supporters
• Stakeholders
• Donors
• The media

29. How does it help?
• Content like this (in video, photos or audio
form) really shows off the work that the
organisation is doing
• It also shows donors where their money has
gone to.
• Being able to clearly see exactly what has
been done with donations is likely to
encourage donors to return and will engage
new supporters

30. What do you notice that’s different
about the “Our Mission” page on the
website?
Why do you think it’s done this way?

31. Points to Remember
• With both Child’s i & ColaLife, multimedia
content is key to their online presence
• This is true of many organisations and we
have started to see a shift towards the use of
videos, and audio to tell stories rather than
traditional text
• Always consider if you can show your story,
rather than tell it

32. Points to Remember
• The key to multimedia content is it’s
shareability
• You can easily embed audio, video, slideshows
and images into blogs, websites, on your
social media presence etc
• Unless you’re speaking about a particular
event, try to keep your content timeless by
not mentioning dates etc

33. Where to with your content?
• It’s important to remember to think of where
your multimedia content can go
• It allows you to offer ready-made content for
journalists. The media are screaming out for
your content!
• Don’t be afraid – pick up the phone and get in
touch with editors, Clare Horton especially
• Real stories will get you heard

34. Questions?

35. Get in Touch
Email: eric@sounddelivery.org.uk
Web: www.sounddelivery.org.uk
Twitter:@ericwhelan / @sounddelivery