Lights, Camera, Community!
Perhaps the most dynamic medium available to help engage members and prospects – or volunteers and donors – is video. And now, due to the success of YouTube, video has become so omnipresent that people seek and often expect it as part of almost anyone’s story. In short, you need video on your website, on YouTube, and perhaps elsewhere.
But creating that smile-inducing and perhaps even tear-inducing video is not a matter of just bringing smart phones to events and recording the proceedings hand-held and jittery, with the audio virtually undistinguishable. Development of “a video to kvell over” requires a plan, and producing according to that plan rests on a commitment to professionalism.
Choosing Your Cast
A synagogue must consider appropriate video roles for clergy, school faculty, and current members. Perhaps the most important elements in a video are the testimonials – from members and/or donors. The lay leaders of an organization at the time a video is produced are less important, as they will leave their leadership roles at some point and thus shorten the accuracy and perhaps the shelf life of the message. A video should be produced as a “keeper,” not something that needs constant updating. Thus, what to show and what not to show are vital decisions.
Organizations need to include donors, volunteers and recipients as testifiers. Synagogues should interview eager young members and delighted Bar/Bat Mitzvah families who talk about their intentions to remain in the congregation because they see their involvement as reaching far beyond just preparation for their child’s life cycle event. Another excellent interview is with one or more very lively seniors who have been members for decades – the “pillars.”
More than “Talking Heads”
In all cases, be sure to encourage people to say things that are distinctive and memorable – to move beyond the same-old-same-old statements of praise that comprise too many same-old-same-old testimonials. Talk to them in advance of the taping session, and ask them to think of stories that illustrate the kinds of things they will say. Their stories will paint “word pictures” that go way beyond the usual “I just love it here!”
Then consider the issue of eyes – yes, eyes. Too many camera operators ask the interviewees to look to the side. The assumption is that they are speaking to some interviewer – yet we never see that interviewer. As opposed to this, I routinely ask all interviewees to look directly at the camera. Many camera operators say, “Oh, it will never work. People are too camera shy.” When I try it, it works – at least 90 percent of the time. The goal of testimonials is to create conviction – and Shakespeare said it better: “The eyes are the window to the soul.”
And . . . Action!
Great videos do not just happen – they are built on planning. When preparing to record an event, provide advance direction. Once on the spot, look at backgrounds and make sure that extraneous items (e.g. trash cans at an oneg) are removed. If you are taping a hora and someone falls down, ask them to start again. None of this is done for the sake of looking staged or to seem contrived. It is done to make your organization look organized and professional. To further engage congregants, your synagogue video must be a point of pride. To create desire among prospective members, a synagogue video should present a place where people feel belonging and value when paying dues. To encourage volunteerism and donations, the video should present an organization as having its act together.
This makes the case for not over-relying on volunteers. Every organization has a board member or a relative of a board member who has “a cool video camera” and maybe even an editing suite. You must be very careful to engage only those people who will give you the end product you want – and who will produce it on time.
Does the use of video still seem a bit much? That may have been the case years ago. Now, however, there is a growing understanding of the power of video messages. Visit the websites of colleges, hospitals and summer camps and you will see how strongly they rely on that power to build and maintain positive perceptions – and to help create feelings of community.
Steven Cony is a marketing communications consultant who assists a wide variety of clients, including Jewish organizations, summer camps and synagogues. He helps clients identify solid strategic direction for branding and messaging, than moves on to create all the marketing tools needed – including video, print collateral materials, direct mail and more. His company, Communications Counselors LLC, is based in Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York. Learn more on his website.
Deepen the Learning: Check out our latest e-blast for links to Jvillage members making innovative use of video, as well as other related resources.
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