The Power of Visual Storytelling

Statistics can be scary. 1 in 7 people in Arizona face food insecurity, or roughly ~1,000,000

people in the state. But beneath the surface of this statistic, there is so much more to be told. As a nonprofit marketer, I want to tell my audience more than just the numbers. I want to show a journey. 

With visual storytelling, nonprofits can transform statistics, dialogue, resources, and experiences into a powerful catalyst for donations and awareness. 

Let’s go on this journey together - 

1 in 7 people face hunger in Arizona. Now let’s think about our WHO and HOW. 

Who is impacted - Let’s think beyond the number. People with food insecurity may not have

access to food or may need money for rent and other essentials. We can also be more specific and engage certain audiences. Seniors, low-income families, students, persons with disabilities, and many more. Our story can give these people a voice as well as dignity. Each post can engage viewers to see the greater picture of hunger and how it impacts their local community.

Now let’s think visually – how can we tell a story using the information we have about hunger

and who is affected. We can showcase personal testimonies, show the joy of people receiving food, or how volunteers can prepare meals for the community. Why are these visuals so important? Visuals through photography and videos can directly show how a nonprofit helps the community, and for donors, it shows how helpful their donations are being used.

Who can help - We want people to see the problem at hand - food insecurity. Let’s tell people

effective ways they can help. When it comes to nonprofits, there’s typically 3 ways a person can donate. Time, money, or items.

Time – Volunteering to help the nonprofit operate.

Money – Money covers operating costs and allows the nonprofit to function.

Items – Personal items, such as clothes, or purchased items such as water or groceries, can help lift costs off of the nonprofit and provide direct support for people in need.

Each visual should have the goal of appealing to one of these 3 things to the audience – the

visual should resonate with the viewer to contribute in a meaningful way to your mission.

Now here’s the fun part, creating the content.

When it comes to nonprofits, there’s often campaign goals, monthly goals, people being served goals, goals, goals, goals. Visuals, often portrayed through social media, is a big support to any nonprofit to achieve these goals.

Above all else, let’s make this content genuine through scripted or non-scripted photos and

videos. Nonprofits are different in a sense that our purpose is our service, to help people. The transaction between donors and nonprofits can bring a lot more emotion than for profit

organizations. Let’s capture a moment, focus on the emotion it can evoke from the audience, and drive them to help the cause.

Photos – Snapshots of operations, graphics that show meaningful data, personal testimonies from people who received a service from the nonprofit, fun facts that are relevant to the cause.

Videos – Typically 30 seconds to 2 minutes, with longer form videos being reserved for Youtube.

Think of quick tidbits, a look inside how operations run, how the community comes together,

and informative topics.

The content itself has to pop out as people are scrolling on social media. Start with a hook, either a quick glimpse explaining the content the audience is about to watch or something that stops the viewer and makes them think. Utilize branding tools to keep your posts consistent. Think of your Instagram profile grid, each individual post is a chapter in a longer story that describes your

nonprofit.

Sharing stories is a powerful tool, not just for donations, but to help create a community around your nonprofit. When a story is combined with a powerful visual, that’s when you cultivate long lasting audience and further extend your organizations reach.