 I'm Siobhan, I'm the head of Stories at StoryHunter, a video content and production marketplace. And today I'm honored to be part of TechSoup's conference that I know will inspire a new wave of creative digital storytelling. So in today's digital age, there are so many ways to share the incredible work you're doing, connect with your audience and create change. And one way is through the power of video storytelling. So to start off, let's watch a short reel that showcases some of the work that NGOs like the Gates Foundation and change.org are telling using the StoryHunter platform. So those videos not only have the power to educate but also to motivate. Did you know viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch a video, compared to 10% when reading texts. That's according to Sivya. So as an NGO, this is crucial if you want to galvanize donors, volunteers and the public. Today, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. This is up from 61% over the last five years. So what's the agenda for today? I'm gonna share with you how NGOs are tapping into StoryHunter's global community to tell compelling stories. I'm also gonna talk about video production and how you can get started and of course, save costs along the way. At the end, we have a special offer for you. So there are many different ways to make a video. You can go to an agency, you can work with one production house or you can try to do it yourself. But the solution that is proven to be most effective and creative is working with the community. That means you have access to local people on the ground who are part of the community and are passionate about causes that impact those communities. In short, they're people who care about the stories they're telling. Actually, that's how StoryHunter started. Jaren Galinsky pioneered sole video journalism and crisscrossed the globe telling stories, local stories from major news outlets. He founded StoryHunter in Brooklyn in 2012 and Alex Ruggier joined him as co-founder later that year. They wanted to connect media companies with a global pool of talented freelance. Since then, StoryHunter has grown from an independent network of video journalists to a technology platform that has multiple resources to help clients manage their video projects. Our mission, it's to inspire and empower the world's boldest storytellers through community and technology. And it's this mission that drives us to do everything possible for our community. Today, StoryHunter is a network of more than 36,000 freelancers in 190 plus countries. So why do the most trusted NGOs trust StoryHunter? They gravitate towards our community because they're looking to tell authentic and global stories. They want freelancers with knowledge of what's happening on the ground who can capture the texture of a story in a way that simply would not be possible if you were to fly an outside team of people into a location. Our freelancers are professional storytellers whose backgrounds are rooted in journalism. Now, Global Citizen is one example of an advocacy organization that trusts StoryHunter to tell its stories. By creating content about their causes and events throughout the year, Global Citizen was able to reach wider audiences and make a bigger impact. Now, there are many different video types and ways to tell your story as an NGO. And one great way to describe your cause is using animation as an explainer video. So Global Citizen hired an animator through StoryHunter to create this next piece. Let's watch. There's enough water on our planet for everyone. So why are one out of three people unable to access the toilet? In fact, 4.5 billion people that's over half the world's population lack safely managed sanitation. Ending open defecation by 2030 is achievable, but only if world leaders invest in water, sanitation, and hygiene. Need an incentive? In 2012, the World Health Organization estimated that for every $1 invested in sanitation, the global economic return is $5.50. Therefore, bringing benefits worth five times as much, benefits like health cost reduction and increased productivity. In 2015, bottled water sales were valued at $160 billion annually, and major worldwide companies were starting to put those profits to a good cause through a new tool called the Global Investment Fund. Hamburg, I'm holding in my hand some co-op bottled water. For every bottle that we sell in the UK, we give four US cents to poverty projects around the world. And over the last 10 years, we've raised $9 million with our partner, the One Foundation, making a difference for one and a half million people in Africa. Imagine how many lives could be affected if more businesses would allocate a micro portion of their water bottle revenue to support the Global Investment Fund for water. It's time for accountable governments that deliver on their promises and encourage local business. Consumers like you can make a difference through conscious buying. Our world has enough water and financial resources to ensure clean water and safe sanitation for everyone, everywhere. So let's work together and make it. Now, Global Citizen has created more than 150 videos through our platform. Now, video production can seem daunting if you're telling global stories, how do you manage and pay the freelancers you want to onboard? We have tools to help in that process. NGOs are using us because we have the power of an agency without the cost of hiring an agency. StoryHunter Select is our full-service production house for larger budget global projects. In StoryHunter Select, we handpick elite producers and crew based on your project needs. They can create bespoke branded series, global editorial content, marketing campaigns, digital ads, and more. So if you want to work on a bigger project and don't have someone in-house to manage the production, then you can consider StoryHunter Select. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has trusted StoryHunter to tell its global stories. They have worked with 31 crews across six continents. We created a production workflow for their team as per our Select service. Here's an example of a video they created. We'll watch about the first two minutes of it. They announced the first cases of COVID-19. I felt alarmed and I felt the agency to do something. I felt really enthusiasm to share information. So this is how I came up with the idea of the radio program. Through these programs that we are doing, we are making our community safe. We are making them healthy. Biggest long-commit is coming to more than 3 million people. So we needed to act. And being a part of that solution is actually one of the big things that motivates me. GVCAP is the name of Bihar Rural Emotion Society. It was constituted for poverty alleviation and market-organizing women with health groups for building communities. Like the COVID pandemic was declared, we started communicating with our SHG members, making them aware about the pandemic. So this entire process was such a community-led program and by our SHG members have shown their abilities to deal with the situation. So they hired story hunter freelancer Victor Ghosh in India who filmed that last portion in Bihar. He has over two decades of experience in building human-centered social brand campaigns. Here's a feedback Victor received from the Gates Foundation on the project. Victor is exceptional in navigating the complexities of community-focused content capture. He has solid relationships within the community to bring partners, city officials, and community members together to participate in great storytelling. That's from Sean West, who's a senior communications point person at the Gates Foundation. We also offer our freelancer management system. The Gates Foundation uses FMS to find and hire crews without the hassle of paperwork. So we've also added simple and fast payment methods that you can use to pay individual freelancers or crews anywhere in the world. If you're managing many freelancers across multiple platforms, you can also use FMS to make micro payment. So we've talked about how NGOs are telling their stories using our simple and effective tools. But what is the production process all about and what can you expect? Video production is broken down into several stages. The first stage is discovery, where you post a description of your project and discover and hire the right people to execute your vision. Then comes pre-production, where you determine the scope of your project, work on and finalize your script, scout locations and determine equipment. Once you're prepared, the production stage is where you capture the interviews and footage for your video. This is the most fun part and where your story really begins to come together. The final stage is post-production. That includes video editing, color correction, rounds of feedback and final delivery. Michael Pia is an example of a story hunter freelancer passionate about telling video stories for NGOs. He founded a production company called Reframe on the belief that stories can change the world. For the Gates Foundation, his team created five films in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, profiling women leaders in their communities and the work they are doing. Let's watch one video he produced. My community has some beautiful cultural moments and also someone who want to see change and the change can only happen if we invest in that guy. So we empower these women as groups. We are reaching out to girls. I want our women and the girls to be the ones who will bring the change in this country. I believe every girl has that right to dream and become what she wants to become. So we asked Michael about the production process for these videos. He told us that the foundation, the Gates Foundation has a vast on-the-ground network. So they were able to recommend who to feature in the short films. This enormously cuts down pre-production time. Michael's team then wrote the stories for the individual women, hired the local filmmaking teams through StoryHunter, book travel and worked directly with talent in pre-production. They handled all of post-production including editing, graphics and delivery. Here's a quote from Michael on the production process for the Gates Foundation. They're experts in their fields. They had a lot of really good input but it was up to us to say, here's all the facts and information. Here's how we put it together in a compelling story in film format. There is enormous value in having a local team on the ground who can handle all the logistics of shooting in remote locations. Michael's team efficiently coordinated multiple aspects of video production. Our freelancers are truly experts at what they do and will work with you every step of the way. So you may be thinking, I wanna create a beautiful, compelling, purpose-driven video for my organization but will it be expensive? The short answer, it depends. The costs depend on factors such as the number of shoot days, region and equipment. Here are some ways you can cut costs at each step of the production process. Now the pre-production process includes script writing, location scouting and scheduling shoots and it can take up time and money. Many production companies offer script writing services but if you're looking to trim costs off for writing the script at house, maybe you have a communications expert who can help. You can potentially receive script guidance from the production company you've hired. You can also save money by hiring a freelance crew, a couple of shooters and sound technicians instead of a full service production company. However, if no one on your team knows how to manage production, you'll probably get better results by finding a production company that I can see the project through to completion. Now you may end up spending as much money on flying out a production crew to the shoot location as on the production itself. Travel expenses also include hotels and meals. That's why it's cost-effective to hire locally. Lastly, the pandemic has changed video production workflows. We're moving toward a more hybrid future so there will be a limited number of people on set perhaps hired locally and the director can manage to shoot remotely in the comfort of his home a world away. There are production companies with highly efficient video, remote video production workflows in place. So look for those companies with remote technology set up as it will help you slash cost. So I asked Michael from Reframe how he tells high quality video stories for NGOs with varying budgets. And here's what he told me. If the budget is smaller, let's strip the art department and go with more of a doc style. This concept requires five people. Let's look at it with two instead. You do all these things up ahead. So by the time you get to the shoot, even if it's smaller, you can create something cool and engaging that hits the mark. So what Michael is saying is that the visual treatment of the video dictates the cost sometimes. If you want a cinematic video that will cost more, a documentary style will save you money because you no longer need the team who is responsible for developing that more cinematic style. So do you opt for a full service production crew or individual freelancers? If you wanna do something on the bigger side, look for a production company. They'll be able to manage a project with you in the best way. But if you have a smaller budget, then look for the small filmmaking teams, maybe an individual documentary filmmaker who has a couple of friends who can help. It's gonna be a little bit more of an organic experience, but as Michael says, it doesn't necessarily mean you're not gonna create an amazing film. To close, I'd like to share an inspiring video from change.org. They hired a freelancer in Canada who filmed and edited the video for under $1,000. We had a science fair project and I overheard my mom talking about how bad disposable cups were for the environment. I thought, oh, maybe we should survey people for a science fair project. Hi, my name is Maya and I'm from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Hi, my name is Eve and I'm from Calgary, Alberta. February, we started a petition called Startup Boxing where you can make a hashtag better cup. We surveyed 167 people and on the data we have, on average, 155 disposable cups just don't only per person per year. We wanted it to get to 900 and when it went up to 200, we were like so happy. And it got 344,000 supporters. Because they're all of the world. Yeah, we want them to be recycled. When we got to Seattle, the Star Wars headquarters and had a meeting with the Global Social Impact Team, and we gave them tips. Like, maybe they're partners, which is their employees, to ask the customer, would you like to stay or go and if they would stay, they would get an in-house match. And we were surprised by Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks at our meeting. I message for people that want to do the same thing as us. They just keep trying. They could, instead of if they really needed a straw to use, they could use stainless steel straws, so things that you couldn't reuse so that it's not just like reusable bags. So we hope you leverage the power of video storytelling to change the world. We're excited to share that we're offering $250 off all the service fees for the first project to start on StoryHunter. It's valid for 60 days starting today. So if you're looking for more resources on video production, follow our blog and social media channels where we talk a lot about the production process, ROI and feature key freelancers. Thank you for tuning in and I look forward to seeing the amazing content you create. Thank you. Great job, Siobhan. Thank you so much. I want to share my screen again one second. I do have a couple of questions to ask you. I appreciate everyone tuning in and your comments, everything in the chat room. Thank you so very much. Give me one second to get this going. So Siobhan, I did want to ask you for, I know this is freelance, kind of like there was a website that was freelancers where you can get people to write scripts for you or do graphics for you. And storytelling is compelling. We know that video is compelling, whether it's YouTube, social media, Facebook, Instagram. So for the people who cannot afford, like small nonprofits that cannot afford a freelancer, what do you suggest them? Like you said, I heard you say, write your own script and then maybe use them for a certain portion. Would that be one of your suggestions? Yeah, I mean, the freelancers will really work with you. So whether you have a lot, like a big budget or a small budget, you kind of do all of that pre-production upfront. So you will look for who can work with you and still tell the best story within your budget. Like it could be some, it doesn't have to be like a big fancy production. You could really strip it down and still get your message across. So that's something you do in the pre-production stage. Awesome, awesome. And let them know if they have a question how they can reach you or your team directly because I know there are gonna be lots of questions after this. Yeah, you can tweet us at atstoryhunter and we're also on Instagram at the same atstoryhunter so you can DM me and I'll do my best to answer all your questions and please send them our way. We're happy to help. Awesome, awesome. One second, give me one second. There was a question here in the chat and I'm not, we're not gonna, we can't go to all the questions. People wanna know, would this be available afterwards? Yes, we're going to email you the video. We're gonna email you all the slides and all the presentations by, we said October 12th. So you'll have everything by October 12th. And I wanna show if anybody is interested in partnering with us and wanna be a sponsor, I'd like to show you how you can sponsor. There's one thing you learned today put in the chat room one takeaway that you learned today. I know I learned from watching the different videos that videos definitely are compelling. I learned a lot in a short amount of time just by seeing the video, but type in your one takeaway from the day. One thing you learned today. Awesome, I'm looking at the chat room and some people are just joining us, welcome. Type in your one takeaway that you learned today. Need to plan ahead. Yes, Siobhan, they said a wonderful presentation. Absolutely, definitely need to plan ahead. You make a lot of money by making videos, absolutely. And money is what you need to keep your nonprofit going, right? 95% of the video information is absorbed versus 10% of the texts, so true. Oh, somebody said, I learned that I know more than I thought, very good, very good. Video stories are powerful, yes they are, yes they are. This is great. Good, presentation stimulated my creativity and gave me some innovative ideas. Yeah, I was thinking that too while I was watching. I was like, hmm, that's a great idea. Love it, love it. I learned making videos excessively friendly is a must, so true, so true. So you still see my slide? Just wanna make sure. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Susan Timby at TechSoup, that's S-T-E-N-B-Y at TechSoup.org, S-T-E-N-B-Y. So we're gonna go into our next session. The next session is Why Tiktok for Nonprofits. That's gonna start at 8.30 Pacific and 11.30 Eastern Standard Time. So stay logged in, go grab your coffee, your water, but stay logged in, we'll be waiting right here for you. Do not close air meat, we're gonna be here all day. So just keep your computer open and we'll be here all day and we'll see you at the next session. Everybody have a great day.