Moped Newsletter Hits the Pavement!
Here we go....
August 2009 - Vol 1, Issue 1
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THE MOPED NEWSLETTER is full-speed ahead! Starting off monthly, we'll be sharing a bit of know-how, a bit of news you can use, a bit of celebrating our supporters (read - you), and our favorite part: a bit of storytelling.

A bit of our own story: Moped Productions is a media consulting and video production company that works closely with non-profits, community organizations, and businesses to help them create their own spotlight. Organizational Storytelling is at the core of the marketing, outreach and fund raising materials we've created. Check out our highlight reel. We've also done quite a bit of lifestyle, entertainment, documentary and journalistic production. You can view much of our past work on our website.

In this newsletter, we plan to keep you posted on the great resources we come across every day, such as Lisa Smith Writes, which had a crucial role in getting this first newsletter together (and Lisa's team was wonderful to work with!), and the amazing clients we are honored to partner with, most recently Theatre Communications Group in Manhattan, NY.

Since (for now) we'll only doing this monthly, we want to make it worthwhile. And worth sharing. So we take on the responsibility of providing useful, meaningful, relevant information to you. We invite you to send us related articles, videos and events for us to work into this newsletter (credited to you of course).

We hope you'll enjoy this journey forward as much as we have enjoyed the road here. We welcome all your insights, comments and questions, and hope you'll also follow our new blog.

Our goal, as with all we produce, is to entertain, inspire, and of course MOBILIZE! So with that said, let's get this engine started.

Video! Video! Video! Wait. We are on a moped, not a speed racer. Even as inexpensively as digital media comes, let's put some thought into what needs to happen before you decide to roll tape.

Let's begin at the end.

We work with a lot of non-profit organizations that aim to reach and expand their young audience base, meaning everyone from high school students to young professionals.

One of the most challenging things to do these days is to create something, and then ask that demographic to 'tune in.' Most are going about their hyper-busy, multi-tasking, multi-gadgeted lives, and the things they watch exist in places they are already really committed to.

So ask yourself, where is your audience? Now, are you in those places? Yes? Great - then roll away. If you answered no, it's a good time to find out how to break in - without shattering anything.

We're really talking about how to get your video past the YouTube trap. In some cases, organizations are well on their way to being social media mavens, but for others, it's new territory that, without entry, threatens that the amazing video you commission ends up being seen once and then collecting dust on your shelves -- or slipping into the online abyss of piano-playing kittens and dancing wedding parties. It takes too much money and manpower to create something really smart, really entertaining, and really compelling; don't let "dust" happen to you.

Once you start putting the dissemination plan in place, you can feel good knowing that once you have that video done, it will have a very full schedule for inexpensive distribution to where your target audience already is. A movie studio doesn't spend millions on production to then let people find out about the film by happenstance. They actively market the movie where their audience is. You are now that video's press agent. Get to it!
social media
  • Ask. You know about Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. But there other places, online and off, where young people are paying attention. Ask your supporters, or your supporters' children, to share what they find themselves responding to.

  • Manage, Monitor, Deploy. You don't have to try to keep up with all the new social media tools yourself. Consider creating a Junior Board and empowering them to administer your online message, strengthening your online presence in the spaces they exist in themselves, and in all the other places they know about.

  • Strength in Community. Create a Facebook Group and invite your existing board members, staff and volunteers to share pictures of activities relating to your organization. Create healthy competition by rewarding those who recruit the most friends to the group. Use the group to keep people informed and connected to your work.

  • Record and Recount. Consider purchasing a Flip camera to inexpensively capture footage of what's happening on the ground through your programs. Have everyone in the video share appropriate clips with friends, along with a short story about the experience, as an advocacy and recruitment tool.

  • Post It and Pass It On. Ask your supporters to post links to your event invites, pictures or videos on Twitter and Facebook. Ask everyone who appears in past photos to share with their friends, multiplying your reach by the amount of people they each know.

  • Share Your Stories. Invite your younger supporters to write contributing blog articles or stories for your newsletter. They will want to share this with everyone they know.

  • Share Your Stories More. Reach out to other bloggers who write about related issues or organizations. Ask them to interview you or share your stories.

  • Optimize. Upload your videos through Google Video so that it comes up in general online searches based on words you tag your video with.

  • Seek User-Generated-Content (UGC). Once you have an online audience, these videos, compiled into a well-edited piece, can serve as continued volunteer recruitment and fund raising tools to be used across all your video distribution channels.

  • Cross-Market. Your website should include links to all social media appearances. And all your print, outdoor and social media platforms should include links to the same, so you are constantly driving traffic to all your hubs.

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    donation
    This past spring, we conducted a survey about the generational motivations behind charitable giving. Here is a little food for thought as you continue to develop fresh marketing tools that are smart, simple and share-able.

    How They Give:

  • Gen X donors prefer to give money by making a gift online and attending fundraising events.

  • When online, they find non-profit websites through a variety of web channels, including social networking sites, blogs, news articles, ad words, general word searches, and direct emails from friends.

  • They primarily make online donations directly through a charity's website versus third-party donation sites.

  • They cite email as their primary way of wanting to be solicited for future donations.

  • They value being solicited by friends or trusted acquaintances.

  • They have low response rates to mail solicitations and zero response rates to phone calls.

    • Excerpt from Generational Motivations for Charitable Giving Report © 2009 Moped Productions LLC
    AT25 web banner
    American Theatre Magazine is the leading theatre arts publication put out by Theatre Communications Group. As the magazine turns 25 years old this year, supporters, staff and artists are reflecting on the past, present and future state of theatre arts in America. Moped Productions produced a video speaking to the evolution of the magazine, and focusing on TCG's goal for the future in an era when support for the organization's mission is more important than ever. The video is part of an effort to engage supporters in a more profound way.

    Will Critzman, TCG Director of Development, contributes the following:

    "When Moped signed on to produce a video testimonial for American Theatre magazine's 25th anniversary, I knew we were taking the celebration of theatre journalism in America to the next level. Now more than ever, theatre and theatre journalism are at pivotal moments of opportunity. As new media tools emerge, as we remember the importance of face to face communication and as we are continually reminded of the power of story telling that is theatre, this video document is a mark of great things to come for Theatre Communications Group and for the entirety of theatre in America."

    Thanks to Andy Scerbo, Joey Williamson, John Faison and Andrea Nagler for their great work on this project. Look for the Moped print advertisement in the July/August edition of American Theatre magazine!

    We always welcome your feedback! Email us with ideas, questions, comments or compliments at info@mopedproductions.tv. Please let us know if you are not open to us sharing your comments.

    Moped Productions, LLC is an award-winning, full-service media consulting and production company dedicated to turning your mission into a powerful, customized visual message. We partner with non-profits, businesses and other producers to create strategic and compelling sales/marketing, entertainment and education media tools, engaging all distribution platforms.

    Moped Productions is a Certified W/MBE in New York City and New York State.

    You are receiving this email because you have worked with or expressed interest in this organization. Please remove yourself from the mailing list by clicking unsubscribe below, if you do not wish to continue receiving this newsletter.

    Moped Productions - Mobilize Your Mission

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