"Did You Know?" series | brand awareness
Maia Anderson
"Did You Know" Series: Maximizing Video Engagement with Minimal Resources
charity: water | January - September 2024
The Challenge
charity: water faced a common nonprofit dilemma:
Algorithm and Favored Content Demands: Social platforms increasingly favored video content due to increase consumption by consumers
Resource Constraints: Limited production capacity for fresh video assets through the creative team
Education Need: Complex water issues required accessible explanations
Consistency Challenge: Needed regular video content without overwhelming the team
The Strategy
January 2024: Concept Development
During our Marketing & Growth offsite, I identified an opportunity to increase video output through strategic asset repurposing. I proposed a solution that would:
Create templated video format using existing B-roll footage (captured & shared from the creative team)
Add educational yet though provoking facts related to the global water crisis in order to increase awareness for the mission
Work with copy for liftable copy to scale the production of videos to once a week
Repurposed existing facts that were widely available through other teams but rarely shared externally.
Incorporate closed captions for accessibility and engagement
Optimize for both sound-on and sound-off viewing
February 2024: Implementation Process
I developed a streamlined production workflow:
Resource Optimization: Leveraged existing B-roll from our content library
The creative team created HQ videos shot horizontally that were anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours long footage from random moments stitched together. They shared 4-5 of those videos from different countries (Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Compilation, etc.). I would skim through each video, clipping 10-15 second clips that made sense to use for DYK videos.
Storyboarding Development: Created fact-based scripts highlighting surprising statistics
Template Creation: Established consistent visual styling and editing approach
Multi-Platform Adaptation: Optimized for the best Instagram & TikTok requirements
The Execution
Production System
I personally managed the production pipeline:
Content Sourcing: Collaborated with Brand team to identify usable footage
Script Writing: Researched and developed educational scripts through research from cross functional teams. After developing the 1st draft of copy, I formally shared the document with our copy lead to finalize the copy to ensure the brand voice was maintained.
Video Editing: Created final assets with consistent brand styling, though styling did vary since they development of the content type was extremely experiential
Publishing Workflow: Managed distribution across platforms though Notion & publishing usually though Sprout Social
Content Evolution
Between February and November 2024:
Produced 14+ "Did You Know" videos
Maintained bi-weekly to weekly publishing cadence increasing overall video views & brand awareness, organically
Covered diverse water-related topics while maintaining consistent format
Refined approach based on performance data
The Results
By the Numbers
Reach & Engagement
Generated approximately 128,000 reach across the series
Consistently outperformed non-video content by 3-4x
Achieved above-average save and share rates
Overall Impact
Contributed to 7.2% overall engagement rate (4.2x higher than nonprofit benchmarks)
Helped deliver 20.7 weekly content pieces (4.1x industry standard)
Supported our organic social strategy that maintained 3.7x higher reach than nonprofit benchmarks
Beyond Metrics
Established recognizable, branded content format that audiences anticipated
Created educational touchpoints that supported fundraising campaign messaging
Provided accessible entry points to complex water issues
Demonstrated our expertise in the water sector
Enabled consistent video presence without straining production resources
What Made It Work
Format Consistency Built Recognition: The templated approach created a recognizable series
Resource Efficiency Maximized Impact: Repurposing existing assets minimized production demands
Educational Content Drove Engagement: Surprising facts consistently generated higher shares and saves
Voice-Over Enhanced Accessibility: Human voice created emotional connection while ensuring accessibility
Cross-Team Collaboration Ensured Quality: Working directly with content teams maintained high standards
Key Takeaway
This series exemplifies my approach to content strategy: finding innovative solutions to resource constraints while maintaining high engagement and educational value. By creating a sustainable video format that could be produced consistently with minimal resources, we effectively met platform algorithm demands while communicating our mission and impact.
The success of this initiative contributed to our overall social media performance, which consistently outperformed nonprofit benchmarks by 3-4x across key metrics.
Like this project
Posted Feb 27, 2025
Developed innovative video series using existing footage that reached 128K+ viewers while requiring minimal production resources.
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Views
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Timeline
Feb 28, 2024 - Nov 27, 2024
Clients
charity: water
