If you thought YouTube was just for watching videos of dancing dogs or out-of-control celebrities, then you’re missing out on a valuable resource for club promotion. Rotary clubs worldwide are taking advantage of this popular video Web site to publicize their activities, recruit members, and raise funds for projects.

Type “Rotary club” into YouTube’s search box and about 1,200 video choices appear. Rotaract clubs have more than 1,200 videos playing on the site, and Interact clubs have about 600. Even Rotary International is getting in on the act with its own nonprofit YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/rotaryinternational, featuring Humanity in Motion public service announcements and stories from RVM: The Rotarian Video Magazine.

“This is one more tool we can use to tell Rotary’s story. It doesn’t do away with print or radio promotions; it’s just another way to market the organization,” says Chris Offer, past governor of Canada’s District 5040.

Why YouTube?

Founded in 2005, YouTube is the leading video-sharing site. Some 68 million people – the sixth-largest audience on the Internet – click on youtube.com each month. What’s more, the largest segment of users in the United States is age 45 and older, and the third-largest is between 35 and 44. Clearly, YouTube isn’t just for kids.

But why be content with just 68 million? YouTube makes it easy to share your videos with anyone: friends, family, potential Rotarians. “I can post a video about why someone should join Rotary or support our fundraising effort and send a link to 10 people I know. Hopefully, they’ll send it to 10 people they know and so on,” says Offer, describing the viral-marketing aspect of YouTube.

After he posted a video promoting his district’s conference, Offer, a member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver Chinatown, B.C., sent a link to every Rotarian in his district. As of early April, the video had attracted over 700 “views.”

Rotarians also can embed videos from YouTube into their own club or district Web sites. To complement the announcement of the US$100 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse, Ill., USA, embedded RI’s Humanity in Motion polio video into its site. The club took advantage of this public relations tool to share Rotary’s commitment to polio eradication while adding visual interest and impact to its home page – at no cost.

YouTube success stories

When the Rotary Club of Jacksonville-Oceanside, Fla., USA, was looking for a creative way to raise funds in 2007, it turned to the video-sharing site. Taking advantage of YouTube’s free technology, the club organized a talent contest and asked participants to upload a short video of their performance to the site. Contestants then paid a registration fee to the club to have their videos embedded on its contest Web site, where visitors were invited to vote – for a fee of $1 per vote – for their favorite videos.

Through registration fees, electronic votes, and ticket sales to the live final competition, the club raised around $7,000 for its charity fund. Even though the original goal was three times that amount, the club plans an encore performance next year.

“The problem wasn’t with YouTube; I think some people were intimidated by the technology. But those who are in tune with it thought it was awesome,” says Jacksonville-Oceanside’s new president, David MacInnes.

Clubs also are using YouTube to share videos of club and district service projects, fellowship events, and Group Study Exchange outings. Vancouver Chinatown’s Offer, who is a regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, posted a video created by an Ambassadorial Scholar who was asked to share her experiences with future scholars. Rather than submitting a written report, Shannon McMahon created a video of her year in Istanbul. The YouTube video has received more than 500 views.

What are you waiting for?

As with most technology, the hardest part is getting past the fear of the unknown. But once you’ve created a YouTube account – a free and virtually painless process – you’ll be ready to go.

After you’ve registered, you’ll have a channel where you can upload your videos, and YouTube provides a number of ways to customize it, including options to allow comments and post personal information. (Note that unless you specifically choose not to display your age, it will appear on your channel. The “display age” preference is found under Personal Info.)

Despite marketing ploys to the contrary, you don’t need special equipment to make videos for YouTube. All you need is a camcorder, digital camera, or even a cell phone – anything that captures digital movies. To capture the attention of your YouTube audience, however, you’ll want to put some thought into your project before hitting the record button.

“My advice,” Offer says, “is to keep your videos brief – two to three minutes – a quick message. Action is always better than a talking head. And be reasonably scripted so you don’t ramble on.”

“The trick, though, isn’t getting it on YouTube – the real challenge is getting people to watch your video,” adds Offer. “That means sending out the link to as many people as possible.”