“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ― Ferris Bueller
It's the same with organizing. You have to move fast. Record events to mobilize supporters with YouTube Shorts. It's fast, simple and free.
This blog explains how Sherman Hardy uses YouTube Shorts in his campaign to become County Executive in Prince George's County, Maryland.
- Sherman advocates for better traffic control, sidewalks and fare free public transportation
- He used YouTube Shorts to take a video of pedestrians put in danger of because of a lack of sidewalks
- Crafted a short message of his plan to remedy things if elected
- Created an Action Button with the YouTube short and message which led viewers to his campaign website
YouTube Shorts for campaigns
YouTube Shorts
Shorts lets you to shoot short videos and edit them with just your phone. Perfect for activists on the move.
- A multi-segment camera to string multiple video clips together
- The option to record with music from a large library of songs and sound effects
- Speed controls that give you the flexibility to be creative in your performance
- A timer and countdown to easily record, hands-free
Add Call To Action Buttons & QR Codes to YouTube Videos
How do you get viewers to respond to your YouTube Short? YouTube allows video creators to link out if you're a YouTube Partner. But that requires your channel to have more than 4,000 watch hours and at least 1,000 subscribers in the past year. That hurdle is beyond the reach of most campaigns.
Sherman chose a simpler way. He combined his Short video about the need to improve Prince George's County transport with an Action Button that directs people to his campaign website to learn more. These are the steps:
- Choose campaign name: pedestrian
- Add YouTube Short link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ByHJ_QMJgL4
- Notice the sound effects that Sherman added and how the video loops automatically
- Add campaign message: Sherman believes we need better traffic control, sidewalks and fare free public transportation.
- Add Call to Action message: Click here. Sherman Hardy for Prince George County.
- Add destination URL: https://www.hardy4pg.com/
- Create Action Button URL: https://actionbutton.live/pedestrian
