3 Visual Storytelling Tools for Crowdfunding

Photos and videos have become the king of storytelling in the past few years.

With Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, and Pinterest continuing to bring in millions of new users to share billions of pieces of media, startups are finding opportunities to take this obsession to the next level.

Individuals tend to share a single photo or video clip on their networks. It’s all about the “like” for them.

But nonprofits and social good organizations usually have a call to action wrapped into their content, requiring more storytelling elements and a more polished approach.

Whether you’re just getting started on storytelling, or you’re looking to experiment with different tools, we found three new(ish) apps worth trying.

Mobile Friendly: Storehouse

This iPad only app (for now) pulls in photos and videos from other apps and has an easy to use layout and design tools.

The shareable element is a full “story” made up of several clips or images, rather than one at a time.

Other features:

• Free-form templates (you don’t have to be a designer to use it!)
• Discover other storytellers
• Encourages creativity to use those random clips or photos on your device that are out otherwise out of context.

Instead of posting multiple photos one after the other on Instagram or Twitter from an event or a trip to the field, nonprofits could use Storehouse to pull together a quick story to tease supporters before launching a more produced video or blog post, email, etc.

Download the free app here.

Stories with Soundtracks: Mindie

The app formerly known as Ever has been revamped for simple and quick music video production. For iPhone or iPad, the creators say the music is the story, and your video (up to 7-second clips) is the caption.

While Vine seems to focus on comedy, Mindie hopes to be more about personal, fleeting moments. It could be the perfect way for nonprofits to add emotion to a short, impactful clip; for instance, a homeless person entering their new house, a child drinking fresh water, or a Wounded Warrior crossing the finish line of a race.

Download the free app here.

Focus on photos: Exposure

While rich media is everywhere, keeping it sleek and focused can be a challenge when using apps designed for spontaneous snapshots. But Exposure takes your photo sets, called “narratives,” and makes them beautiful, without much effort.

The catch: Exposure is a subscription service, for $5 or $9 a month, depending on how much you want to post (the first three are free).

Why it’s worth it: full-bleed photos, a WYSIWYG editor, and the ability to use text to build out your story.

It’s no surprise to see that Charity: Water has already jumped on board, with a post about a school in Nepal. Exposure is a great choice for organizations with lots of beautiful photos, but no good place to display their narrative.

Sign up here.

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If you try any of these new platforms, let us know what you think. And if there are some other great storytelling tools you love, we want to hear how they’re working for you!