YouTube's Call-To-Action a Potentially Powerful Tool

If there's one thing the Internet age has cultivated in our society, it's impulsiveness. We click to watch videos, send messages and buy stuff (is one-click purchasing really all that necessary?). Well, YouTube's new Call-To-Action functionality not only represents dollar signs for advertisers, but could help today's struggling charities and non-profits raise much-needed funds.

The function allows organizations to embed links in their videos that make it very easy for viewers to click and donate. According to an article in WebPro News, it's proving quite lucrative — one of the nonprofits using the new feature reportedly raised $10,000 in a single day. On its blog, YouTube's Ramya Raghavan thanks users for their donations and puts the dollar amount into greater context:

"The response from the YouTube community was overwhelming — thanks to you, charity:water was able to raise over $10,000 in one day from the video. That's enough to build two brand-new wells in the Central African Republic and give over 150 people clean drinking water for 20 years!"

The video educates viewers about the importance of clean drinking water, within the context of our wasteful ways as Americans.

According to a story by TechCrunch, you can only use the Call-To-Action overlay through YouTube's Promoted Videos program. It doesn't cost extra, but you have to be a paying customer. Politicians also have been using it to encourage the signing of petitions.

Thanks to YouTube, there are even fewer legitimate excuses for not getting involved in worthy causes. If you can click, you can help.