Embedding a Video or Livestream on a Contribution Form
All admins have the option to add a variety of video types to a contribution form! We currently support video URLs for Facebook videos and YouTube videos, as well as video embed for Facebook livestreams.
You have two options when you embed a video on your form: small (same size as the title and donation ask block), or large (a featured video). We recommend that when running virtual events, you choose the large featured video option! On forms with a featured video, supporters will be able to watch the video and donate at the same time, and after donating they will stay on the form so they can continue to watch!
Featured videos are currently available on all regular contribution forms, including Tandem forms and community forms! They are not available on event or merchandise forms at this time. And like all of our tools, featured videos are automatically optimized for mobile. All other contribution form features, like the recurring pop-up, will work as normal with the featured video tool.
We recommend using the side-by-side (wide) layout with featured videos, so the donation block is to the right of the video! You can find the layout options for your form in the “Branding” tab of the form editor. When you use a featured video, the form title will always appear above the video and the donation ask will always appear below the video.
To embed a video or livestream on your form, click on the “Title, ask, and URL” tab of the form editor.
In the “Title, ask, and URL” tab, scroll down to the “Embedded Video” section. Under “Video URL,” enter the link to your video or livestream. When the link is entered, a preview of the video will appear on your contribution form!
Below the video URL, you can choose to make the video a “Feature video.” Turning this option on will make the video larger and keep donors on the form after they donate so they can continue to watch! We recommend this for livestreams and long recordings. Click “Publish” and exit out of the form editor to see a preview of your form with the featured video!
You also have the option to enable autoplay, so the video automatically starts playing when a donor opens a contribution form. We recommend turning this on for livestreams!
Please note that videos will only autoplay on desktop! Facebook and YouTube both disable autoplay on mobile devices so that the user’s cellular data is not drained.
Below, you’ll find instructions on how to find the correct URL for the different types of videos you can add to your contribution forms. Once you copy the URL or embed code (for Facebook livestream), paste it into the “Video URL” field!
A published, public YouTube video:
Go to the video you would like to include on your contribution form. From the video’s page, copy the URL from the browser bar or select “Share” and copy the link from the screen.
A published, public video on Facebook or a Facebook livestream that has ended:
Navigate to the “Videos” tab on your Facebook page.
On the Videos page, select the video you would like to include on your contributions form.
When you navigate to the specific video’s page, you can either copy the URL directly from the browser bar or click “Share” and select “Copy Link” from the dropdown menu.
A Facebook livestream:
You can livestream on Facebook using any browser. However, if you want to livestream straight from your browser using your computer’s webcam — instead of using a video conferencing platform like Zoom or Google Hangouts — you must be using an updated version of Google Chrome.
Facebook has a detailed guide for livestreaming, which includes how to find the embed code that you will need to embed your Facebook livestream on a contribution form! This guide explains how to use Live Producer, which is Facebook’s page where you can create and manage all of your livestreams.
Most users on Facebook will be brought to Live Producer when they create a Live from their Facebook page, and you can follow the instructions in the guide! However, a small group of users will be brought to the old Facebook Live page when they create a livestream.
In either case, you’ll want to locate the embed code, which is what you will paste into the “Video URL” field in the form editor! To find the embed code, locate the embed icon. It will look like this: < / >.
On Live Producer, you will find the embed code under “Settings.”
On the old interface, it will be at the bottom of the screen when you are filling out the details for your livestream.
When you click on this icon, you can copy the iFrame embed code to paste into the “Video URL” field of the form editor.
Please note that Facebook livestreams that have been added to a form but haven’t officially started yet will say that the video is currently unavailable.
However, as soon as the livestream starts, the video on the form will start to display the stream!
A final note: When a Facebook livestream ends, visitors to your form can still watch a replay of the livestream without any extra steps! If you delete the livestream, the video will be unavailable on the form.
Still have questions? Here are some links to helpful resources for livestreaming and posting videos on Facebook and YouTube, as well as support for external sites you can use in tandem with these two platforms when creating community online!
Facebook Business: Live Stream an Event on Facebook
YouTube: Creator Academy
Zoom: Live Streaming Meetings or Webinars Using a Custom Service