Nonprofits that rely on thermometers to track the progress of campaign goals can kiss those markers goodbye. YouTube has introduced a digital replacement called Campaigns.

YouTube’s Nonprofit Program provides charities with free premium services, including channel branding, call-to-action overlays, live-streaming, and now goal tracking.

Unlike traditional progress thermometers that measure money, Campaigns can be used to help drive views. By tracking your progress, you can encourage your viewers to help you meet your goal by sharing your videos with their networks.

Your campaign can consist of one or more videos. Once created, included videos will show an overlay, encouraging viewers to contribute. Additionally, a campaign tab will be displayed on your Channel with a bar showing your progress.

Currently it’s unclear how nonprofits will utilize the Campaigns feature. Because it does place emphasis on a call to action, one possibility would be to assign a monetary goal to your campaign. For example, if your video reaches 1 million views, company XYZ will donate a certain amount of money.

You can learn more about YouTube Campaigns on the YouTube blog.

[Image credit: Raffi Asdourian]