When you see the high-quality, professionally recorded, intensely edited videos that some brands put out there, you may be pessimistic about what you can do on a small or nonexistent budget with nothing but your smartphone. But don't mentally connect pedestrian equipment with pedestrian results. The content is the thing.
At PR News’ Social Media Conference Oct. 20 in New York City, Elizabeth Sorrell, social media senior manager at National Audubon Society, shared some of her ideas about what makes for good content, centered on one particular video.
A volunteer captured the moment—a snowy owl being released into the wild—and sent it to Elizabeth, who immediately recognized it as something that would work on social because it ticked the following boxes:
1. Does it share a success or good news?
Restrain your cynicism: People still love to see good news. For Audubon and its followers, safely relocating a charismatic bird that was in danger because it was living on an airport runway in Wisconsin was a great tidbit of positive news.
2. Is there a news hook?
Recently, JFK Airport had been under fire for shooting and killing several of these same snowy owls because they posed a danger to aircraft. This video represented a more friendly alternative for dealing with the issue.
3. Does it inspire awe and delight?
The use of an iPhone's slo-mo feature to display owl flight in all its splendor was the perfect touch for the occasion.
4. Does it depict something most people don’t get to see?
Sure, people will not likely be interested in a video of being stuck in traffic or something else they experience daily themselves. So train your mind to stay on alert for unusual sights and be ready to capture them, because that's the true value in sharing video with your followers.
Follow Elizabeth Sorrell on Twitter: @ebethsorrell
Follow Ian: @ianwright0101