Today I stumbled upon the latest college athletics video sensation (thanks to USA Today’s article here)… the Trackstreet Boys. The video features members of the Duke track and field team in a mock music video of the Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way?
Yes, it’s an instant classic:
The video might not be viral (yet) by YouTube standards, but for Duke Athletics, it’s certainly a hit. Posted just two days ago, the video already has the most views out of any YouTube video ever posted by Duke Athletics. After watching the video, I started thinking… what makes great video content?
Every video has a different objective, but there are certain things athletic departments, teams and leagues can keep in mind when they go about creating video content. Below is a sample of the questions to ask before filming. If you can nail a couple of these things, then you just might have a winner:
- Is it funny?
- Does it humanize the players, team, etc.?
- Does it evoke emotion?
- Is it relatable to your audience and fans?
- Is it surprising?
- Is it different than anything you have done before?
- Is it exclusive footage that only you can get?
The duke video works for me because it’s funny, relatable (come on, we all know that Backstreet Boys song / video) and it humanizes their student-athletes.
So, what do you think… what elements are needed to create great video content?
One pet peeve of mine when it comes to creating video content – really poor production standards. I’m not saying every blogger and small business has to pay 5 or 6 figures to film a commercial with perfect lighting and sound – but getting a decent microphone and positioning 1 or 2 extra lights can make a world of difference in quality. Unless a video has a ton of views to make me think its worth it, if I see really bad quality production it says to me that its not even worth it.