SO ELECTIONS VIDEO GUIDE
MAKING AN ELECTION VIDEO To help support your campaign during the election you might consider making a video to share on social media. This can be beneficial to your campaign in a number of ways. Video is a strong medium which can help communicate your message in a fun and creative way! The main aim of your video will be to use it as a marketing tool to share your views with other students. The more shares your video receives, the more students have seen it - which could lead to more votes!
HOW DO I MAKE SHAREABLE CONTENT? Good quality videos are nicer to watch. This doesn’t mean that you need a good camera - you can produce good quality videos just using your phone. To make a video seem more high quality: - Make sure your clips are cut properly. Don’t leave in any audio of the person behind the camera saying “Go!”. - Cut together your clips so they make sense. Have a clear structure to your video and follow it! - Make sure people can hear you! Don’t film in windy places, near big crowds or too far away from your microphone.
1
Do some research! Have a look at what else is being shared and look at other popular election videos. Election videos aren’t a new thing, and some videos have been really successful to help campaigns, so look at what other students have done in other Unions. Current trends are great to include into your video. Rather than looking at just campaign videos see what else is popular on social media sites and what other people are watching. Including these current trends in your video could be useful, this could be using a popular music track or a funny meme - but make sure not to infringe copyright laws. Check the length of the video! Viewers can often switch off early when watching videos, so it is always good to keep your videos short. The longest length suggestion would be 3 minutes - but put all your important information in the first minute in case your viewers get bored! Where are you sharing it? Share it in all the right places! The best places to share would be on groups with large amounts of students in! Share it on your social media and get your friends to share it on theirs!
2
MAKING A VIDEO ON A BUDGET? Use your phone or a friends camera! Smart phones have great cameras and can be used to make your video. One tip - turn your phone on it’s side to make a landscape video. Nothing screams ‘video made on a phone’ more than a portrait video. Get friends involved! We all have those friends who love being in front of the camera. Get them involved! And tell them to bring their friends - and tell them to bring theirs! This also helps sharing your video! People are more likely to share videos with their friends or themselves in.
WHAT TO INCLUDE? Don’t stray away from your message. Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away in a joke or for your video to become silly. Always make sure what you’re doing or saying has relevance. Who are your targeting? Find out who your audience is and target them? Share it in places they will be and create content that they will watch. Use language they will understand and include terms that will be familiar to them.
3