I bring a lot to the table.

Several pink and blue sticky notes, each containing an illustrated icon of social media logos, emojis, an iphone and a camera, sit on a drawing table. They are surrounded by pencils, pens, memory cards, microphones, and an eraser.

Hi. My name’s Chris. I’ve created content and managed social media for about two decades now.

Early in my career, I was encouraged to specialize. While studying computer animation, I was shown the benefits of focusing on pre-visualization, lighting, or character animation. When I gravitated towards photography, experts all stressed that pros should become experts in headshots, weddings, or product photography.

But my brain has never really been wired that way.

And so I’ve spent my career as more of a creative generalist. I’ve used a variety of different tools to help tell stories or share important information. This ability to remain nimble has been valuable to me during my career, and I believe it can help you, too.

I write.

Whether it’s a profile piece, Q&A, a news release, captions for photos and video, or even alt tags, I can put words to paper (or screen). A few samples include this piece announcing the first babies born in the New Year, this story about friends who sent a camera to the edge of space, and this visit to a local cattle ranch by ocean scientists.

I photograph.

Visuals are such an important piece of the storytelling puzzle, and I love to document natural moments, or even create scenes, to help convey the message.

I create video content.

Video is a powerful way to tell moving, compelling, personal, and important stories. Video helps audiences feel connected to the subjects on screen. Its dynamic nature is better suited to capture and keep a viewer’s attention, and video can capitalize on current social media trends more quickly and effectively than other formats.

But there’s also a lot of video in people’s social feeds. My background and expertise help me to be more strategic with how a video is ideated, created, and shared online.

Find more video samples in the playlists below:

I edit.

Want to know a dirty little secret I’ve learned throughout my career? Lots of people can take photos, write stories, or make video content. My background has helped me to level those up, however, by also sharpening my editing abilities. I edit text in stories and captions. I edit sets of photos to identify the best few to help illustrate a story. I edit individual photos to remove distracting items, adjust crops, or otherwise refine the images. I edit video so that interviews are concise, b-roll is properly aligned, and music or sound effects are timed just right.

Yes, creating content is a fantastic skill to have. But editing that content? Chef’s kiss.

I engage.

Posting fun and compelling content on social channels is great, but I don’t believe you can succeed in social media without interaction. People want to be seen, they want to be heard, they want to feel like they’re a part of your community. This can be as simple as responding to comments and questions, it can be crowdsourcing and acknowledging audience ideas, or it could involve tagging appropriate individuals or groups in your content. Engagement might look a little different depending on the platform, but it’s not something that should be overlooked or done ‘when time allows.’ I make time to engage with the audience.

Details

For this video, we engaged directly with students around campus, asking them to solve a series of emoji-fied phrases. (This video coincided with World Emoji Day.) In addition to directly chatting with students and inviting them to participate in our social media, we were also able to tag many of them in the subsequent posts, which encouraged them to share the video. We shared individual answers in near-real time through Instagram Stories, and then created an edited recap as an Instagram Reel and a YouTube Short.

Details

Student worker Gerlanda Maignan and I developed this series of fun videos that we unveiled during Commencement ceremonies and brought back for special events like Club Rush and the Career Expo. The Cup of Questions was just what it sounded like: We presented willing participants with a cup full of questions, and they would pull one from it. This was another opportunity to not only interact with students in person, but we were able to tag many of them in the subsequent Instagram Stories and Reels.

I analyze.

Speaking of engagement, that’s one of the key metrics I chart while managing social media. While vanity metrics may be an easier sell to the C-Suite, I like to measure items that illustrate some of the activities our audiences take: sharing content, commenting, different engagement rates, and link clicks, to name a few. Knowing these numbers, and making decisions informed by them, can help steer you toward your goals.

I monitor trends.

Trends help keep us all on our toes, I think. What piece of audio is hot this month? What’s that dance that everyone seems to be doing on TikTok right now? You don’t have to emulate every trend, but it’s helpful to know what’s out there so that you can strategize which ones might make the most sense for your brand, your voice, and your audience.

Details

For the Wednesday Dance trend, I reached out to Indian River State College’s Theater Director to see if he knew of any students who were familiar with the dance. He connected me with Lucia, and we spent part of a day filming the dance in different locations around campus. I then paired up the video with some relevant messaging. With the help of student worker Gerlanda Maignan, we produced the “Lights Up Lights Down” trend with several students inside the photo studio. The timing of that trend allowed us to connect the video to registration efforts. Gerlanda and I teamed up again for a style of video we were seeing around TikTok and Instagram that focused on the main message appearing as swipes on a phone. We used that format to help promote an upcoming career expo.

I collaborate.

Ask anyone who works in social media or content creation, and you might find a lot of us wear a lot of different hats. That’s the nature of the work sometimes. Therefore, I like to learn about others on the team, what they do, and if/how some of that can naturally lend itself to social media content. Conversely, maybe there’s something within my world (a social media graphic, a photo, or video) that they can apply to an email campaign or a community presentation they are developing. We’re all in this together, and that’s something I take very seriously.

Details

This spotlight video highlighted a truly notable graduate, Firefighter/Paramedic Austin Hodge. To capture his story, I worked with colleagues in the Office of Communications — James Crocco, Jennifer Moore, and Edwin Bustamante — to collect a variety of sound and footage. In addition the video, quotes and still images were used for other marketing assets, including print collateral, web images, and even pole banners around campus.

I adapt.

I’ve worked in this world of content creation long enough to remember a time before vertical video. I was a 16×9 video guy, and so I pushed back on vertical video for a long time. I ultimately had to adapt, though, and now I love the format. Not only is it fun, but it poses different creative and compositional challenges. This is just one example, but to have longevity in social media, I think you have to be adaptable. Technologies, trends, formats: Social media is constantly changing. I try to keep my head on a swivel and react accordingly.

Details

This is just one of the ways I utilized vertical video in the junior college setting. Knowing that the large majority of current and future students were on Instagram, I would regularly collect “student life” vertical clips to share in Instagram Stories, Reels, and as YouTube Shorts. (You could certainly also apply this to TikTok, but at the time this content was created, colleges in Florida were uncertain how much longer they would be allowed to use TikTok, so some began to opt away from it.)

I try new things.

From teaching myself how to use Flash (back when it was a thing), to starting a college Giphy account and developing Gifs and animated stickers, I’m not afraid to dip my toes in new waters. I was buying an ice cream maker from someone once, and she asked if I knew how to use it. “No, but I’m pretty good at following YouTube tutorials,” was my reply. And that skill has helped me immensely throughout my career.

Details

Video content can have additional utility as a Gif, as seen in this snippet collected during a college’s Club Rush activities. Gifs are fantastic to use as comment replies or as their own posts. Instagram stickers can serve a similar purpose and help extend the reach of your brand.

I mentor.

Even as I continue to hone my skills, I am eager to share what I have already learned with colleagues, students, and others. I have led regular Microsoft Teams sessions with other content creators to share best practices, messaging updates, and information that might be helpful to them. I have also been fortunate to work with a college work-study student and share insights, tips, and tricks with her as she developed her own video editing and content creation skills.

I am eager to help.

Ultimately, I want to help you succeed. Whatever your goals, I want to help move the needle and drive you towards them.

Headshot of a man wearing glasses and smiling for the camera.

Let’s chat!

Have an opportunity you’d like to discuss? Want to collaborate on content? Feel free to reach out at the email below:

Christopher.Arnold@gmail.com

Find me on LinkedIn here.