SPRINGDALE, Utah — You probably don't often associate park rangers with social media influencers, but the staff at Zion National Park might prove you wrong.
The National Park Service — and Zion, specifically — has been creating fun and engaging content to ensure people from all walks of life have a safe and happy experience inside the park.
FOX 13 News learned about their video-making process.
“We like to think that as social media trends change and evolve, and science, Zion tries to keep up, to keep our key points and all of our messaging,” said Ally O'Rullian, a communications specialist for Zion National Park.
To convey those key points in credible and informative videos, O'Rullian says it takes a lot of planning and collaboration with park staff members, subject matter experts, park rangers and people behind the scenes.
“So it's really an opportunity for us to work collaboratively with folks of a variety of backgrounds as it relates to social media,” added Amanda Rowland, the division chief for the park, who focuses on interpretation and visitor services.
Over the last two years, national parks like Zion have gotten people excited about their videos that include pop culture references, skits of popular movies and TV shows, and trends to reach visitors from all walks of life. Some examples that can be seen on the park’s social pages include references to hit shows like The Office, Avatar the Last Air Bender, and even NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.
But the new style of content didn't happen overnight.
“That shift was definitely a team effort of people being like, ‘What if we will try this and try this?' while we're still sharing those core messages,” said O’Rullian.
But while the fun and relatable content has been popular among the masses, park officials hope their messages are stories and information that are relevant in real time.
“Whether it's, you know, road conditions... the right shoes to wear... we really want to maintain that relevancy for that intergenerational, you know, everyone coming to the park of different backgrounds,” Rowland said.
