Content today is produced and consumed at a mind-blowing rate. From news to blogs to social media and multimedia, just about anybody these days with an Internet connection can add their own content to the mix. At the heart of all this content creation lies the selfie. More than just your average duck or kissy face, the selfie represents something much bigger: the power of people to create and disseminate their own visual media.

With audiences able to produce their own content at an insanely fast pace it can be difficult for brands to compete and inject their own messages into the mix. In a world of selfies, self-obsession and social media, how can brands produce content compelling enough to rise to the top?

A colleague and I attended a seminar last week, hosted by PR Newswire, which sought to answer that exact question. The session, titled “How to Keep Your Content Relevant in the Age of the Selfie,” featured Michael Pranikoff, PR Newswire’s global director of emerging media, who spoke to factors brands must consider in order to create content capable of breaking through the noise. I thought I’d share some of the useful insights I gleaned from Pranikoff’s talk about what it takes to create standout content.

According to Pranikoff, brands should strive to create content that:

1. Appeals to emotion. Creating great content involves more than just thinking about what will entertain viewers. The best kind of appeal, according to Pranikoff, is emotional—we share the content that moves us, touches us or makes us think. Content will be much more effective if it’s able to grab hold of viewers’ emotions.

2. Is earned. Of course, this isn’t always possible in advertising. But, shared Pranikoff, the second-most effective kind of advertising, only after word-of-mouth, is earned editorial coverage (traditional PR, anyone?). If you can get someone else to tell your story, audiences will trust this type of earned coverage more than any blatant ad. (For more proof of the value of traditional editorial coverage, check out my last blog post here.)

3. Is worthy. Content that is worthy adheres to the value exchange, in that it’s mutually beneficial and offers legitimate value for viewers. The content must be good enough that it’s worthy of being shared and spread among audiences. Is your content relevant, useful and compelling? Is it creative and a no-brainer for people to pass along? Focus on telling a genuinely good story and offering authentic value rather than just hyping up your brand.

4. Has a call to action. You can’t just create content that is easy to pass along, you actually have to ask viewers to pass it along, said Pranikoff. Ask yourself: What do I want somebody to do next after reading this? If you want people to share your content, you have to ask. For maximum effectiveness, this call to action should be overt and in the first two paragraphs.

5. Contains multimedia. More multimedia equals more visibility and engagement. According to Pranikoff’s talk, content with multimedia garners nearly 10 times more views. Using multimedia in news releases, for example, increases journalist and public engagement by 35 percent. Include it in your content whenever possible.

6. Is widely distributed. The goal in creating any content is to spread your message to new audiences, not just those who already love your brand. You can’t just spread the content over your own social networks and expect it to go viral—you’ll be much more effective if you syndicate the content out to an outside audience.

7. Maps to larger objectives. All of the other factors on this list are great, but at the end of the day, the content is a failure if it doesn’t support your larger business objectives. Making audiences laugh or cry isn’t always enough to make them love your brand. Be sure that any content you produce relates back to a larger business or communications goal to make it worth the effort.

8. Creates “moments of excellence.” Creating moments of excellence has to do with audiences having a great experience with a brand, product or service. As Pranikoff explained, “Sometimes, the best marketers are those actually out there with the customers, not those behind the desk.” The messages that people appreciate the most are those that bring them joy. If a brand can delight customers with a great reputation, act or service, those messages will shine through—and be shared—more than customers’ complaints.

With audiences capable of generating their own content, it can be tough for brands to stand out from the crowd. But with the above tips, a little hard work and a whole lot of creativity, it’s possible to produce content that moves both audiences and the needle.