Video is a powerful tool that organizers can use to promote their events. According to a study conducted by the market research firm Forrester, one minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words. Event planners and organizers can leverage the power of video to boost attendance rates, improve attendee satisfaction, and promote their upcoming events. Here’s how.
Create a Compelling Introduction
There’s an unwritten rule stating that brands and business owners have just 10 seconds to capture viewers’ attention in a video. So when creating videos to promote your event, use animations and graphics during the intro to keep viewers engaged. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, as a title with transitioning animation effects will often suffice. The key thing to remember is that you want the introduction to stand out, using the first 10 seconds to grab viewers’ attention.
Record Videos of Keynote Speakers and Special Guests
If you aren’t doing so already, try to get into the habit of recording keynote speakers and other special guests at your events. These videos will prove invaluable in showcasing your events while encouraging guests to attend future events. Furthermore, these videos will provide a source of reference material if attendees want to review speeches and/or sessions from past events.
Interview Guests
You can also conduct video interviews of guests and attendees, asking them questions like “Why did you attend the event?” “How satisfied were you with the event?” “What changes can be made to improve the event?” Guest interviews such as this provide invaluable feedback that can be used to improve and optimize future events. Assuming you have guests’ permission, you can then publish these videos to your website and other platforms for promotional purposes.
Keep Videos Short
There are instances in which long videos yield the greatest results, such as keynote speeches. In most cases, though, shorter videos of 10 minutes or less work best.
Link to Videos in ‘Thank You’ Emails
As noted in a ConstantContact article, event planners and organizers should link to their videos in post-event communications such as “thank you” emails. After uploading a video to your website and/or YouTube, post a link to it in your emails.
Post Videos on Social Media
Of course, you should post videos from past events on social media networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+. Nearly 3 in 4 adults in the United States use some type of social media networking site, making this a powerful platform on which to promote your event videos. When posting videos to social media, try to include at least one relevant #hashtag. Using the name of the event or venue as the hashtag is an excellent idea, as this will help guests and other users find the videos more easily.