Guide to Using Video in Your Event Marketing Strategies
By Stanley Meytin
Did you know that the U.S. trade show and conference market earned roughly $16B in 2019 alone? Of course, thousands of events happen every year not just in America, but across the entire world, each needing their own event marketing strategies.
And if your role is to work on these strategies, where are you supposed to start? How do you make your event memorable and shareworthy? And how do you get people excited to come back next year?
This is where video comes in. Nowadays, the average person spends 100 minutes per day watching online videos. By that same year, 83.4% of viewers around the world will watch digital video content on their phones.
Clearly, your event marketing strategies won’t be complete — or as successful — without video content.
If you want to pack the most punch with your promotional efforts this year, this guide will show you 16 types of videos that marketers, event planners, sponsors, and exhibitors like yourselves can use to maximize the impact of your event marketing strategy.
16 Videos to Use in Your Event Marketing Strategies
1. Save the Date
It’s as obvious as it sounds: creating and distributing a “save the date” video across social media and your website will let everyone know your event is going to happen.
A useful benefit of this video type is that you don’t need to know all the details of your event to throw together a short, promotional clip for a part of your event marketing strategy.
Just getting your event name and date in front of possible future attendees will make them start to think about it and save space in their calendars. The rest of the details can be released later.
2. Event Hype/Preview
Similar to a “save the date” video, an event hype or preview clip should be an essential part of all your event marketing strategies.
What better way to get attendees excited about your event than by hyping them up with a video about how amazing it will be? You can use shots and relevant content from last year’s footage, (or go shoot new footage, if needed) and combine them into a compelling “ad” for your event.
Don’t forget to create and start using a hashtag along with the video to promote your event on social media. This hashtag should be used every time you post a clip to social platforms, so you can track impact and reach.
3. Event Explainer/FAQ Video
Events involve thousands of moving parts to function smoothly. As such, it’s a smart idea to cover some of these elements in an explainer video where you answer frequently asked questions.
For example, what topics will be covered? Who will be there? What city is the event in? What does the venue look like? What is there to do around there? What does the host have to say about what’s new this year?
This format is slightly different than a hype video, which takes the tone of an advertisement. An explainer video, however, will be more educational and informative by nature.
4. Mission Statement
When you want attendees to better understand the purpose of your event, consider creating a mission statement video. You can include the backstory of how it got started, and what impact it has on attendees, their businesses and careers, and more.
This video can become more robust if you also include interviews with the event’s founder(s), as well as stories from current or past team members, staff, and volunteers.
Sponsors and exhibitors can make their own supplementary mission statement videos to explain why they felt compelled to sponsor or exhibit at this particular event and why it matters.
5. How-To Content
Effective video marketing for events should include new twists on old ideas. So instead of a traditional “know before you go” email or information on your site, why not create short training video covering basic how-to needs attendees will have?
This provides a more dynamic, interactive experience before they even set foot on the event floor. For example, you can explain how to register, how to get to the event venue, how to get your badge, how to interact w/ other attendees respectfully, etc.
Feel free to have fun here, as this type of content is essentially your pre-flight safety video! When done creatively, people will remember it better.
6. Social Video/Teasers
While many of your event marketing strategy videos will already be posted on social media, it’s a good idea to create clips specifically meant for distribution on individual platforms.
These clips can include teasers of the upcoming event, a countdown until the first day, deadline reminders, discount and promotional code information, and more.
The key is to keep these short, make versions tailored to each platform (Instagram, for example, needs square videos), and always use the hashtag you created to promote your event along with the videos.
7. Behind-the-Scenes
Event marketing strategies should always include behind-the-scenes clips. These videos show viewers all the work that goes into setting up and running a successful event, and also provides them a sense of authenticity that real people are behind all the inner workings.
Behind-the-scenes videos can be interviews with and shots of staff and crew as they work the event, or a quick Q&A with panelists and speakers before they present on stage.
Don’t forget to also take pre- and post-event footage if you want to show the event’s full transformation; a time-lapse video covering this change would create some visually-exciting content.
8. Session/Panel Recordings
Every solid event marketing strategy includes recording the sessions and panels that occur at the event. However, it may not seem obvious, but there’s more you can do than simply capturing these moments.
The footage from these recordings can be turned into snippets for social posts, key takeaway videos, recap videos (more on this later), and even used for next year’s promotional videos.
Speakers are also usually very willing to share these clips on their own platforms to further promote the event. Essentially, it’s more free advertising for your event!
9. Live Streaming
Live streaming some or all of your event’s sessions ensures viewers around the world can tune in. Plus, giving non-attendees something to watch can help create a sense of FOMO and encourage them to attend next year.
Also, like session recordings, live streams can be turned into extra content for your event marketing strategies after your event is over. These can be available for download as full streams, or you can cut them into smaller snippets to distribute across social media platforms.
Remember, too, that if you use live streaming software that allows audience interaction, you have someone interacting with the online audience throughout the event.
10. Speaker Interviews/Introductions
Speaker interviews and introductions are incredibly versatile. While their content is straightforward, the videos can be used for multiple purposes in your event marketing strategies.
For example, you can show the video introductions before a speaker takes the stage so the audience becomes familiar with the speaker’s history and the upcoming panel topics, or the interviews can be distributed on social media during the day’s events.
If these clips are filmed before the event, you have even more opportunity to leverage the speakers’ audiences themselves. Encourage your speakers to share their interviews and introduction videos to help build even more interest in the event.
11. Customer or Attendee Testimonials
As the schedule winds down, consider heading out onto the floor and filming customers or attendees in person to round out your event video marketing. Ask them questions like what their favorite parts of the event were and would they attend again in the future.
Getting this type of feedback directly from attendees helps validate the event for future attendees who want to hear from their peers directly, and not just your event team.
Additionally, customer testimonials can result in excellent case studies to promote your event for the following year. Use them as proof the event was a success and provided takeaways for all.
12. Sponsor & Exhibitor Highlights
Events would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors, or without the valuable presence of exhibitors. As such, make sure to highlight their involvement in the event via dedicated video content.
For example, you can show exhibitors setting up their booths and products. as you ask them about what they hope to get out of the event. You can also interview sponsors as to why they were interested in supporting the event.
All of this content can be shared pre-show by all parties involved across social media, on websites, or even via email to supplement your event marketing strategies leading up to the first day.
13. User-Generated Content
Not all video marketing for events needs to be made by you. In fact, it can be just as important to have a user-generated content (UGC) strategy in place as it is your own.
Start by assigning a member of your team the task to watch the hashtag you created on social media. If an attendee posts a great video online using the hashtag, have your team reshare it to your channels.
UGC is invaluable to video marketing for events because it creates a free, organic method of marketing and promotion. Don’t miss out!
14. Thank You/Closing Video
This video is exactly as it sounds: a short clip thanking everyone for attending and for their support.
Its message can be prepared in advance for display on screens on the last day of the event. It can also be shared with attendees via email or social media as soon as possible after the event to keep the buzz going.
Your event’s founder or showrunner provide a personal thank-you to attendees, and sponsors and exhibitors are another good resource to add their own thanks, as well.
15. Highlight or Recap Video
Thank-you videos should be complemented with a compelling highlight or recap video so attendees remember the great time they had at your event (and make them eager to come back next year).
These highlights should include upbeat or exciting music placed over footage from the course of the event. Snippets that include crowds laughing, clapping, or providing a standing ovation are particularly impactful and create positive emotions in the viewer.
The overall goal of the recap video is to amp up attendees for next year, much like a movie trailer does for upcoming films. Event marketing strategies aren’t complete without one.
16. Survey Answer Videos
Of all the videos in your event marketing strategies, this type is probably the most unique, but could also be one of the most important depending on how visually-inclined your audience is.
If you send out a post-show survey that asks attendees if they had any feedback, questions, or concerns about their experience, why not answer them in video format to show you’re actually listening to their requests?
These clips can then be emailed to attendees as a survey follow-up, or hosted on the FAQ section of your site until they need to be updated or reimagined for the following year.
Conclusion
Clearly, video content is a key component to successful event marketing strategies around the world. It’s one of the best ways to ensure you cut through the noise of thousands of other events, and to get viewers excited to attend — and then come back again next year!
With the right plan in place, you can include many if not all of these types of video in your event marketing. Plus, the beauty of many of these videos is that they can be used by all those interested in promoting the event, not just marketers.
This means exhibitors, sponsors, and other participants also have a chance to promote the event, relieving showrunners and event marketers of some of the pressure to bring in attendees and revenue.
So now the next question is this: what type of video will you create first?
Let True Film Production help you get started by setting up a free consultation!
Reading Time: 8 minutes
By Stanley Meytin
Did you know that the U.S. trade show and conference market earned roughly $16B in 2019 alone? Of course, thousands of events happen every year not just in America, but across the entire world, each needing their own event marketing strategies.
And if your role is to work on these strategies, where are you supposed to start? How do you make your event memorable and shareworthy? And how do you get people excited to come back next year?
This is where video comes in. Nowadays, the average person spends 100 minutes per day watching online videos. By that same year, 83.4% of viewers around the world will watch digital video content on their phones.
Clearly, your event marketing strategies won’t be complete — or as successful — without video content.
If you want to pack the most punch with your promotional efforts this year, this guide will show you 16 types of videos that marketers, event planners, sponsors, and exhibitors like yourselves can use to maximize the impact of your event marketing strategy.
16 Videos to Use in Your Event Marketing Strategies
1. Save the Date
It’s as obvious as it sounds: creating and distributing a “save the date” video across social media and your website will let everyone know your event is going to happen.
A useful benefit of this video type is that you don’t need to know all the details of your event to throw together a short, promotional clip for a part of your event marketing strategy.
Just getting your event name and date in front of possible future attendees will make them start to think about it and save space in their calendars. The rest of the details can be released later.
2. Event Hype/Preview
Similar to a “save the date” video, an event hype or preview clip should be an essential part of all your event marketing strategies.
What better way to get attendees excited about your event than by hyping them up with a video about how amazing it will be? You can use shots and relevant content from last year’s footage, (or go shoot new footage, if needed) and combine them into a compelling “ad” for your event.
Don’t forget to create and start using a hashtag along with the video to promote your event on social media. This hashtag should be used every time you post a clip to social platforms, so you can track impact and reach.
3. Event Explainer/FAQ Video
Events involve thousands of moving parts to function smoothly. As such, it’s a smart idea to cover some of these elements in an explainer video where you answer frequently asked questions.
For example, what topics will be covered? Who will be there? What city is the event in? What does the venue look like? What is there to do around there? What does the host have to say about what’s new this year?
This format is slightly different than a hype video, which takes the tone of an advertisement. An explainer video, however, will be more educational and informative by nature.
4. Mission Statement
When you want attendees to better understand the purpose of your event, consider creating a mission statement video. You can include the backstory of how it got started, and what impact it has on attendees, their businesses and careers, and more.
This video can become more robust if you also include interviews with the event’s founder(s), as well as stories from current or past team members, staff, and volunteers.
Sponsors and exhibitors can make their own supplementary mission statement videos to explain why they felt compelled to sponsor or exhibit at this particular event and why it matters.
5. How-To Content
Effective video marketing for events should include new twists on old ideas. So instead of a traditional “know before you go” email or information on your site, why not create short training video covering basic how-to needs attendees will have?
This provides a more dynamic, interactive experience before they even set foot on the event floor. For example, you can explain how to register, how to get to the event venue, how to get your badge, how to interact w/ other attendees respectfully, etc.
Feel free to have fun here, as this type of content is essentially your pre-flight safety video! When done creatively, people will remember it better.
6. Social Video/Teasers
While many of your event marketing strategy videos will already be posted on social media, it’s a good idea to create clips specifically meant for distribution on individual platforms.
These clips can include teasers of the upcoming event, a countdown until the first day, deadline reminders, discount and promotional code information, and more.
The key is to keep these short, make versions tailored to each platform (Instagram, for example, needs square videos), and always use the hashtag you created to promote your event along with the videos.
7. Behind-the-Scenes
Event marketing strategies should always include behind-the-scenes clips. These videos show viewers all the work that goes into setting up and running a successful event, and also provides them a sense of authenticity that real people are behind all the inner workings.
Behind-the-scenes videos can be interviews with and shots of staff and crew as they work the event, or a quick Q&A with panelists and speakers before they present on stage.
Don’t forget to also take pre- and post-event footage if you want to show the event’s full transformation; a time-lapse video covering this change would create some visually-exciting content.
8. Session/Panel Recordings
Every solid event marketing strategy includes recording the sessions and panels that occur at the event. However, it may not seem obvious, but there’s more you can do than simply capturing these moments.
The footage from these recordings can be turned into snippets for social posts, key takeaway videos, recap videos (more on this later), and even used for next year’s promotional videos.
Speakers are also usually very willing to share these clips on their own platforms to further promote the event. Essentially, it’s more free advertising for your event!
9. Live Streaming
Live streaming some or all of your event’s sessions ensures viewers around the world can tune in. Plus, giving non-attendees something to watch can help create a sense of FOMO and encourage them to attend next year.
Also, like session recordings, live streams can be turned into extra content for your event marketing strategies after your event is over. These can be available for download as full streams, or you can cut them into smaller snippets to distribute across social media platforms.
Remember, too, that if you use live streaming software that allows audience interaction, you have someone interacting with the online audience throughout the event.
10. Speaker Interviews/Introductions
Speaker interviews and introductions are incredibly versatile. While their content is straightforward, the videos can be used for multiple purposes in your event marketing strategies.
For example, you can show the video introductions before a speaker takes the stage so the audience becomes familiar with the speaker’s history and the upcoming panel topics, or the interviews can be distributed on social media during the day’s events.
If these clips are filmed before the event, you have even more opportunity to leverage the speakers’ audiences themselves. Encourage your speakers to share their interviews and introduction videos to help build even more interest in the event.
11. Customer or Attendee Testimonials
As the schedule winds down, consider heading out onto the floor and filming customers or attendees in person to round out your event video marketing. Ask them questions like what their favorite parts of the event were and would they attend again in the future.
Getting this type of feedback directly from attendees helps validate the event for future attendees who want to hear from their peers directly, and not just your event team.
Additionally, customer testimonials can result in excellent case studies to promote your event for the following year. Use them as proof the event was a success and provided takeaways for all.
12. Sponsor & Exhibitor Highlights
Events would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors, or without the valuable presence of exhibitors. As such, make sure to highlight their involvement in the event via dedicated video content.
For example, you can show exhibitors setting up their booths and products. as you ask them about what they hope to get out of the event. You can also interview sponsors as to why they were interested in supporting the event.
All of this content can be shared pre-show by all parties involved across social media, on websites, or even via email to supplement your event marketing strategies leading up to the first day.
13. User-Generated Content
Not all video marketing for events needs to be made by you. In fact, it can be just as important to have a user-generated content (UGC) strategy in place as it is your own.
Start by assigning a member of your team the task to watch the hashtag you created on social media. If an attendee posts a great video online using the hashtag, have your team reshare it to your channels.
UGC is invaluable to video marketing for events because it creates a free, organic method of marketing and promotion. Don’t miss out!
14. Thank You/Closing Video
This video is exactly as it sounds: a short clip thanking everyone for attending and for their support.
Its message can be prepared in advance for display on screens on the last day of the event. It can also be shared with attendees via email or social media as soon as possible after the event to keep the buzz going.
Your event’s founder or showrunner provide a personal thank-you to attendees, and sponsors and exhibitors are another good resource to add their own thanks, as well.
15. Highlight or Recap Video
Thank-you videos should be complemented with a compelling highlight or recap video so attendees remember the great time they had at your event (and make them eager to come back next year).
These highlights should include upbeat or exciting music placed over footage from the course of the event. Snippets that include crowds laughing, clapping, or providing a standing ovation are particularly impactful and create positive emotions in the viewer.
The overall goal of the recap video is to amp up attendees for next year, much like a movie trailer does for upcoming films. Event marketing strategies aren’t complete without one.
16. Survey Answer Videos
Of all the videos in your event marketing strategies, this type is probably the most unique, but could also be one of the most important depending on how visually-inclined your audience is.
If you send out a post-show survey that asks attendees if they had any feedback, questions, or concerns about their experience, why not answer them in video format to show you’re actually listening to their requests?
These clips can then be emailed to attendees as a survey follow-up, or hosted on the FAQ section of your site until they need to be updated or reimagined for the following year.
Conclusion
Clearly, video content is a key component to successful event marketing strategies around the world. It’s one of the best ways to ensure you cut through the noise of thousands of other events, and to get viewers excited to attend — and then come back again next year!
With the right plan in place, you can include many if not all of these types of video in your event marketing. Plus, the beauty of many of these videos is that they can be used by all those interested in promoting the event, not just marketers.
This means exhibitors, sponsors, and other participants also have a chance to promote the event, relieving showrunners and event marketers of some of the pressure to bring in attendees and revenue.
So now the next question is this: what type of video will you create first?
Let True Film Production help you get started by setting up a free consultation!
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