Event Video Marketing: Before the Event
Creating fun, engaging, and informative video content before an event gets people excited days, weeks, or even months before the event actually takes place.
In the event world, energy drives success. Excitement and inspiration spur people to attend and then return to events year after year, and to share their experiences with others. Incorporating video into your event video marketing is a key element of cultivating this energy. Regardless of the size and scope of your event, the attendees should feel a personal connection with other attendees as well as your brand and the speakers at the event. The following event video marketing tips will help you include video in your pre-event materials and other marketing initiatives.
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Offer a sneak peek
Giving a sneak peek of the event will make people who have already purchased tickets more excited and will hopefully persuade people who have been on the fence to purchase their tickets. Video provides a feel for the event that is hard to replicate through text or photos. Think about including testimonials from varying event attendees and staff (i.e., speakers, volunteers) as well as ample B-roll footage. For example, pair footage of attendees chatting and laughing over lunch with a voiceover about how the event brings people together for education as well as fun.
Create a “save the date” announcement
“Save the date” videos are all the rage for modern couples revealing their wedding dates to family and friends. You can apply this same concept to your event. Similar to the sneak peek, using a video to share the date is more memorable than a postcard or email. With their interest piqued, people are more likely to request additional information and, eventually, purchase tickets.
Improve your event landing page
When done right, video has the potential to boost landing page conversions as much as 80%. If you don't already have a landing page or microsite for the event, now is the time to develop one. A dedicated event page that focuses exclusively on that event limits distractions, encouraging more ticket sales. The video that you create for your landing page should be focused on a single action, such as encouraging viewers to take advantage of an early bird ticket special. Use the video to tell an engaging, emotional story, and then track meaningful metrics, including time spent on the page, click-through rate, video attention span rate, and percentage of viewers who followed through with the intended action.
Persuade speakers
If you have any prior experience planning events, you know that it's often tough to get speakers to commit to your event. A video is a great way to explain exactly what the event is like when you first reach out to them so they know what to expect. Finding speakers actively ensures you'll deliver top notch content5 targeted at your attendees. Think about using video to thank speakers who have committed to the event as well.
As with any aspect of your event video marketing, it's critical to customize general marketing tips to your particular event. Review your goals for it. Then consider how video will help you reach these goals. For example, if your top goal is to increase attendance from last year, creating a compelling “save the date” video may be of high importance, while creating videos to attract speakers may be a lower priority.