5 Ways to Use Event Video as a Marketing Strategy

When given the choice, 72% of people would rather use video to learn about a product or service than any written media.* 

Video is the future of marketing & advertising. We’re already seeing it in social media platforms as they continue to find new ways to integrate video content into users’ feeds - like Instagram’s new IGTV feature. Youtube is now the second largest search engine, just behind Google.** More and more people are turning to video content as a primary source of obtaining information and engaging with brands. 

It’s no secret that “content is king” these days - but creating consistent video content can take a lot of time that you may not have! That’s why it’s so important to repurpose content, and what better source of content than your live event or conference?

If you’ve invested in video recording for your event, you’ve got yourself a wealth of content that you can use across multiple platforms to spread your message! Here are some ways that you can repurpose your event video as part of your marketing strategy:

1. PROMO FOR FUTURE EVENTS

This may be a rather obvious one, but it can be a powerful use of video. If your event or conference is recurring, use pieces of your video content to promote future events. Using footage from the actual event can help to communicate the value provided and can incite curiosity in your audience to learn more. You can also hire a video company to capture B-roll footage - attendees networking, shots of the audience participating in the sessions/breakouts, etc. - which will make your promotional video much more engaging.

2. RELEASE SNIPPETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS "TIPS" OR HELPFUL INFO

You can add value to your social media presence by sharing clips of event video that contain helpful tips or information for your audience. Choose a short & specific section of a presentation that is inspiring, entertaining, or educational, and share it across your social media channels to spread targeted messaging. 

 

3. CREATE AN ONLINE COURSE 

If you have a multi-day conference full of useful information, you can take your presentation recordings, package them together, and create an online course for those that could not attend. You can offer this for free, like Adobe does with its annual conference, or make it a paid feature and create a passive income stream for your business or organization.

4. REPLACE TEXT BLOCKS ON YOUR WEBSITE

Your website can benefit from your event recordings too! If you have footage of a speaker explaining a concept that is integral to your business or organization, you can replace longform informational text on your website with this recording. As we said before, people prefer to watch than to read - so make it easy on them to learn about your brand! You can even use footage from a compelling speaker on the homepage of your site to hook users and keep them scrolling.

5. BUILD INTERNAL PROGRAMS

Ever heard of “intrapreneurship”? It’s a concept that encourages the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization. Intrepreneurship initiatives encourage employees to take ownership on solving problems creatively, taking innovative ideas and transforming them into profitable ventures for the company.  

More and more large businesses are building programs like this, but sometimes these intrapreneurs need extra support & training to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the company’s work. Having conference recordings available for people to access as training within these programs could empower them & incentivize them to get onboard! Never underestimate the power of "internal marketing" in getting your team aligned & on the same page.

Video recording has so many potential uses during an event, but we can’t forget about all of the potential to put it to work for us after the event. If you want to learn more about our video services & other uses for video recording, select one of the options below!

*Source: https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics-2018/

**Source: https://www.mushroomnetworks.com/infographics/youtube---the-2nd-largest-search-engine-infographic/

Bringing Your Logo To Life

We've talked before about the importance of event graphics (click here for our previous blog post on the subject), and it's no secret that dynamic graphics can help keep your audience interested & hold their focus during an event. One type of graphic that is easy to integrate into your show is an animated logo. Here are several benefits to having this type of content in your arsenal!

We have one client that begins each session of their conference with a short animated logo video and accompanying music that calls the audience to attention. It is an exciting moment that increases interest and communicates the importance of what is to follow. Dynamic content is a great way to start out a program or set up an impactful speaker entrance, and incorporating your logo helps direct the excitement & anticipation towards your brand or organization.

Logo c/o Sentara Healthcare, animation by The AV Company

You can easily complement dynamic speaker content with animated transition graphics. Even still graphics or logos can help to make transitions appear seamless, but animated graphics are great for maintaining energy between speakers.

Graphics & animation by 10/Half Studios & Jonah Tobias

Most conference sets use screens as their main focal point, and sometimes screens are even used in lieu of decor. In these cases, the graphics become the decor - and motion graphics help to take the set up a notch. Even when running in the background as ambient video, animated logos are a great way to infuse the set with your brand aesthetic and terminology.

Aside from event applications, animated logos are useful to have on hand when producing videos or event recordings! They can be used as intros, outros, transitions, or placeholders, and can help to add excitement & professionalism to your videos.

Logo c/o VASHRM, animation by The AV Company

All The World's A Stage

Event staging always poses a unique design problem. You have to keep many factors in mind when composing a stage set, like...

FUNCTIONALITY

Our first task is always to find out what content needs to be shown onstage, and what format that content will be in. For example, if you have multiple types of content that need to be shown at one time, we'll know that we need a double-wide screen to show content on either side. 

AESTHETIC

If you have a theme or aesthetic that you want to emphasize, we take that into heavy consideration as well. It's important that we understand what feeling you want to create with your stage design.

SCALE

One of the most important aspects of laying out a stage set is understanding the scale of the space. From a functional standpoint, the staging needs to accommodate the required number of speakers and/or performers at any given point in the program. The stage decor & screens also need to provide adequate impact given the size of the backdrop & of the audience. If the event is held in a large ballroom, for example, then the staging and displays need to be large enough to make an impact even in the back row.

FLEXIBILITY

Sometimes an event program will require flexibility in either the content being shown, or in the stage set itself. We may need to be able to move elements around, or switch out content on the fly. Whether or not this is the case, we always look for opportunities to insert dynamic or theatrical elements into staging to help keep the audience engaged and intrigued. For this UVA event (pictured left), we needed to be able to switch between many types of content and maintain high quality & color intensity throughout, so we chose to use LED walls instead of projection.

EXISTING FEATURES

Sometimes there are elements of a venue that do not suit the aesthetic of the event. In this case, we can use staging to draw attention away from these elements, whether it's a structural piece that we need to disguise or a utilitarian ceiling that we to cover. Frequently used for tented events, we specialize in designing custom fabric solutions to add visual interest and ambience to an event look. This can be a great way to tie larger-scale decor in with the event branding and staging.

Stage design for corporate & social events is an interesting intersection between business & theater, where organizational values & entertainment principles must operate in tandem to produce a positive experience for attendees - and we love finding new & creative ways to achieve this.