Events require an upfront commitment of people’s time and money. Many people don’t want to make this commitment until they know what they’re getting. Video is an effective yet affordable way to demonstrate the many benefits of your event. The simple act of adding video to an event landing page may boost conversions as much as 80%. From showcasing the key note speaker to describing the relationships participants form with one another, video is key for driving event registrations.
Preview the key note speaker and session leaders
Many people attend industry events because they know they’ll be able to listen to or work with specific highly regarded individuals within their field. Booking a big name and promoting it widely in advance ensures a certain number of registrations. These individuals are often sought after for industry events, which means you’ll need to book them well in advance. Once you have your speaker and sessions lined up, create a video preview with a brief overview of their talking points and other important details. Include footage from previous speaking engagements so potential attendees know what they’re really getting beyond the basic talking points.
Give a sneak peek of the show floor
The show floor at any industry event is a valuable place to witness the latest product developments in the field. Typically manufacturers and retailers send representatives to demonstrate and talk about their products, offering a first hand opportunity to learn about new products, sometimes before they’re even available to the public. During an event, participants must pick and choose which sessions they’re going to attend and how much time they’ll spend on the show floor. Providing a sneak peek of the floor gets attendees excited about certain products and helps them better allocate their time at the event.
Highlight the social benefits
Arguably one of the biggest benefits of attending an industry event or other professional conference is the in-person networking. Reading journals and watching webinars isn’t the same as talking one on one with like-minded individuals during lunch or over drinks at the end of the day. If you offer social opportunities during the event, advertise them in your promotional efforts. Video is an ideal means to show clips from last year’s meet and greet or karaoke night.
Once you’ve put together a short list of videos to drive event registrations, consider where to post your videos. At a minimum, include a video on the event website main page and a video on the event sign up page. If you have an email list, take a screen shot of a video still with the play button visible and link it to a video in an email blast to your subscribers. Linking video in emails may double or even triple your click through rates. Make your videos easy to share so people are more likely to promote them via social media. Don’t forget to send follow up emails with photos and videos after the event, reminding attendees of the great times they had and encouraging them to sign up for future events.
As you plan events, keep video in mind throughout the process. Preparing ahead of time and getting the video you need during the event provides ample footage to put together promotional material for future events.