Video Marketing For Events

Ever wondered if there was a more creative and engaging way to market your event?

Video marketing can be just that – a powerful tool to promote your event. Creating a promotional video is a fantastic way to reach new audiences online.

Video is just one of many types of content that can be used as part of an event marketing campaign. However, using video content to promote your event has some unique benefits that other content forms can’t offer.

Essentially, using promotional video is content marketing. The purpose of content marketing is to create valuable content especially for your target audience. It should aim to attract, engage and convert your users. It should carry them towards a conversion – like buying a ticket for your event!

This is where video marketing comes in. There are so many opportunities for you to serve your audience video content as they pass through the conversion journey. Videos that will help educate them, develop trust in your brand, and move them towards a purchase decision faster.

Click below to jump to a section:

Creating your own event videos

Working with a video production company

Promoting your video

Event video marketing takeaways

Why you should use Video to Promote your Event: the Power of Video Marketing

According to HubSpot, historically 26.4% of marketers don’t know which online tool to use to help them market events. (HubSpot, 2011). Faced with a number of content options, the tendency is to go for the easiest and quickest one. Video doesn’t often fall into this category.

Although video marketing for events has been around for a while now, it’s surprisingly underused. There are several reasons why event promoters are hesitant to use video (we’ll discuss the two biggest considerations later in this article), but so many more reasons to give it a go:

1) Video is 600% more effective than print and direct mail combined, and 1200% times more likely to be shared than links and text combined. (Diode Digital)

2) By 2019, global consumer internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer internet traffic (Cisco)

3) 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI (Adobe)

4) 64% of consumers purchase after watching branded videos (Tubular Insights)

5) Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text. (Yans Media)

Studies show that 93% of businesses who use video believe that it results in an increased user understanding of their product or service. If you want to engage pre-existing or new audiences online with your event, video might just be the tool for you.

In order to create video content, you need the answers to two questions:

What should my videos be about (what messaging and how to present your brand visually)

How much will my videos cost to make and promote?

What should my Marketing Videos be about?

Your videos should attract, engage and help convert the viewers. To get conversions, it’s vital to create video content that is useful to the audience. Give them valuable information that will help them understand the what, where, why and how of your event. Video is a perfect format to communicate what your event is all about.

For starters, creating a short video introduction to your event with key information about dates, times, locations and who is speaking/performing will be essential within a wider marketing campaign for your event.

Remember, you are trying to attract and entice viewers into attending your event.

Why should they come to your event?
Do you have facts and figures that you can use to demonstrate the benefit of the event?
What will they learn or experience that is unique to your event?
What will they miss out on by not being there?

By presenting your event’s unique selling points, you create a compelling case to potential event attendees.

Is creating Video Content Expensive?

The short answer is that video doesn’t have to be expensive at all. A big misconception is that you have to pay large amounts to get professional results. Working with a production company is one way to create great marketing videos for your event, but you can also easily create your own.

With recent advancements in smartphone technology, most of us will have a camera capable of recording high definition video already in our pockets! Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can create award-winning marketing videos just with your iPhone. You’ll need some more equipment to help you along the way. We’ll cover this later.

If value for your money sounds good then you’ll love this top tip:

TOP TIP: One video can also be edited into smaller videos too. They don’t have to be long either. – Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer videos under 60 seconds (Animoto).

If the financial aspects of creating video for your event is putting you off, remember:

Including video in a landing page can increase conversion by 80% (EyeView).
Video in an email leads to 200-300% increase in click-through rates (HUBSPOT)

Essentially, creating video is worth the initial investment as their ROI (return on investment) can be very high.

NSW State Archives

Events video terminology

Before we explore event marketing videos in more detail, let’s define some of the language around creating digital video. Here’s a glossary of video terminology:

Ambient

Incidental sound recorded at a shooting location

Aspect ratio

This is the shape of the video picture, either 16:9 (widescreen) or 4:3 (old television shape).

Brief

A document that explains what a client wants a programme to communicate, who the audience are, where the programme is to be used and the timescales involved.

Director

The person giving instruction to as to how a scene is to be shot, instructing actors and choosing shots in a multi-camera live recording.

Export

The process when you are finalising your video files. You will export your video from the creative software into a file container such as MP4 or MOV file.

Final Cut

Mac professional editing system

High definition or HD

is a picture resolution much greater than normal television. HD pictures are made up of 720 or 1080 horizontal lines as opposed to the 576 of standard definition television.

Library music

or Production music. Off the shelf music written specifically for general use in Television and video production. Music is selected for programmes and a copyright fee is paid according to its use.

Long shot

This usually means a shot from distance with the lens zoomed in to the subject

Media

Any video or audio file

Off-line edit

This is the basic edit where we’re simply putting in all the content, without graphics and music and before tidying it up.

On-line edit

This is the full version of the edit with all the graphics music and effects.

Piece to camera

A single person looking into the lens addressing the viewer. Usually a mid shot

Producer

The person responsible for arranging everything that goes into a production.

Rifle mic or gun mic

A long directional microphone that might be used on a boom or hand held and pointed like a gun

Shooting script

This is a version of the script with a column of notes showing what video footage is needed to be filmed to go with the script.

Standard Definition television, as opposed to ‘SD cards’ which more likely contain high definition footage

Shooting

Recording video or filming

Storyboard

A series of quickly sketched drawings that describe a scene to be filmed or a complete programme. This is also often the term used for a shooting script.

Treatment

A document compiled by the production company explaining how they intend to produce a programme.

Voice-over

The recorded voice of a narrator

Vox pops

Recording members of the public as they’re asked their opinion on a topic

Post

Post production.

Post production

This is all that’s involved in making a programme after filming has taken place.

1080p and 1080i

Full High Definition resolutions, (progressive or interlaced frames)

Create Marketing Videos For Your Event

Now you know the lingo and we’ve established that creating marketing videos can help promote your event, let’s look at how you can go about creating videos.

Creating your own video

Video equipment basics

You’ll need some equipment to get started:

A camera/smartphone that films 4K video. There are some great options on the market in 2018. Apple’s iPhone X or 8, the Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus or the LG G6 are all relatively new models that shoot video in 4K. But if you’re planning to use your mobile check the spec online to see if your phone can film in 4K. Some digital SLR cameras will also be able to shoot video in 4K too.

What Is 4K Video?

4K video is the highest resolution that Smartphones can capture video. This is calculated on the total pixel count for the frame. HD video has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 where as 4K video has a resolution of 3840 x 2160, this is nearly four times the quality of HD video.

A tripod or something to keep your camera steady – if you’re using your mobile there are some very affordable grips that attach to surfaces or stands very easily. A quick Google search will throw up many options.
A microphone to record audio. In-built mics can often record low quality sound, so an external mic plugged in to your camera is recommended. Rode, Shure and Zoom all have very affordable external mics on the market. Expect to spend between £50 – £100 on a decent mic.
Some video-editing software for your computer.
A well-lit space. This might mean investing in a few spot-lights depending on whether you are filming indoors or out.

Once you have the basics you’ll need to think about where you’ll be filming. Noisy backgrounds such as event breakout spaces aren’t ideal if you are trying to tell people about your event so try and choose an environment you can control.

Learning how to shoot and edit video can take some time to master but they are useful skills to learn. There are lots of tutorial videos online that can teach you how to piece together your video footage into the finished article.

State Archive of Carolina via Flickr

What are the Different Types of Video I can Create?

There are many different types of video you can create for your event. Depending on the purpose or the message of the video, there will be a video that suits your need. Here are a few you might have heard of before:

- Trailer– a short, medium or long preview of your event.

- Behind the Scenes– an exclusive access video where the viewer gets to see ‘behind the scenes’ at your event.

- How-To– A describer video where the viewer is guided through a process or a user journey. This could be ‘how to book a ticket’ or ‘how to choose the seminars you want to book into’.

- Review– A review of the event itself or of a speaker that could be appearing at your event.

There are three main stages that your viewers will go through in the process of research and converting online.

Awareness Stage Videos:
The awareness stage is the most obvious place to use video. They’ve started their journey towards buying a ticket but you’ll need to give them attractive, standout information to get their attention. You’re competing against a lot of noise online. Make that initial interest count.

Consideration Stage Videos:
By the time they reach the consideration stage, they’ll know who you are — but they want to know more. You’ll want your videos to be so good that they’ll click from your video to where you want to lead them. Users research at their own pace so give them a reason to come back. The key is giving them useful, relevant, understandable information that meets their needs.

Decision Stage Videos:
Your viewer is now in the decision stage. It’s crunch time. They’re clued up on who you are and what you’re offering, they might even be aware of some of your values but they’re trying to decide if it’s the right event for them. This is where it’s even more important to match the right video to the right person because their concerns are becoming more specific. Your video will be longer because it will contain even more detail.

Once the conversion has happened (they have bought a ticket), video can service your new attendees with exciting updates, news or additional information. We’ll cover marketing timelines later in this article.

Are there Free Online Video Tools I can use?

There are several different ways to edit video online or on your computer for free. Here are four great options”

iMovie

For Mac users, your computer will come with iMovie already installed. This free software is brilliant for making simple videos. There’s lots of functionality as you can create title and exit screens, transitions between frames, and add images and audio on top of your video. iMovie is also available on iPads and iPhones too so you can edit on the go.

Shotcut

Shotcut is a free video editor that makes even advanced editing straightforward. Shotcut is a brilliant tool for novice videographers.

Download Shotcut

Lightworks

Lightworks is a very powerful video editor, packed with professional quality tools allowing easy, fast and flexible editing for free.

Download Lightworks

Biteable

Biteable allows video makers to create animated videos by making it as simple as creating a PowerPoint presentation. This site is well worth an explore.

Download Biteable

Do I Need to Write a Script for my Video?

Yes. This is a great idea as you can really spend some time thinking about the message that you want to convey in your video. This will help you to sharpen any key messages you want to deliver. However, you might decide that writing bullet points and then improvising around them might give your message a more natural feel.

Writing a script can help you to think about everything you want to cover in the video. Even if you don’t end up using it, you’ll find the task helpful as it will make you think about your event in different ways. Often your draft script forms the basis of a storyboard.

Deciding on a word-for-word script or an off-the-cuff approach will also depend on the video. The former might be best suited for an event introduction or How-To video where you use pre-written copy. The latter is best suited for a candid feel, most commonly seen in behind the scenes or interview videos.

Who should be in my Video?

For some event promoters this is one of the reasons why they choose not to create video content. Simply, they do not want to be in front of the camera. This is completely understandable but shouldn’t stop you creating great video for your event.

Putting your face and personality on video will help audiences relate to you and your event. You will be able to convey emotions like excitement or humour, demonstrate your deep understanding of a key subject or topic. It can also help viewers to understand difficult concepts by using everyday language and expressions.

If you are not a confident communicator, you can choose to use someone in the event team, an actor or a speaker that might be performing at your event. Choosing a presenter that has a wide influence on their social media channels will also help to promote your finished video. Learn more about influencer marketing.

How long should my video be?

The answer to this question will depend on the type of video you are creating. It is also part of a bigger conversation about how video will be used throughout the whole marketing campaign.

A live broadcast stream will be much longer than a How To video. The most important thing to consider here is where will your video fit in the initial decision-making process for the viewer. Viewer behaviour is a key factor here. Are you trying to get their attention or are you providing a deeper level of context? This will then help you to decide how long your video should be.

Can I Use Other People’s Video Footage in my Video?

Yes, but only with their written permission. If you want to use stock video you’ve found online you may have to pay a license fee. It’s always best to check the ownership of the video before deciding to use it in your video as this might create complications further on down the line if you find that you cannot use it. The general rule is to always seek permission even if you are certain you can use any third-party video.

Using User Generated Content for my Marketing Video

The content you produce can serve as valuable marketing content for your event. However, you can increase your event exposure by including user-generated content (UGC).

According to Matthew Woodward study, 79% of users say that UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions, while social media campaigns incorporating UGC get 50% more engagement.

Here are a few ideas for gathering User Generated Content to promote your event:

One – Invite your followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to send you pictures. Create a wall of their posts on your feed.

Two – Search within Instagram for your event’s name when used as a hashtag. This will enable you to find posts from other people that are talking about your event. Use the Repost app to re-share these images. This is a great way to interact with people that are talking about your event online.

Pay people to create content for you. Send out an email asking for past event attendees to write testimonials or reviews. Similarly, you can ask for people to create videos of themselves talking about how excited they are for your upcoming event. Contributors might even give you this content for free as they will appear in your videos. Creating mutually beneficial partnerships where both parties get something out of the deal will encourage people to interact with-in your community. They might also become ‘street team’ like promotors for your event as they will feel personally invested in your event

What are the Different Video File Formats?

Here are the most frequently used file containers used when exporting video to usable files online:

AVI (Audio Video Interleave) …
FLV (Flash Video Format) …
WMV (Windows Media Video) …
MOV (Apple QuickTime Movie) …
MP4 (Moving Pictures Expert Group 4)

Any of the file containers listed above are supported by YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook. Make sure that your finished video is packaged in one of the above file forms. If you are creating your own video you’ll need to select the appropriate container when you are exporting the file out of the software you are using. If a production company is doing this just let them know your preference for exported files.

Explaining File Containers– A normal video file in a digital format is made up of two parts, a “codec” and a “container”. A “codec” is used to compress and decompress a video file, as there are times where video files are too large and may cause difficulty when trying to download or play the file. Some examples of “codecs” are FFMpeg, DivX, XviD, and x264. A “container” is a collection of files that stores information about the digital file. It simply means there is a combination of both audio and video data in a single file to allow for simultaneous audio-with-video playback. Some popular types of “containers” are AVI, FLV, WMV, MP4, and MOV.

Audio For Video – How Do I Record Professional Audio For My Video?

A decent external microphone is very important for recording professional sounding audio for your video. If you are filming outside a microphone windshield will also help to get rid of unwanted wind noise. Placing your microphone in the right place when recording will be about trial and error so be prepared to experiment. This is where you might use a Rifle mic or gun mic. This is a long directional microphone that might be used on a boom or hand held and pointed like a gun.

Working with a Video Production Company

If you don’t have the time to create your own video, you can use a video production company.

How Do I Find A Production Team to Work With?

Some of the best video production companies are typically poor marketers of their own services, relying instead on word of mouth. A Google search can be an OK start, but the trust factor is difficult to gauge. Contact your peers and chat to your contacts – see if they have used production companies in the past that they’d recommend.

Create a YouTube playlist of videos you like and start calling the production companies that made them.

Pull together a little black book of video production contacts. Talk to a few to see how they would approach your specific project and their charges. Make sure that they cover all extras like voiceover and edits. You’ll soon get a good idea of whether you want to work with that company or not.

How to Work with a Video Production Team

When you work with a video production company, it’s good to know the best practices around briefing, process, contracts with that company and the rights to any videos created.

1. – Once you have decided on a production company, you get to work with them on a brief. This will detail the specifics of what you want from your video including the way it will look, how long, and what it will contain etc. The company will have experience in the briefing process so aim to collaborate with them. They might have ideas on how to deliver exactly what you want.

2. – Keep an open mind but don’t get carried away. State your budget early on so that any ideas are achievable with the money you have.

3. – Once budgets have been agreed, finalise the work brief and submit this to the production company. You will also need to let them know when you will need the video by. Defining deadlines is crucial to the overall process, especially when fitting in with the marketing plan around your event. A contract maybe drawn up that outlines all the important details about the work you are asking the company to carry out.

4. – Video shoot and footage gathering.

5. – An Offline Edit will be sent to you to look at. An offline edit is simply the sequence of shots put together in the right order. The audio, treatment or overlaid text/subtitles will probably not be in place or at least not a final version. The production company will get your sign off on this, take in any suggested amends and continue to work on the final video.

6. – An Online Edit will be sent to you to look at. This is the full version of the edit with all the graphics music and effects. The Online edit will also include your suggested amendments and anything that was agreed at the Offline stage. This is your chance to make any final tweaks to the video. Create a list of suggested changes and send to the editor.

7. – The final video is now ready. Make sure you know what file types you will need. This is important as any further requests after the work has been completed will probably result in an additional bill from the production company.

8. – Make sure that the final video is stored securely in a place you can access easily.

9. – Pay the company.

How Do I Promote My Video

SDASM Archives on Flickr

There are several ways to promote your video content online. This is a very big subject and there are many different ideas and opinions on how to do this successfully. As event marketers, you will already have an idea of how to market content online.

Marketing video is largely the same as promoting other content online. Let’s start with the basics.

Where should I Upload the Video when it’s Finished?

This is very dependent on where your video fits with-in your wider marketing campaign (see the Awareness, Consideration and Decision model for content delivery). If the video will sit embedded on a webpage or an email, YouTube is probably the best place to upload it to. You will be able to use the embed code feature to insert the video file into the page or the email.

For more information on event platforms and websites, read our guide to getting your event online here.

Understanding where your audiences are online is step one. If your audiences are older you might find them on Facebook or contact them through emails. If they are younger, Instagram and Snapchat are probably the best bets in terms of social channels.

Most social media platforms allow you to upload video. If you are creating live videos they will almost certainly be created in your social media channels. There are also some live streaming websites available. For now, here’s a list of the most frequently used sites or apps that you can upload video to:

Static platforms

YouTube
Vimeo
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Snapchat

Social/Live Streaming platforms

Periscope production
Facebook live
Instagram live
Twitch
Bambuser
Tiny Chat
Instagram

Why should I use YouTube?

Big conferences, tradeshows, and festivals around the world have recognised the power of YouTube for event promotion and marketing.

Event marketers stand to win big if they understand how important YouTube’s role can be in reaching audiences. Here’s some facts about the video platform that prove you should use YouTube to platform your content:

YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world, processing 3 billion searches every month.
The global video-sharing network is also the 2nd largest social network with 1 billion users, second only to Facebook!
YouTube is owned by the largest search engine (Google). Because of that, YouTube videos get extra exposure in Google’s search engine giant’s rankings.

YouTube Optimisation

Getting your video in front of your audiences will primarily be about how you optimise the companion text that goes with your video on YouTube. This is the same as using SEO techniques for your articles or blog entries.

Search Engine Optimisation for YouTube starts with meta data.

Your video’s title– this should be clear compelling and concise. Keep it under 60 Characters too. Use Google’s Keyword planner to research some key words. Once you have discovered what people are searching for, include those words in the title tag.

Your video’s description– When Google populates your description box it only display the first to two to three lines of text. This means you can populate these sentences with your keywords, include a relevant call to action with a link, your video credits and links to your other channels online. Including a video transcript in the description is also a smart move as it naturally include some of your keywords

Tags– YouTube allows you to tag your video. This a good opportunity to use that keyword research again. Including more general short and more detailed longtail terms will give your video more chance of being found.

Closed Captions– When uploading your video, the CC (or closed captions) option allows you to include a transcript that can include extra information. YouTube allows you to drop captions throughout your video. This is another great opportunity to use your keywords.

By doing all of the above you’re giving your video the best chance it can have to be found.

Using Social Media to Promote My Videos

Platforming your video on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter mean that they will have greater reach. Sponsored or ‘paid for’ promotion of content is very much a part of promoting content on social media channels. Consider who you want to market your videos to, create custom audiences and put some spend behind it.

Monitor impressions and clicks on the videos you upload using the onboard analytics available within the channels. This will help you learn what sort of videos your audience likes. In turn it aids with planning the next stage of your marketing strategy.

If you can find other like-minded groups or organisations on Facebook or Twitter you can always share your videos with those specific communities.

Viral Video Marketing

When it comes to videos and social media, there is always the potential to ‘go viral’. It is unlikely that your event video will go viral (sorry to disappoint), but you can increase its chances of wider sharing by considering the following:

- A message that will make the sharer seem like they are knowledgeable about the subject themselves. They are sharing your content because they want to add to the wider conversation.

- Making it entertaining / funny / emotional.

Creating useful and insightful content can be done quite easily as you will probably already have those resources to hand. Making funny or emotional videos is not so easy. Everyone wants to create video content that goes viral because, ultimately, the video will promote itself through peer to peer sharing.

There’s no set formula on how to create funny video. Humour is most definitely subjective, but if you know your audience well you might be able to find a clever way to appeal to them. Find videos that you think are funny, interrogate them as to why they are funny and then apply what you have learnt to your videos.

Event Marketing Timeline – When & How to use your Videos

Event video marketing strategies can be created using a timeline model. Mapping the different types of videos you can create and use on to a timeline of events will help you to decide what videos to make and when to release them.

Remember, the key to creating engaging content is to match a query with information that is useful to the user. Where that user is in the sales funnel, matched with the event timeline should dictate your marketing activity.

The sales funnel will be most relevant to before the event if you are only targeting conversions that result in a user buying a ticket. However, a conversion could also be a user after the event discovering your brand and booking in to your next event. Another conversion might be that the user becomes an event patron. They will share your content because it was so useful to them. Target your audience with affective messaging relevant to what you want them to do.

Below are some ideas of what videos to create and release with-in a marketing timeline for your event:

Before the Event

Teaser snippets for social media channels

Long form trailer

Short form trailer

Personalised Invite– a personal message video in an email.

Testimonials – glowing reports from past attendees.

Public Service Announcements– news updates as the event gets closer

FAQ’s– answering potential event attendees questions about the event.

During the Event

Live streaming feed

Vox pops – on-the-spot interviews with people at your event.

Behind the scenes – Exclusive access to areas of your event that might not be seen by attendees. The backstage pass experience.

360 Experience – using 3D video to give people an idea of what it is like to be at your event

After the Event

Testimonials – glowing reports from your event attendees

Key learnings – a summary of all of the key learnings from your event in a short easy to understand format.

Review – a review of how the event went. How many people came? What was the feedback from your attendees?

Personalised thankyous and invites to next event

Event Video Marketing Checklist – Key Learnings and takeaways

There are many facets to marketing event video content online. In this guide, we’ve explored the core areas of strategy, creation and promotion. Here are some key takeaways:

9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI. Video is worth investing in!
Video is great for brand awareness. 93% of businesses who use video believe that it has increased user understanding of their product or service.
Your videos should attract, engage and convert your visitors. To get conversions it’s vital to create content that is useful to the audience.
You can create your own video on a small budget or use professional production companies. You don’t have to spend a fortune to create great marketing videos for your event.
Consider the marketing funnel – awareness, consideration and decision-making – when thinking about what video to create and when to release it.
70% of people polled indicated that UGC influences their decisions more than professionally written content.
Upload your video to YouTube – it is the second largest search engine in the world, processing 3 billion searches every month.
Mapping your video ideas onto an event marketing timeline will help you to create a strategy for your video.
Creating video content that people will want to share makes your job a lot easier. Make useful, authoritative and entertaining videos if you want to get the most reach.

20 Bedford Way – Central London Event Venue with a Difference

If you are looking for a central London venue with amazing transport links then 20 Bedford Way is for you. We have highly affordable rates, good evening and weekend availability including our 910 seater theatre Logan Hall. Contact us today on 020 7612 6143.

Main image from Australian National Maritime Museum on Flickr