The rapid transition to virtual and hybrid events over the past year has accelerated the pace of innovation in the industry. Event planners and producers learned quickly that a day-long Zoom webinar is not an engaging, high-value virtual experience. Finding new virtual engagement tools to maximize registrations, keep attendees engaged throughout the entire event (and beyond), and deliver more value to event sponsors is one of the highest priorities of event professionals.
Many leading organizations are leveraging the power of user-generated video content at their events to invite attendees to join in the conversation and empower sponsors to create authentic advertisements that actually drive conversion. Real video stories from real people drive real results for virtual and hybrid events, enabling things like:
Gathering affordable user-generated video content for your event doesn’t have to be hard. Gather Voices’ Video Relationship Management (VRM) software makes it simple to collect the video content you need, secure the digital rights to share it, and quickly publish the content across your marketing channels. But how do you actually get your audience to share user-generated content with you? It’s easier than you think to invite your community to join in the conversation:
These days, we’re all walking around with professional video cameras in our pockets. People are more comfortable than ever before with creating and sharing their own video content. While it may feel new and challenging to ask your community to co-create video content for your next event with you, it’s not as big of an ask as you think.
You’ll gather more user-generated video content if you make it simple for your community to provide it to you. Include requests for video into your existing processes. For example, consider requiring potential speakers to submit a video preview of their session as part of the application process. Invite your community to introduce themselves with video as part of the event registration process to jumpstart virtual networking. Offer your sponsors turnkey opportunities to create authentic video content that actually converts.
But don’t stop there. In addition to baking video requests into your existing event processes, you should also be extending personal invitations. Use direct outreach to encourage the most engaged and influential members of your community to share their authentic video stories and experiences. Listen as Windy Christner, Associate Vice President of Meetings and Expositions at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) talk about her team’s success in getting members of their community, including Miss America, to create affordable user-generated video content for their event:
Once you’ve gathered user-generated video content, use it to shine a spotlight on the members of your community during your event. Use this pre-recorded video content to create video compilations and montages to combat Zoom fatigue, fuel authentic attendee engagement, and shine a spotlight on the people at the heart of your organization’s mission.
Remember to use the user-generated video content you gather before, during, and after the event to continue to drive engagement. Use videos from event speakers and staff to promote the event and increase registrations. Create interactive, web-based videos galleries using authentic videos from your sponsors and encourage event attendees to check them out during the event. Gather testimonial videos and video insights from attendees to continue the engagement after the event.
Download our FREE Virtual and Hybrid Event Guidebook guidebook, which includes both written and video content, to learn how real event industry leaders are using video to drive more value for sponsors, increase registrations, and maximize attendee engagement.
Our Video Relationship Management software solution enables organizations to leverage the power of video to maximize value, attention, and attendance for their virtual, hybrid, and in-person events using pre-recorded content.
Gather Voices simplifies video content creation, making it affordable and simple. Collect video from anyone, anywhere, on any device. Manage, edit, caption and publish video with incredible speed and scale.
Co-create engaging stories by empowering your audience, speakers, sponsors, and staff to make compelling videos, directed by you and owned by your organization, using the powerful cameras everyone already has in their pockets.
You can learn more about how organizations like yours are meeting their goals with Gather Voices by reviewing our case studies and requesting a demo today.
2021 Event Marketing Statistics, Trends, and Data. December 2020. The Bizzabo Blog.
