Benefits of Using Videos in Virtual Events

From Google Marketing Live to Cannes, every important event is now going virtual. In fact, Vogue thinks their fashion weeks might embrace the virtual-verse even after the pandemic. Because if there is one thing that COVID-19 has taught us, it is that businesses need to be future-ready.

Businesses can’t afford to cancel major events anymore. Pivoting is permanent. But not every virtual event is a success. Because creating an event is not enough, rather businesses are required to meet attendees’ expectations.

Videos in Virtual Events in the Post-Pandemic World

The biggest problem with virtual events is that people are tired of screens. After spending an entire year working from home, they want something truly groundbreaking to sit through a virtual event.

That’s where video comes in!

89% of video marketers say video gives them a good ROI. That’s mostly because 66% of consumers prefer watching a video to reading about a business’s products or services.

Videos can inform and entertain simultaneously, making them the ideal content format for marketers. In fact, almost every marketer is satisfied with the ROI they generate through videos on social media.

So, videos are a clear winner. And that is true for virtual events, too.

Virtual events have become such a norm that the MAIN Guards (a military organization) moved their entire competitive season to be delivered using video and they plan to continue using virtual events to ongoing.

So, if you are wondering what kind of videos would be great for your virtual events, here are the most common types of videos marketing and communications directors are using in their virtual events across the world. From increasing anticipation to displaying glorious testimonials, these videos are perfect for encapsulating everything your business is about.

• Pre-recorded videos - To create successful events, you ought to hype it up. Pre-recorded videos can be used to generate buzz for an upcoming event. You can promote them on your social media handles to sell more tickets or simply spread the word about your business’s activity. Pre-recorded videos can be excellent aids during the events as well, to help you supplement and increase the quality of your live event overall. They’re great because they help you to get your message across in an organized manner and help keep the momentum going while bumping up the production quality of your event. Or you can pre-record your entire event and broadcast it using an event platform, in the same way, a traditional television show being broadcast… only now you are the TV station!

• Live-streaming – Most virtual events are live streaming and there are lots of platforms you can use (more on that later) in fact Live streaming has become so popular that Twitch received over 1.6 billion hours of streaming in October 2020.

  There are big benefits and some detriments to livestreaming your event. If you don’t opt entirely for pre-recorded content, then you need to make sure that you can pull off a live event in style. This is no small task and many large organizations are failing miserably at it. It’s particularly important to have a clear intention for live streaming your events. According to Marcelo Alba, Lead Events and Experiences Strategist at Google, live streaming virtual events should have a real purpose. If your event lacks the reason that would make people want to attend your event in real-time, you might not have a successful virtual event.

  To do it right you need to stack your event with an experienced host, supplemental pre-recorded material, activities, music and entertainment and even provide food for your guests. Live streaming is no different than a live television broadcast, and trust me, if you don’t have the expertise in house its always best to find a team that has the experience to make your virtual event a true success.

• Infographic/animated videos - Your attendees love to see your products or service in action. Instead of simply making them read a manual or brochure, you can use animated/infographic videos to make them familiar with your product line. Visuals let you grab the viewers’ attention and retain it for longer than any other content format. That’s also why videos make for such great demonstration videos.
• Post-event videos - Your virtual events marketing campaign will probably be incomplete without post-event videos. Post-event videos allow you to capture on-site footage and use the highlights from the events to showcase its success to the world. They also provide your attendees with an opportunity to relive the excitement from the event. Post-event videos can be used for promoting an upcoming event in your pipeline, as well.

6 Benefits of using videos in virtual events

Videos are the future of virtual events. 43% of events used videos in 2018 and nearly every event manager found videos to be very effective. Whether it is generating new leads or appealing to a global audience, here are a few significant benefits of using videos in virtual events.

• Grab attention easily and connect with the viewers

  Viewers retain 95% of the information in videos, whereas they only remember 10% of what they read. So, it is easier to grab your audience’s attention and keep more than half of them hooked to the content

  Even with the sound off, you can connect with your audience easily using subtitles, making videos an über convenient content format. And you only have to keep your videos under a minute to enjoy higher engagement rates.

• Pre-record your event to look super polished

When putting on events a word of advice that every marketer and event producer follows is that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And you need to be prepared for the worst.

This is why we always recommend organizations pre-record at least part of your event so your footage can look super professional and refined. It also helps you increase the quality and engagement of your viewers.

Using pre-recorded videos helps you easily steer clear of minor and common mistakes that generally happen during virtual events. Helping you maintain professional conduct in front of your existing and potential clients, members and viewers.

• Reach more clients despite geographical barriers

Virtual events have opened a host of new market opportunities, you can engage with a global audience without going overboard with your budget. This was never before possible and now thanks to technological advancements, today we have the tools to create stellar shows right at our fingertips.

And it is quite easy to get yourself in front of an audience, which is why so many companies have continued to interact with their audiences even amid the pandemic.

Virtual events can be used to appeal to a global audience, despite the geographical barriers. That’s why you don't necessarily have to restrict your content to your local customers. You can generate viewers and clients across the globe from any part of the world just by creating high-quality content. Talk about scalability!

All you need is the right team to make that happen for you and you will be enjoying excellent brand visibility in no time.

• Establish or increase the brand authority through informational videos

Videos allow you to establish your business as a credible expert, which has the power to influence results in a particular industry while entertaining your audience. By exhibiting your products, expertise, and services in compelling ways, you can shape the way people perceive your organization in your field.

You can pre-record high-quality commercial videos to talk about the key product or service features that you can’t demonstrate in real-life situations. Using colors, graphics, emotions, and a strategic communication style, you can easily hook your audience on your videos. Through this, you can also enjoy better ROI on video marketing.

On the flip side of this if you don’t think through how you are going to show off your products or services you can weaken your offer. Always consult with a professional before you demo any product or service so they can help you present your offer in the best light.

• Showcase your brand’s creativity through videos

There are limitations to what you can achieve through blogs and images. But videos offer you infinite room for creativity. Adding elements to your events such as live hosts and a vibrant presentation can take your virtual events to new heights.

We recommend doing things that your competitors won’t typically have in their virtual events to make yours more memorable.

For example, since many businesses are working remotely, it is common to feel restricted when putting on a great show. But with Tetra, you can film your videos from the comfort of your home in front of a green screen and we can help you bring the feed into our control room to offer you professionally edited videos.

From titles to transitions to effects to music, there is nothing that you can't add to your show with our video editors.

You can also pre-record your videos for post-event video marketing or use the footage during the live broadcast of the virtual events. This will help you optimize your budget while reaching a global audience base.

• Improve communication with the clients using high-quality visuals

It is always wiser to optimize your virtual event budget by repurposing the content for your prospective client base.

The videos and footage produced for the event can be used to target potential clients. You can demonstrate your team’s operations to generate leads for your business. Since people love knowing about the people that they work with, it is easier to build a personal connection with them through engaging videos.

You can also use your videos to establish yourself as an authority in the eyes of your potential clients, so you don’t have to create ads or other marketing collateral to make yourself seen.

Video marketing for event promotion

Videos garner 300% more traffic than other content formats. They are estimated to generate 82% of the total internet traffic by 2022. Evidently, the audience wants more video content, making it easier for businesses to promote their events using video marketing. Here are 4 incredibly efficient ways of doing that.

During the event

You can perform video marketing during the event using a series of videos covering topics related to your business or niche. Since educational or infographic videos work best for video presentations within virtual events, you can create product or service demonstration videos to keep your audience informed and entertained throughout the show.

Email marketing

You can use email marketing as part of your video marketing campaign both pre-event and post-event. Many businesses prefer sending pre-event animated or personal video reminder emails to both their attendees and those who have not confirmed their presence. After the event is over, they also send over snippets of the event to showcase its success. An excellent content repurposing technique, these snippets can be used to build anticipation for upcoming events, as well.

Landing page

Creating a separate landing page for your virtual event is one of the most underrated video marketing strategies. Countless businesses forget that videos on landing pages can boost the conversion rate by 80%. You can introduce your virtual event on a dedicated landing page using a video to grab more people’s attention towards it without spending a dime on paid ads.

Social media marketing

With Facebook experiencing 8 billion video views and Twitter getting 6x more video retweets, social media has become an indispensable tool for video marketing. So, it makes sense to optimize your content and run event clips in the form of ads on social media. Since short, informational videos increase engagement, you can promote <1-minute videos to potential clients and enjoy better leads.

Top virtual events platforms in 2021

Virtual events platforms have become quite a handy tool for managing virtual events from anywhere in the world. From conducting Q&A sessions to surveys, these platforms have made putting together a virtual event a cakewalk. Below are our top picks for virtual events platforms for 2021.

GoToWebinar

Starting at $89 a month, GoToWebinar is a market leader in virtual events software. The plan comes with webinar templates for ease of production, custom branding, an audience poll feature, CRM integrations, event recording, and detailed analytics of up to 2,000 attendees.

Cons: if you are a beginner, this software won’t feel as user-friendly as some of its competitors. So, you will need to possess some technical knowledge to operate the platform

Hopin

Hopin has gained so much popularity in less than 3 years of their existence that they have raised funding thrice since 2020. Rightly so! The platform comes with a smart event builder and an all-in-one event management tool. Being customizable is just one of Hopin’s strengths. It also allows you to build events based on the type of event you are looking to conduct. For instance, if you want to organize a virtual exhibition, you can use their interactive ‘Expos and Tradeshows’ feature to start creating and scheduling your event in just a few clicks.

Cons: While Hopin is simple and flexible for any type of user, the events are limited to 72 hours. So, if you want to record more, this platform won’t prove to be useful for you.

Zoom

With up to 40 minutes of free virtual event sessions, Zoom is one of the best communication tools out there. It is low cost, easily accessible, and user-friendly. Zoom’s data analytics is also one of the most talked-about features. But the breakout rooms are where it really shines. Since managing a larger audience base can be challenging, Zoom allows you to assign breakout rooms to people and essentially, break down your attendees into groups.

Cons: Zoom allows an audience size of only 500 people and has certain limitations on online networking and interaction among participants. Additionally, its performance is mostly dependent on your device’s ability. If your computer can’t handle heavy software, Zoom may not work for you.

Hey Summit

HeySummit lets you enjoy both live and pre-recorded sessions along with detailed analytics of the entire event at only $29/month onwards. It comes with a built-in landing page builder and has numerous integrations, including Zoom and LinkedIn, allowing you to conduct your event on any platform.

Cons: The issue with HeySummit is its integrations. The platform heavily relies on third-party app integrations to function fully. Users who don’t want to have multiple integrations to put on a virtual event might find this feature quite inconvenient.

Working with a professional virtual events agency

If designing an event, choosing a platform, building the event from scratch, and marketing it sounds daunting to you, consider working with experts who know what it takes to build a killer virtual event. Here is what you should expect your virtual events agency to offer.

Manage virtual event

When looking for a professional video event company, ensure that they are full-service. A full-service agency can manage your entire virtual event from start to finish while using the platform of your choice. From planning a flawless strategy to executing it during event promotions, your event partner should be equipped with the right resources to build a successful event.

Entertain audience

Worried about not having enough pizzazz in your virtual event? When partnering with a video event agency, make sure that it offers talent recruitment for your event. It should have a strong network of hosts and other entertainment for your event - including having hosts for each breakout room.

Enjoy a reliable AV support

Technical failures are one of the primary reasons why virtual events fail to generate the results they are supposed to. From receiving multiple video and audio feeds/streams to consolidating them before the final broadcast, every aspect of a virtual event depends on AV support. That’s why it is so crucial to have proper AV support so that the central control room can function at 100%.

Although Tetra specializes in producing product demos and explanation videos, we pride ourselves on being one of the most technically sound and reliable video production companies in the market.

We provide our clients with specialty camera kits, which can be remotely operated by us, so your events look smooth and professional. And since we possess the technical expertise needed for both pre-recorded and live videos, we can also quickly assess a situation and provide you with the right advice.

Market virtual event

Both pre and post-event video marketing is at the core of a successful virtual event. Whether you want to send emails reminding people of your upcoming event or run ads for generating leads post-event, your video production and marketing company ought to be able to strategically repurpose your content and promote your business.

Partner with Tetrafilms

We understand how virtual events can be a game-changer for businesses if done right. So, if you don’t want to spend your budget on spraying and praying techniques, get in touch with us. Tetra is a leading video production company serving North America committed to delivering better results for your business with each virtual event.

Besides making you look professional, we help you establish your company as an industry leader in the marketplace through high-quality video production. Tetra also keeps your viewers engaged by offering a better virtual experience despite the virtual event fatigue.

All this while saving a ton of your money!

And if that has got you thinking, speak to our virtual events expert to start planning your next event today.