20 Creative Ideas for Marketing Content Creation at Live Events
According to a recent survey by the Content Marketing Institute, 88% of marketers in North America use some form of content marketing to promote a product or service. Out of those marketers, 76% of respondents say that they plan to produce more content this year than in previous years. That means it’s time to hop on the event content creation train!
This may be good news for you. In fact, this may be very good news. Event professionals who implement a content marketing strategy will have a true first-mover advantage compared to those who are unwilling to try something different and experiment with new marketing techniques.
It’s Time to Use Social Media for Content Creation at Live Events
Over 83% of all event organizers plan to use social media at their events in 2015 according to Julius Solaris’s report. While the advantages of integrating social media into live events are countless, social media needs time, energy and mostly content to be fed with.
Luckily, live events provide priceless opportunities for generating valuable content that will engage your attendees, create a sense of community and extend the life cycle of your event.
We’ve composed a list of 20 opportunities for creating content at your event to ensure you’ll never be without a great idea again. You may be familiar with some of them, but we hope to surprise you with some new ideas as well!
Discover 20 Content Creation Ideas for Better Event Marketing
Part 1: Live tweeting ideas for event marketing
Live tweet your ideas and your audience’s ideas. Live-tweeting blends audience participation with live micro journalism. And it’s usually the main channel of content distribution during your event. Make sure to feed your Twitter account with the following tweets:
1. Tweet insights:
Try to capture the essence of your speakers’ talks and tweet the most interesting facts and figures they present.
2. Share speakers’ quotes:
People have this innate craving for good quotes. Tweet the best quotes from your speakers. They often get loads of re-shares.
3. Tweet with pictures:
Attach pictures to your tweets to significantly increase engagement and reach.
4. Retweet a lot:
Your attendees’ tweets are an endless source of powerful insights and they are genuine captures from your event. Show attendees some love and retweet them generously.
Part 2: Video ideas to create event marketing content
5. Video testimonials:
Video your attendees and capture their impressions from your event “ ask about what they’ve learned, which speaker inspired them the most, etc.
6. Video thought leaders:
Video thought leaders and get their comments on the topics that are being presented and discussed at your event.
7. Video exhibitors:
Exhibitors are often overlooked at events. Have your exhibitors say on camera how they can or want to help your attendees.
8. Share industry predictions:
People love predictions. Ask the key figures in the industry to share their views about the upcoming trends in your niche.
9. Share behind-the-scenes video:
Video how you’re team is setting up or running the event. It gives your event a powerful touch of authenticity and links a human element to your brand.
10. Shoot time-lapse:
Time-lapse videos are surprisingly underused and therefore can have a big WOW factor on viewers. Try to capture the movement of people to magnify the time-lapse effect. Check out this article to learn how to take amazing time-lapse video with your iPhone.
11. Record Vines:
Looping videos are really trending and an easy way to make your event go viral! You can share them easily via Twitter or Instagram. Humor is the key here! Here are 5 tips for using them effectively at conferences.
Part 3: Blog ideas for your event marketing content strategy
12. Share your story:
Share your personal challenges from organizing your event in a blog post. People always crave genuine stories.
13. How-to blog:
Did something work particularly well? What is the key takeaway from organizing your event? Share your lessons with your peers.
14. Invite delegates to submit their blog posts:
Leverage the potential of the crowd and ask your delegates to share their stories from your conference “ main takeaways, how-to’s, key learning points, etc.
15. Share your speakers’ bios:
Spice it up with additional questions about their professional life. It’s a win-win. You get great content with no effort and your speakers get more visible.
16. Post-event Q&A:
If you use a Q&A platform at your event, email the archived questions that were not answered to your speakers. Ask them to respond to them in the form of a video or a blog post. Your audience will love you for providing them the answers that they didn’t hear from the stage. For more ideas, take a look at post-event engagement tips.
Part 4: Use event photos as content for marketing
17. Sneak peek photos:
Whet your delegates’ appetites by showing a sneak peek of your event being set up, hotel lobbies, surrounding area, etc.
18. Collect selfies:
Selfies are the new autographs, said Julia Hartz from Eventbrite. At events, where people have the chance to meet their ˜heroes’ and colleagues, they take a lot of them. Share them! People love reliving the joyful moments.
19. Publish candid photos:
While you often need to wait for a couple of days for the official pictures, you can share attendees’ candid captures instantly. You can also encourage more photo sharing by displaying picture tweets on the Twitter walls.
20. Post a photo collage:
Create a photo collage from tons of pictures accumulated at your conference. A tool such as PicMonkey can help you create one.
Part 5: Creative content ideas for events
21. Share speakers’ presentations:
Sometimes content is already there, it just needs to be shared. Always ask your speakers for permission to share their presentations!
22. Share your event story:
Collect pictures, tweets or videos from your event with Storify and share them in one consistent report.
23. Creat event infographics:
There is so much data accumulated at events these days. It calls for the graphic interpretation. You can include the number of attendees and speakers, the number of asked questions, the number of drunk coffees, and so on. Use infogr.am to create beautiful infographics in a super easy way.
Looking for more ideas about event content creation?
Create buzz by doing the legwork to provide information and excitement. Create a compelling hashtag, involve the audience in decision making before the event.
The most important factor in promoting an event successfully is knowing the audience and tailoring promotion such that it will resonate with them. Keep your messaging simple and relevant, and continue to put in the work, and you will see your event grow.
Now You’re Ready to Create Great Event Content Marketing!
What content do you create at your events? Do you have a hot tip?
Up next, learn more about helpful floor plan apps for laying out your event, and how to create a customized event planning checklist.