4 ways to engage your events audience with content pre event

Sep 29

Events are a great way to build buzz and excitement around your brand and we love face to face. But often, aside from the promotion of the event, sharing press releases about speakers signing up or brands that are joining you, in-depth content is put on the back of your to-do list each day because it takes time.

But it doesn't have to.

Your event attendees are already interested in your brand or the topics that will be discussed on the day, so why not utilise this captive group and give them something to really think about before the event. Here are four engagement rich activations you can use to engage your audience pre event and get the most out of your event content strategy.

Four Engagement Rich Activations

By creating more content before the event, you'll create a sense of anticipation and excitement that will make your event that much more successful. But as an event marketer, you probably already know that right?

You'll be used to sharing news and special announcements or blog posts, but these aren't the only types of content you should be sharing in the lead up to your event and our suggestions don't actually take that much extra time to create.

Get really personal with video

Your attendees are real people with real interests. Use the data you've collected about them at registration and send them extremely personalised content. It doesn't have to be a long form letter, sometimes a simple interview relevant to their interest is all you need to do to engage more.

How? Use that speaker that you've recorded as part of your pre-show content promotion. In your email, give your prospective attendee a synopsis and include a 15 second video clip to entice them in.

Why? By giving your event attendees a sneak preview of what's to come, you'll get them that much more excited for the event itself.

Launch an events podcast

Podcasts continue to grow as a great medium to engage audiences as people can listen (or watch) from pretty much anywhere. In 2022 82% of marketers plan to continue investing in podcasts and audio content, so it should form part of your strategy too and is great for brand activations when looing at sponsorship opportunities.

How? With a line up of great speakers at your event, you've already got the guests, so invite them in for a pre-event interview talking about what they'll be sharing at the event and share this through your podcast. It's a very simple way (done correctly) to create engaging content.

Why? Not only is it a great way to show off the speakers you've got lined up and it also helps people feel like they know the speakers a little better before they take to the stage. As your listenership starts to grow, it will become a great digital revenue stream for your event as well.

Create more event articles

We know event marketers are time crunched. You're likely working with a a reduced team size than pre-pandemic levels, so you're already up against it with all of the other work you need to do. However, your articles or blogs are a great way to expand that content you recorded earlier.

How? Transcribe your interviews, edit them, share the post. It really is that simple and with tools like Milk Video out there helping you transcribe easier than before, it will help to reduce the amount of time it takes to create more content.

Why? Think of the SEO. You're speaker is likely talking about topics that affect your industry right now, so it's relevant. Search engines love relevant content and if you're producing it regularly, you're going to boost your search rankings.

Create a video library

Back to video with this one. According to Wibbitz, 90% of customers report that video content helps make their purchasing decisions easier. For event marketer this really boosts the brand experience of users to your site.

How? If you break down your video interviews of speakers, for example, you could use tools like Clipr.AI to help you create short, sharp video snippets that you can then place on your website or in social media to help drive awareness of the event.

Why? Creating a video library not only helps you boost traffic to your website but it also gives you content that you can use time and time again. Plus, having all this content in one place makes it much easier for you to find and share as and when you need it.

Why is content creation valuable for brands?

By engaging your audience weeks or even months in advance with quality content and a robust content marketing strategy, you'll create a sense of anticipation and excitement that will make your event that much more successful. These four activation ideas are sure to get your team started on the right foot: interviews, podcasts, blog posts, and video libraries.

So what are you waiting for? If you need help getting your content off the ground, drop us a line at hello@wavesconnects.com

Matt Coyne