Transcript

Hey, It’s Trevor from Enjoy Creative. Remember events? Those things where lots of people would congregate... in person! Maybe it was  to support or celebrate something. Or maybe something a little less exciting like an AGM. Either way there was often food, which was nice, and it involved leaving the house... also nice.

For a lot of organizations, these events play a big role in their annual operations. Whether it’s nonprofits that rely on fundraisers to ensure they can continue providing their services. Or organizations that need to update stakeholders through something like an AGM.

So what happens now that a lot of these in-person events are no longer possible because of COVID-19?

They go online! And perhaps you’ve noticed or perhaps you’re organizing one of these events.

A lot of organizations have pivoted to virtual events, and the ones who are doing it best are using standout video content to captivate their not-so-captive audiences –but more on that in a minute.

First, what do these virtual events usually look like? It depends on the nature of the event, but often they are centred around a live stream video that features a mix of live speakers or hosts along with pre-recorded and edited video segments.

And it’s those pre-recorded video segments where your opportunity lies to truly do something special and keep your guests engaged in the event.

Let’s say you’re hosting a fundraiser event. The goal here is pretty obvious -you need to motivate people to open their wallets and support your cause. And one of the best ways to do that is through powerful storytelling that connects with your viewers on an emotional level.

You need to tell a story that shows viewers how your organization is directly impacting lives and causing change. Whether it’s the story of a client whose life has benefited by the efforts of your organization, or stories about how far your organization has come, how much good it’s done and how there’s still a long way to go.

Stories like these will have a big impact on your guests and without a doubt help you achieve your fundraising goals.

What about something perhaps a little less flashy than a gala event, something like an AGM? These live stream events can benefit from pre-recorded video segments, too.

One option would be to create a Year in Review video that highlights the organization’s achievements over the past year. A video like this can make use of existing photos and video captured throughout the year along with motion graphics to create visuals for data and other information.

Videos could also be created to provide updates on different divisions or projects within your organization. Or even a future looking video that covers plans for the year ahead.

There are many other options for pre-recorded and edited video segments that can support virtual events, but we still have to examine why – why use these video segments? You may be asking, isn’t a live stream enough?

Let’s bring it back to your audience. The one we referred to as being not-so-captive earlier in the video.

Remember – with in-person events you have what’s called a captive audience. By physically attending the event, members of your audience are committed to it. And now, with virtual events, your attendees are likely watching from home or their office, where they could be distracted by any number of things. They’re juggling chores and pets and kids and who knows what else.

Engaging your audience is crucial and creating compelling video content spread throughout the live stream is a great way to hook your viewers and keep them engaged with your event.

At the end of the day, this isn’t necessarily groundbreaking information. Many in-person events have already featured video to engage audiences for years. But right now, when in-person connections are not an option, when the food, the mingling and the atmosphere, all of that is gone, video can serve as that option, that component of your event that captivates and motivates your audience. And when I think of sitting through a live stream, it’s these moments that I know I would look forward to.

And that’s it, that’s a little about how video can support virtual events.

If you’re planning a future event and want help coming up with a strategy for the video content within your event, feel free to reach out. We’d love to help.