Virtual events are great for educating audiences about certain topics and generating leads. There is a lot of planning that goes into creating an event, so you need to do more than just host it and hope for the best.
But there is so much that can be done with your event content, even after all of the guests have signed off. So many people just think of their event as producing one round of lead generation and audience engagement without ever taking a look at how it can be reused.
Think about it: you need to find new ways to get your viewers engaged with your content anyway, and it's important to consistently create content that your audience enjoys. Why not cut down on some of that work by repurposing some of the best moments from your event sessions into video content that can be used across multiple channels?
The Best Strategy for Repurposing Virtual Event Content
Virtual events can have many different forms, and not every strategy or repurposing idea will work for every type. The goal, though, remains the same:is to repurpose the event’s talks, breakout sessions, Q and As, and audience commentary into new videos that attract and engage viewers (both new and returning).
Ultimately, you want to create an evergreen library of relevant video content. This means allowing things like on-demand play. That way, the content is something that viewers can enjoy at their own convenience.
But, this doesn't mean that you want a whole collection of unrelated videos floating around on a page. Instead, you want to create playlists and organize them by series, by chapter or section, or broader topics.
Beyond that, using video content on other social channels and video hosting platforms is essential to expanding your reach. However, if you are using MOV format, it is necessary to convert your videos so they can be shared across different platforms and channels.
In this way, your strategy should focus on both attracting new viewers and delighting your existing customers.
Let’s look at a few ways you can do that with the webinar content you already own.
Video Idea: Post Each Session as a Lecture Video
If you have an event with multiple guest speakers, you can use their lectures as individual videos in your library. Picture them like a collection of medium-length lecture videos (much like TED talks) that can each be consumed on their own.
In the title and/or description, you want to give some context about who spoke in the video and what topics were covered. This way your viewers know where they should start if they are not interested in watching all the lectures one after another.
This also makes it easier for viewers to look for specific topics that interest them or contain information they are looking for. Creating keyword-driven titles for each will also help your new videos rank higher on search results.
Once you have a series of lectures put together, you can compile them into a YouTube playlist under the event name or something else that makes sense with the content. While YouTube or Vimeo are great places to post your videos, don’t forget to link back to your website as well. Or you can create an evergreen event on HeySummit with the content, letting you capture the email addresses of people accessing your content.
Video Idea: Put Together a Highlight Reel
If there is something specifically insightful or funny that happens during your event, be sure to save it somehow. You can take this video and other great moments from the event and edit them together to create a highlight reel of the event.
Highlight reels like this generally accomplish two things. First, they present a recap of the event in general for those who already attended. This can be enough to remind them of what they learned during each session and even convince them that it is worth attending another event from your company in the future. Second, they give just enough of a glimpse into the event that those who did not attend are more likely to seek out the full version or at least consider tuning into the next one.
The best highlight reels function like an acquisition video or a brand awareness video: short but powerful. The audience is always hungry for more, but the reels offer just enough to whet their appetite without being overwhelming or overloading them with too much information.
They also tend to be highly stylized with music and graphics. In this way, they are more like movie trailers for your event that both entertain and generate interest for the event. To get more ideas for how you can repurpose your events in this way, check out some acquisition videos and brand awareness videos that video production company, Vidico, have made for past clients.
Video Idea: Create Snippets of Key Concepts
Moments of a session in which a speaker says something interesting or describes an insightful concept can convert into powerful video clips for your website and social media channels.
To do this, find a moment during the event where the speaker is using an infographic or a whiteboard illustration to describe a key point in the lecture. Then, cut the video into a short clip (usually less than one minute) that only contains the most potent aspect of that illustration.
These bite-sized info clips are more engaging and informative for viewers because they don't have to watch 30 minutes of content in order to find something truly valuable. This makes them more likely to be shared among other professionals on social media.
Videos like this also generate interest and brand awareness by showcasing a moment of educational value for your event. This can help you gain a trusted following from people looking to gain similar insight in your topic or industry and likely increase your attendance at the next event.
Video Idea: Repurpose the Q & A Session
You can also take interviews with experts or Q & A sessions with speakers from the event and turn these moments into video content. You can repackage these clips or build upon them by using relevant questions or topics as a base for new content.
For example, start by taking the part of the session where a person is asking a question, and use that for the beginning of your new video. Then, use the answer from the speaker as a base point and record your own commentary on that same topic, expanding on the answer. Adding commentary like this can help you develop your brand’s unique position on a given topic. The goal with this is to be seen as a trusted expert in the field that people will turn to for opinions down the road.
When posting these videos in your evergreen library, think of it like a more engaging version of an FAQ section. Turn these videos into a series in which each video title is a question that’s relevant to your audience.
Video Idea: Guest Presentation From a Key Speaker
If they are up for it, try asking a guest speaker to come back and speak more about a certain topic. While this is not necessarily the same as repurposing, it is a great opportunity to build on the same buzz that a certain lecture or topic achieved during the main event.
There are plenty of ways you can use this as a content building block. In many cases, you may choose to have your viewers submit new questions and conduct a post-lecture interview with your guest speaker. You can even replay the first part of their lecture before the new commentary, almost like you’re showing an extended cut of a movie. If your guest speakers hosted any smaller discussions during a breakout session, it is worth looking at those as well.
You can then use this to retarget and attract some of the same viewers who were most interested in this topic to begin with. A video like this allows people to hear about something that was not covered in depth on the main event and provides value for anyone who wants more information on that subject in general.
Video Idea: Develop a Training Course
While events aim to educate, training courses carry a sense of achievement when they are completed. That said, almost any event can be edited into an on-demand training course that people can buy and watch at their own pace. This is great for sharing knowledge and expertise while giving your viewers a framework to think about the material with a new objective in mind.
Repurpose your lecture sessions as training modules that are made to be watched in order. For each one, create an outline of the material along with additional notes and downloadable resources for the viewer. This can create an unbelievable amount of additional value, simply by repurposing the same content.
Repurpose Video for Social Media
When hosting any type of event, social media is a great place to showcase your new repurposed video content. That said, this type of channel typically lends itself to shorter content that both entertains viewers and generates interest.
While many of the types of videos we've described so far can work well on social media, snippets of key concepts are usually best because they are so innately shareable. If someone said something interesting or insightful, turn it into a snippet that can be used on your social media page.
This type of content can be used to both build relationships and generate more leads on social channels. Short video quotes and highlight reels can pique the interest of people just browsing through their feed, and then create the feeling that something important or interesting is going on with your brand.
Humorous content can often have the same effect on social media. By creating a blooper reel of your event (assuming there are enough moments), you can also show off the sense of community among our team, the speakers, and the attendees.
Editing Video For Social Media
To make the most of your repurposed content on your social media channels, you want to pay attention to the editing style. Social media videos are best kept short, displaying only the most immediately impactful content.
No matter the content, consider the effect of adding background music and visual graphics. These will usually make the video more engaging by creating a rhythm and a mood.
Just be careful not to let the music overshadow any informative moments in the content. That said, you can also highlight quotes and other important statistics with visual graphics in front of each clip.
Beyond that, you want to be sure that your social media displays your brand name or image at least once (at the beginning or end, or both). This will help viewers to remember your company's name and associate you with the impactful video they just watched.
For more ideas about how to edit your event content specifically for social media, check out some of the other social videos we made for businesses.
Posting Event Content on Social Media
Wondering where you should post your repurposed event content? The answer’s pretty simple: everywhere. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn all offer different advantages toward reaching your target audience. Just make sure to tailor the content for each platform by using unique hashtags and best practices for uploading video.
Make sure to share the video in a vertical format, especially for Instagram stories and TikTok videos. This is ideal for people scrolling through their feed on mobile devices and is also less disruptive.
On Facebook, you can upload longer videos that cover a more in-depth discussion of the same topic if you choose. Although it should be said that shorter content is usually better at retaining viewer attention.
LinkedIn has a maximum video length of 10 minutes, and content on this platform usually fairs better if it has more substance. For this reason, a longer teaser of an interesting lecture or a collection of impactful statements from guest speakers should do well.
When posting to social media, look for ways to make the video content interactive. Encourage viewers to ask questions in comments on YouTube or Facebook, and consider answering some of them by replying back or creating future videos.
Final Thoughts
If you just finished hosting an event, you will likely be reaping the benefits of that for quite a while. But it doesn't end there. There is so much potential to do more with the content you already have at your fingertips. All it takes is some creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
Events are great for live engagement. The community and the long-form educational content often make them amazing tools for businesses to develop better customer relationships. On the other hand, shorter video content can often be more engaging to watch on demand than a full session.
It can also be a lot of work to repurpose your event content into something more digestible. It requires clipping, editing, cutting, finding the right music, fixing the audio, and reworking the video into something that’s still educational and engaging for other settings.
If you want help turning your recent event into powerful video content, or just need a little guidance in the editing process, we are excited to work with you. At Vidico, we believe in creating high-quality video at every stage of the process. That means storyboarding, shooting, editing, and more. Get connected with us for a free video concept.
.png)
.png)